Search

The origin of diffuse high-energy neutrinos from TeV to PeV energies detected by IceCube Observatory remains a mystery. In our previous work, we have shown that hadronuclear (p-p) interactions in AGN jets could be important and generate detectable very-high-energy emissions. Here, we further explore these interactions in the AGN jets based on their luminosity function. The diffuse neutrino flux and corresponding $\gamma$-ray flux have been calculated and compared with observational data. In our modeling, two beaming patterns are considered separately. To make sure that the corresponding $\gamma$-ray flux does not overshoot the diffuse $\gamma$-ray background, we find that if the neutrino production region in jet is opaque to $\gamma$ rays, p-p interactions in AGN jets with a small viewing angle (the blazar case) are able to interpret the PeV neutrino background. Similarly, AGN jets with a large viewing angle (the radio galaxy case) may interpret the TeV neutrino background. While, if the neutrino production region is transparent to $\gamma$ rays, only blazars have the potential to interpret the DNB around PeV band. Some caveats are also discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The presence of extended Main Sequence Turn-Off (eMSTO) in the open clusters has been attributed to various factors, such as spread in rotation rates, binary stars, and dust-like extinction from stellar excretion discs. We present a comprehensive analysis of the eMSTO in the open cluster NGC 2355. Using spectra from the Gaia-ESO archives, we find that the stars in the red part of the eMSTO have a higher mean v sin i value of 135.3$\pm$4.6 km s$^{-1}$ compared to the stars in the blue part that have an average v sin i equal to 81.3$\pm$5.6 km s$^{-1}$. This suggests that the eMSTO in NGC 2355 is possibly caused by the spread in rotation rates of stars. We do not find any substantial evidence of the dust-like extinction from the eMSTO stars using ultraviolet data from the Swift survey. The estimated synchronization time for low mass ratio close binaries in the blue part of the eMSTO suggests that they would be mostly slow-rotating if present. However, the stars in the blue part of the eMSTO are preferentially located in the outer region of the cluster indicating that they may lack low mass ratio close binaries. The spread in rotation rates of eMSTO stars in NGC 2355 is most likely caused by the star-disc interaction mechanism. The stars in the lower main sequence beyond the eMSTO region of NGC 2355 are slow-rotating (mean v sin i = 26.5$\pm$1.3 km s$^{-1}$) possibly due to the magnetic braking of their rotations., Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The presented paper introduces a design for a phase-locked loop (PLL) that is utilized in frequency synthesis and modulation-demodulation within communication systems and in VLSI applications. The CMOS PLL is designed using 180 nm Fabrication Technology on Cadence Virtuoso Tool with a supply voltage of 1.8 V. The performance is evaluated through simulations and measurements, which demonstrate its ability to track and lock onto the input frequency. The PLL is a frequency synthesizer implemented to generate 2.4 GHz frequency. The input reference clock from a crystal oscillator is 150 MHz square wave. Negative feedback is given by divide-by-16 frequency divider, ensuring the phase and frequency synchronization between the divided signal and the reference signal. The design has essential components such as a phase frequency detector, charge pump, loop filter, current-starved voltage-controlled oscillator (CSVCO), and frequency divider. Through their collaborative operation, the system generates an output frequency that is 16 times the input frequency. The centre frequency of the 3-stage CSVCO is 3.208 GHz at 900 mV input voltage. With an input voltage ranging from 0.4 V to 1.8 V, the VCO offers a tuning range that spans from 1.066 GHz to 3.731 GHz.PLL demonstrates a lock-in range spanning from 70.4 MHz to 173 MHz, with an output frequency range of 1.12 GHz to 2.78 GHz. It achieves a lock time of 260.03 ns and consumes a maximum power of 5.15 mW at 2.4 GHz.

We study the metallicity distribution and evolution in the Galactic disk based on the largest sample of open star clusters in the Galaxy. From the catalogue of 1879 open clusters in the range of Galactocentric distance (R_GC) from 4 to 20 kpc, we investigate the variation of metallicity in the Galactic disk as functions of R_GC, vertical distance (Z), and ages of the clusters. In the direction perpendicular to the Galactic plane, variation in metallicity is found to follow a stepped linear relation. We estimate a vertical metallicity gradient d[Fe/H]/dZ of -0.545+/-0.046 dex/kpc for |Z| < 0.487 kpc, and -0.075+/-0.093 dex/kpc for 0.487 < |Z| < 1.8 kpc. On average, metallicity variations above and below the Galactic plane are found to change at similar rates. The change in metallicity in the radial direction is also found to follow a two-function linear relation. We obtain a radial metallicity gradient d[Fe/H]/d[R_GC] of -0.070+/-0.002 dex/kpc for 4.0

The recent IceCube detection of significant neutrino flux from the inner Galactic plane has provided us valuable insights on the spectrum of cosmic rays in our Galaxy. This flux can be produced either by a population of Galactic point sources or by diffused emission from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar medium or by a mixture of both. In this work, we compute diffused gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes produced by a population of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in our Galaxy, assuming different parametrizations of the Galactic diffused cosmic ray distribution. In particular, we take into account two main cases: (I) constant cosmic ray luminosity in our Galaxy, and (II) space-dependent cosmic ray luminosity, based on the supernovae distribution in our Galaxy. For Case-I, we found that the neutrino flux from GMCs is a factor of $\sim 10$ below compared to $\pi^0$ and KRA$_\gamma$ best-fitted models of IceCube observations at $10^5$ GeV. Instead, for Case-II the model can explain up to $\sim 90 \%$ of the neutrino flux at that energy. Moreover, for this last scenario IceCube detector could be able to detect neutrino events from the Galactic centre regions. We then calculated gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes from individual GMCs and noticed that several current and future Cherenkov telescopes and neutrino observatories have the right sensitivities to study these objects. In particular, very neutrino-bright region such as Aquila Rift is favourable for detection by the IceCube-Gen2 observatory., Comment: 30 pages, 17 Figures

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) comprise of short, bright, energetic flashes of emission from extragalactic sources followed by a longer afterglow phase of decreased brightness. Recent discoveries of very-high-energy (VHE, $\gtrsim 100$ GeV) afterglow emission from GRB 180720B and GRB 190829A by H.E.S.S. have raised questions regarding the emission mechanism responsible. We interpret these observed late-time emission to be the result of inverse Compton emission of ultra-relativistic electrons in the GRB blastwave in an external radiation field, i.e., external Compton (EC), considering both the wind and interstellar medium scenarios. We present predictions of multiwavelength light curves and energy spectra, ranging from optical to VHE, and include the synchrotron and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) radiation mechanisms as well. We corrected the EC and SSC model for the $\gamma$-ray attenuation by absorption of photons through their interaction with the extragalactic background light (EBL). We compared our results to multiwavelength data and found that EC gives a satisfactory fit for a given set of fixed model parameters for GRB 180720B, whereas SSC result in a better fit for GRB 190829A. For both GRBs a wind environment is preferred over constant density inter-stellar medium, and the Cosmic Microwave Background as the external radiation field. However, with more data and an effective optimisation tool we can find a more robust fit of the model, implying better constraints on the GRB environment and the particle energy requirements for the emission observed at late times. This has consequences for future observations of GRBs at these extreme energies., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The anticipated launch of fully autonomous vehicles presents an opportunity to develop and implement novel traffic management systems. Intersections are one of the bottlenecks for urban traffic, and thus offer tremendous potential for performance improvements of traffic flow if managed efficiently. Platoon-forming algorithms, in which vehicles are grouped together with short inter-vehicular distances just before arriving at an intersection at high speed, seem particularly promising in this aspect. In this work, we present an intersection access control system based on platoon-forming for heterogeneous autonomous traffic. The heterogeneity of traffic arises from vehicles with different acceleration capabilities and safety constraints. We focus on obtaining computationally fast and interpretable closed-form expressions for safe and efficient vehicle trajectories that lead to platoon formation, and show that these trajectories are solutions to certain classes of optimisation problems. Additionally, we conduct a numerical study to obtain approximations for intersection capacity as a result of such platoon formation., Comment: 42 pages, 16 figures. 3D Animations included as ancillary files

The Australian, Chinese, European, Indian, and North American pulsar timing array (PTA) collaborations recently reported, at varying levels, evidence for the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB). Given that each PTA made different choices in modeling their data, we perform a comparison of the GWB and individual pulsar noise parameters across the results reported from the PTAs that constitute the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA). We show that despite making different modeling choices, there is no significant difference in the GWB parameters that are measured by the different PTAs, agreeing within $1\sigma$. The pulsar noise parameters are also consistent between different PTAs for the majority of the pulsars included in these analyses. We bridge the differences in modeling choices by adopting a standardized noise model for all pulsars and PTAs, finding that under this model there is a reduction in the tension in the pulsar noise parameters. As part of this reanalysis, we "extended" each PTA's data set by adding extra pulsars that were not timed by that PTA. Under these extensions, we find better constraints on the GWB amplitude and a higher signal-to-noise ratio for the Hellings and Downs correlations. These extensions serve as a prelude to the benefits offered by a full combination of data across all pulsars in the IPTA, i.e., the IPTA's Data Release 3, which will involve not just adding in additional pulsars, but also including data from all three PTAs where any given pulsar is timed by more than as single PTA., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, submitted to ApJ

We present the results for orbital period analysis of 9 contact binaries (CBs). The photometric data analyzed in this work is collected using ARIES 1-m and 1.3-m telescopes as well as many ground and space-based photometric surveys. The precise orbital periods of the binary systems are studied using the long temporal baseline of data acquired over the last 12-15 years. The changes in the times of minimum brightness are calculated using (O-C) diagram. Out of these 9 CBs, four systems show no change in the orbital period with time while the remaining five systems show non-linear (O-C) variations with time. We derive mass transfer rates for these five CBs which suggests mass is being transferred from secondary to primary components in three systems while it is from primary to secondary components in the other two systems., Comment: Proceeding paper of the 3rd Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) workshop, Accepted for publication in the Bulletin of Li\`{e}ge Royal Society of Sciences

We present the physical parameters of an eclipsing binary system EPIC 211982753 derived through photometric and radial velocity data modeling. We make use of photometric data from NASA's K2 mission, ASAS-SN, and 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) while spectroscopic data have been acquired from the HERMES spectrograph at the 1.2-m Mercator telescope. The linear ephemeris for the system is updated using the K2 mission data. The synthetic light curve and radial velocity curves are generated with the help of eclipsing binary modeling package PHOEBE 1.0. The masses of primary and secondary components are determined as 1.64 $\pm$0.02 and 1.55 $\pm$0.01 $M_{\odot}$, respectively. The radius for primary and secondary components are estimated as 1.73 $\pm$0.02 and 1.47 $\pm$0.02 $R_{\odot}$, respectively. The distance of the system is calculated as 238 $\pm$ 4 pc. The eclipsing binary is found to be a total eclipsing system with a high mass ratio of q=0.94., Comment: Proceeding paper of the 3rd Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy and Astrophysics (BINA) workshop, Accepted for publication in the Bulletin of Li\`{e}ge Royal Society of Sciences

The European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaborations have measured a low-frequency common signal in the combination of their second and first data releases respectively, with the correlation properties of a gravitational wave background (GWB). Such signal may have its origin in a number of physical processes including a cosmic population of inspiralling supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs); inflation, phase transitions, cosmic strings and tensor mode generation by non-linear evolution of scalar perturbations in the early Universe; oscillations of the Galactic potential in the presence of ultra-light dark matter (ULDM). At the current stage of emerging evidence, it is impossible to discriminate among the different origins. Therefore, in this paper, we consider each process separately, and investigate the implications of the signal under the hypothesis that it is generated by that specific process. We find that the signal is consistent with a cosmic population of inspiralling SMBHBs, and its relatively high amplitude can be used to place constraints on binary merger timescales and the SMBH-host galaxy scaling relations. If this origin is confirmed, this is the first direct evidence that SMBHBs merge in nature, adding an important observational piece to the puzzle of structure formation and galaxy evolution. As for early Universe processes, the measurement would place tight constraints on the cosmic string tension and on the level of turbulence developed by first-order phase transitions. Other processes would require non-standard scenarios, such as a blue-tilted inflationary spectrum or an excess in the primordial spectrum of scalar perturbations at large wavenumbers. Finally, a ULDM origin of the detected signal is disfavoured, which leads to direct constraints on the abundance of ULDM in our Galaxy., Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures, replaced to match the version published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, note the change in the numbering order in the series (now paper IV)

We present the results of a search for continuous gravitational wave signals (CGWs) in the second data release (DR2) of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) collaboration. The most significant candidate event from this search has a gravitational wave frequency of 4-5 nHz. Such a signal could be generated by a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in the local Universe. We present the results of a follow-up analysis of this candidate using both Bayesian and frequentist methods. The Bayesian analysis gives a Bayes factor of 4 in favor of the presence of the CGW over a common uncorrelated noise process, while the frequentist analysis estimates the p-value of the candidate to be 1%, also assuming the presence of common uncorrelated red noise. However, comparing a model that includes both a CGW and a gravitational wave background (GWB) to a GWB only, the Bayes factor in favour of the CGW model is only 0.7. Therefore, we cannot conclusively determine the origin of the observed feature, but we cannot rule it out as a CGW source. We present results of simulations that demonstrate that data containing a weak gravitational wave background can be misinterpreted as data including a CGW and vice versa, providing two plausible explanations of the EPTA DR2 data. Further investigations combining data from all PTA collaborations will be needed to reveal the true origin of this feature., Comment: 13 figures, 15 pages, accepted

The nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB) is expected to be an aggregate signal of an ensemble of gravitational waves emitted predominantly by a large population of coalescing supermassive black hole binaries in the centres of merging galaxies. Pulsar timing arrays, ensembles of extremely stable pulsars, are the most precise experiments capable of detecting this background. However, the subtle imprints that the GWB induces on pulsar timing data are obscured by many sources of noise. These must be carefully characterized to increase the sensitivity to the GWB. In this paper, we present a novel technique to estimate the optimal number of frequency coefficients for modelling achromatic and chromatic noise and perform model selection. We also incorporate a new model to fit for scattering variations in the pulsar timing package temponest and created realistic simulations of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) datasets that allowed us to test the efficacy of our noise modelling algorithms. We present an in-depth analysis of the noise properties of 25 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that form the second data release (DR2) of the EPTA and investigate the effect of incorporating low-frequency data from the Indian PTA collaboration. We use enterprise and temponest packages to compare noise models with those reported with the EPTA DR1. We find that, while in some pulsars we can successfully disentangle chromatic from achromatic noise owing to the wider frequency coverage in DR2, in others the noise models evolve in a more complicated way. We also find evidence of long-term scattering variations in PSR J1600$-$3053. Through our simulations, we identify intrinsic biases in our current noise analysis techniques and discuss their effect on GWB searches. The results presented here directly help improve sensitivity to the GWB and are already being used as part of global PTA efforts., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 9 tables

We present the results of the search for an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies using the second data release of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) for 25 millisecond pulsars and a combination with the first data release of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA). We analysed (i) the full 24.7-year EPTA data set, (ii) its 10.3-year subset based on modern observing systems, (iii) the combination of the full data set with the first data release of the InPTA for ten commonly timed millisecond pulsars, and (iv) the combination of the 10.3-year subset with the InPTA data. These combinations allowed us to probe the contributions of instrumental noise and interstellar propagation effects. With the full data set, we find marginal evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of four and a false alarm probability of $4\%$. With the 10.3-year subset, we report evidence for a GWB, with a Bayes factor of $60$ and a false alarm probability of about $0.1\%$ ($\gtrsim 3\sigma$ significance). The addition of the InPTA data yields results that are broadly consistent with the EPTA-only data sets, with the benefit of better noise modelling. Analyses were performed with different data processing pipelines to test the consistency of the results from independent software packages. The inferred spectrum from the latest EPTA data from new generation observing systems is rather uncertain and in mild tension with the common signal measured in the full data set. However, if the spectral index is fixed at 13/3, the two data sets give a similar amplitude of ($2.5\pm0.7)\times10^{-15}$ at a reference frequency of $1\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$. By continuing our detection efforts as part of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), we expect to be able to improve the measurement of spatial correlations and better characterise this signal in the coming years., Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, 4 appendix figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Recently, the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray satellite has detected six Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) located in the Gould Belt and the Aquila Rift regions. In half of these objects (Taurus, Orion A, Orion B), the observed gamma-ray spectrum can be explained using the Galactic diffused Cosmic Ray (CR) interactions with the gas environments. In the remaining three GMCs (Rho Oph, Aquila Rift, Cepheus), the origin of the gamma-ray spectrum is still not well established. We use the GEometry ANd Tracking (GEANT4) simulation framework in order to simulate gamma-ray emission due to CR/GMC interaction in these three objects, taking into account the gas density distribution inside the GMCs. We find that propagation of diffused Galactic CRs inside these GMCs can explain the Fermi-LAT detected gamma-ray spectra. Further, our estimated TeV-PeV fluxes are consistent with the HAWC upper limits, available for the Aquila Rift GMC. As last step, we compute the total neutrino flux estimated for these GMCs and compare it with the IceCube detection sensitivity., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures

We present the dynamical evolution of ten open clusters which were part of our previous studies. These clusters include both young and intermediate-age open clusters with ages ranging from 25$\pm$19 Myr to 1.78$\pm$0.20 Gyr. The total mass of these clusters ranges from 356.18$\pm$142.90 to 1811.75$\pm$901.03 M$_{\odot}$. The Galactocentric distances to the clusters are in the range of 8.91$\pm$0.02 to 11.74$\pm$0.18 kpc. The study is based on the ground-based UBVRI data supplemented by the astrometric data from the Gaia archive. We studied the minimum spanning tree of the member stars for these clusters. The mass segregation in these clusters was quantified by mass segregation ratios calculated from the mean edge length obtained through the minimum spanning tree. The clusters NGC 2360, NGC 1960, IC 1442, King 21, and SAI 35 have ${\Gamma}_{MSR}$ to be 1.65$\pm$0.18, 1.94$\pm$0.22, 2.21$\pm$0.20, 1.84$\pm$0.23, and 1.96$\pm$0.25, respectively which indicate moderate mass segregation in these clusters. The remaining five clusters are found to exhibit weak or no mass segregation. We used the ratio of half mass radius to the tidal radius i.e. R$_{h}$/R$_{t}$ to investigate the effect of the tidal interactions on the cluster structure and dynamics. The ratios of half mass radii to tidal radii are found to be positively correlated with the Galactocentric distances with a linear slope of 0.06$\pm$0.01 having linear regression coefficient r-square = 0.93 for the clusters., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables

Antiferromagnetic CuMnAs thin films have attracted attention since the discovery of the manipulation of their magnetic structure via electrical, optical, and terahertz pulses of electric fields, enabling convenient approaches to the switching between magnetoresistive states of the film for the information storage. However, the magnetic structure and, thus, the efficiency of the manipulation can be affected by the film morphology and growth defects. In this study, we investigate the properties of CuMnAs thin films by probing the defect-related uniaxial anisotropy of electric conductivity by contact-free terahertz transmission spectroscopy. We show that the terahertz measurements conveniently detect the conductivity anisotropy, that are consistent with conventional DC Hall-bar measurements. Moreover, the terahertz technique allows for considerably finer determination of anisotropy axes and it is less sensitive to the local film degradation. Thanks to the averaging over a large detection area, the THz probing also allows for an analysis of strongly non-uniform thin films. Using scanning near-field terahertz and electron microscopies, we relate the observed anisotropic conductivity of CuMnAs to the elongation and orientation of growth defects, which influence the local microscopic conductivity. We also demonstrate control over the morphology of defects by using vicinal substrates., Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures

We present the transit timing variation (TTV) and planetary atmosphere analysis of the Neptune-mass planet HAT-P-26~b. We present a new set of 13 transit light curves from optical ground-based observations and combine them with light curves from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and previously published ground-based data. We refine the planetary parameters of HAT-P-26 b and undertake a TTV analysis using 33 transits obtained over seven years. The TTV analysis shows an amplitude signal of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.05 minutes, which could result from the presence of an additional $0.02 M_{Jup}$ planet at the 1:2 mean-motion resonance orbit. Using a combination of transit depths spanning optical to near-infrared wavelengths, we find that the atmosphere of HAT-P-26 b contains $2.4^{+2.9}_{-1.6}$% of H$_2$O with a derived temperature of $590^{+60}_{-50}$ K., Comment: 34 pages, accepted by AJ

The K2 eclipsing binary candidates EPIC 211982753 (hereinafter called EPIC2753) and EPIC 211915147 (hereinafter called EPIC5147) are characterized with the help of photometric and high-resolution spectroscopic data. The light curve analysis uses the R-band photometric data from the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT, India), ASAS-3 and K2 observations. High-resolution echelle spectra are collected using the HERMES spectrograph at the 1.2-m MERCATOR telescope (La Palma, Spain). The synthetic light and radial velocity curves are generated with the help of the modeling package PHOEBE 1.0. The orbital period analysis based on the ~3.2 years of K2 observations does not show any change in the orbital period of both targets. The component masses M1,2 are estimated as 1.69(0.02) and 1.59(0.02) solar mass for EPIC2753, and 1.48(0.01) and 1.27(0.01) solar mass for EPIC5147. Both systems are high mass-ratio eclipsing binaries with q>0.85. The component radii R1,2 are found to be 1.66(0.02) and 1.53(0.02) solar radius for EPIC2753, and 1.80(0.05) and 1.42(0.05) solar radius for EPIC5147. The distances of EPIC2753 and EPIC5147 are determined as 238(4) and 199(5) pc, respectively. MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks are used to understand the evolutionary status of both systems., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Recently, Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has detected several Galactic point sources of ultra high energy (UHE; $E_{\gamma}> 100$ TeV) gamma-rays. These gamma-rays are possibly created in leptonic or hadronic interactions of cosmic rays (CRs) of PeV energies. In the hadronic channel ($p-p$ interaction), the gamma-rays are accompanied by neutrinos. The detection of neutrinos is therefore crucial in understanding CR acceleration in such objects. To estimate the neutrino flux, we adopt the two LHAASO sources (J2226+6057, J1908+0621) found to be spatially associated with the Supernova remnants (SNR G106.3+2.7, SNR G40.5-0.5). For these two sources, the detected TeV-PeV gamma-ray spectra are found to be unusually hard (with spectral index $\sim$ 1.8). We develop a model of gamma-ray and neutrino emission based on the above two prototypes. The neutrino fluxes from these two sources are found to be below the IceCube sensitivity, but are detectable in upcoming IceCube-Gen2 and KM3NeT experiments. We further estimate the neutrino fluxes from similar other 10 LHAASO PeVatron sources and most of them are found to be detectable in IceCube-Gen2 and KM3NeT. Finally, we explore our model parameters, in particular the spectral power law index and estimate the future potential of the neutrino detectors to probe CR acceleration in such Galactic sources., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

We study variable stars in the field of the open cluster NGC 381 using photometric data observed over 27 nights and identify a total of 57 variable stars out of which five are member stars. The variable stars are classified based on their periods, amplitudes, light curve shapes, and locations in the H-R diagram. We found a rich variety of variable stars in the cluster. We identified a total of 10 eclipsing binaries out of which 2 are Algol type (EA) while 8 are W UMa type (EW) binaries. The estimated ages of these EW binaries are greater than 0.6 Gyr which is in agreement with the formation time constraint of > 0.6 Gyr on short-period eclipsing binaries. The estimation of the physical parameters of the three EW type binaries is done using PHOEBE model-fitting software. The pulsating variable stars include one each from {\delta} Scuti and {\gamma} Dor variability class. We determined the pulsation modes of pulsating variables with the help of the FAMIAS package. We obtained 15 rotational variables stars comprising four dwarf stars identified on the basis log(g) versus log(Tef f ) diagram. These dwarf stars are found to have generally larger periods than the remaining rotational variables., Comment: The paper is accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (AJ). It contains 6 tables and 14 figures

We use the largest open clusters catalogue in the post-Gaia era to provide the observational view of the Galactic disk. By compiling the physical parameters like age, distance, and kinematic information, we investigate the spatial distribution of the open clusters and revisit the spiral arms and other asymmetries in the Galactic disk. Using the young open clusters as a tracer of spiral arms, we map the spiral structure of the Galaxy and found that most of the clusters start migrating away from the spiral arms in about 10-20 Myr and fill the inter-arm regions as their age progress. Using the 3D kinematic information of 371 open star clusters, we derived different individual pattern speeds for spiral arms closely following the Milky Way rotation curve, hence favouring the transient nature of Milky Way spiral arms. The pattern rotation speeds of each spiral arm suggest that the spiral arms have not accelerated in the last 80 Myrs. Based on the distribution of open clusters younger than 700 Myr above or below the Galactic plane, we found a Solar offset of $z_\odot = 17.0\pm0.9$ pc north of the Galactic plane and estimated the scale height $z_h = 91.7 \pm 1.9$ pc from the Galactic plane., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, paper is accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

Here, we study the distribution of Fundamental-mode Cepheids in the Magellanic Cloud as a function of their positions and ages using the data from the OGLE~IV survey. Age of the Cepheids are determined through well known period - age relations for the LMC and SMC Cepheids which are used to understand the star formation scenario in the Magellanic Cloud. The age distributions of the Cepheids in LMC and SMC show peak around $155^{+45}_{-35}$ Myr and $224^{+51}_{-42}$ Myr, respectively. This indicates that a major star formation event took place in the Magellanic Cloud at about 200\,Myr ago. It is believed that this event might have been triggered by a close encounter between the two components of the Magellanic Cloud or due to a possible tidal interaction between the Magellanic Cloud and Milky Way galaxy during one of its pericentric passages round the Milky Way. Cepheids are found to be asymmetrically distributed in both the LMC and SMC. A high-density clumpy structure is found to be located towards eastern side of the LMC and south-west direction of the SMC from their respective galactic centres., Comment: Published in the Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy (2023, JoAA, 44, 45), contribution to the proceedings of "Star formation studies in the context of NIR instruments on 3.6-m DOT"

We present an occultation study of compact radio sources by the plasma tail of interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov (C/2019 Q4) both pre- and near-perihelion using the Arecibo and Green Bank radio telescopes. The interplanetary scintillation (IPS) technique was used to probe the plasma tail at P-band (302--352 MHz), 820 MHz, and L-band (1120--1730 MHz). The presence and absence of scintillation at different perpendicular distances from the central axis of the plasma tail suggests a narrow tail of less than 6~arcmin at a distance of $\sim$10~arcmin ($\sim$$10^6$~km) from the comet nucleus. Data recorded during the occultation of B1019+083 on 31 October 2019 with the Arecibo Telescope covered the width of the plasma tail from its outer region to the central axis. The systematic increase in scintillation during the occultation provides the plasma properties associated with the tail when the comet was at its pre-perihelion phase. The excess level of L-band scintillation indicates a plasma density enhancement of $\sim$15--20 times that of the background solar wind. The evolving shape of the observed scintillation power spectra across the tail from its edge to the central axis suggests a density spectrum flatter than Kolmogorov, and that the plasma-density irregularity scales present in the tail range between 10 and 700 km. The discovery of a high-frequency spectral excess, corresponding to irregularity scales much smaller than the Fresnel scale, suggests the presence of small-scale density structures in the plasma tail, likely caused by interaction between the solar wind and the plasma environment formed by the comet., Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, and 1 table (Accepted for publication in Planetary Science Journal)

We aim to carry out a radio study of the SoUthern Cluster sCale Extended Source Survey (SUCCESS) sample consisting of twenty massive (M$_{500} > 5\times10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$), nearby (redshift $<0.3$) and southern ($-50^{\circ} < \delta < -30^\circ$) galaxy clusters detected by the Planck satellite and the South Pole Telescope. Here we report targeted GMRT observations (325/610 MHz) for a sub-sample of nine clusters. We also use the first data release of MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey (1283 MHz) for five of these nine clusters. The properties of the mini-halo in RXC J0528.9-3927, a candidate mini-halo in A3322, the radio halo and candidate double relics in A3399, and the radio halo in RXC J0232.2-4420 are presented. We also report detection of candidate radio relics at distances 1 and 1.9 Mpc from the center of RXC J0232.2-4420. The southeast relic of A3399 is consistent with the radio power - mass scaling relation for radio relics, while the candidate relics around RXC J0232.2-4420 are outliers. This indicates an origin of the candidate relics near RXC J0232.2-4420 to be independent of this cluster and a cluster merger-shock origin for the relic in A3399. In this sub-sample of clusters 1/9 hosts a radio halo and double relics, 1/9 hosts a radio halo and 2/9 host mini-halos. The dynamical states based on X-ray morphology show that A3399 is a disturbed cluster; however, the radio halo cluster RXC J0232.2-4420 is relaxed, and the mini-halo clusters have intermediate morphologies, adding to the cases of the less commonly found associations., Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Recently, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported the discovery of 12 ultrahigh-energy (UHE; $\mathrm{\varepsilon} \ge 100$ TeV) gamma-ray sources located in the Galactic plane. A few of these UHE gamma-ray emitting regions are in spatial coincidence with pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). We consider a sample of five sources; two of them are LHAASO sources (LHAASO J1908+0621 and LHAASO J2226+6057) and the remaining three are GeV-TeV gamma-ray emitters. In addition, X-rays, radio observations, or upper limits are also available for these objects. We study multiwavelength radiation from these sources by considering a PWN origin, where the emission is powered by the spin-down luminosity of the associated pulsars. In this leptonic emission model, the electron population is calculated at different times under the radiative (synchrotron and inverse-Compton) and adiabatic cooling. We also include the onset of the reverberation phase for the PWN, by assuming radially symmetric expansion. However, in this work, we find that multiwavelength emission can be interpreted before the onset of this phase. The maximum energy of the electrons based on the spectral fit is found to be above 0.1 PeV and close to 1 PeV. For LHAASO J2226+6057, using its observations in radio to UHE gamma-rays, we find that UHE gamma-rays can be interpreted using electrons with maximum energy of 1 PeV. We estimate the upper limits on the minimum Lorentz factor of the electrons and it also infers the minimum value of the pair-multiplicity of charged pairs., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, Revised version, Accepted for publication in MNRAS, Comments welcome

A photometric and spectroscopic investigation is performed on five W Ursae Majoris eclipsing binaries (EWs) J015818.6+260247 (hereinafter as J0158b), J073248.4+405538 (hereinafter as J0732), J101330.8+494846 (hereinafter as J1013), J132439.8+130747 (hereinafter as J1324) and J152450.7+245943 (hereinafter as J1524). The photometric data are collected with the help of the 1.3\,m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT), the 1.04\,m Sampurnanand Telescope (ST) and the TESS space mission. The low-resolution spectra of the 4\,m Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) are used for spectroscopic analysis. The orbital period change of these systems is determined using our and previously available photometric data from different surveys. The orbital period of J1013 and J1524 is changing with a rate of $-2.552(\pm0.249)\times 10^{-7}$ days $yr^{-1}$ and $-6.792(\pm0.952)\times 10^{-8}$ days $yr^{-1}$, respectively, while others do not show any orbital period change. The orbital period change of J1013 and J1524 corresponds to a mass transfer rate of $2.199\times10^{-7} M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}$ and $6.151\times10^{-8}M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}$ from the primary to the secondary component in these systems. It is likely that angular momentum loss via magnetic braking may also be responsible for the observed orbital period change in the case of J1524. All systems have a mass-ratio lower than 0.5, except J0158b with a mass-ratio of 0.71. All the systems are shallow type contact binaries. The J0158b and J1524 are A-subtype while others are W-subtype. The $H_{\alpha}$ emission line region is compared with template spectra prepared using two inactive stars with the help of STARMOD program. The J0158, J1324 and J1524 systems show excess emission in the residual spectra after subtraction of the template., Comment: 20 Pages, 13 Figures, 7 Tables

The structural network of the brain, or structural connectome, can be represented by fiber bundles generated by a variety of tractography methods. While such methods give qualitative insights into brain structure, there is controversy over whether they can provide quantitative information, especially at the population level. In order to enable population-level statistical analysis of the structural connectome, we propose representing a connectome as a Riemannian metric, which is a point on an infinite-dimensional manifold. We equip this manifold with the Ebin metric, a natural metric structure for this space, to get a Riemannian manifold along with its associated geometric properties. We then use this Riemannian framework to apply object-oriented statistical analysis to define an atlas as the Fr\'echet mean of a population of Riemannian metrics. This formulation ties into the existing framework for diffeomorphic construction of image atlases, allowing us to construct a multimodal atlas by simultaneously integrating complementary white matter structure details from DWMRI and cortical details from T1-weighted MRI. We illustrate our framework with 2D data examples of connectome registration and atlas formation. Finally, we build an example 3D multimodal atlas using T1 images and connectomes derived from diffusion tensors estimated from a subset of subjects from the Human Connectome Project., Comment: Accepted for publication at the Journal of Machine Learning for Biomedical Imaging (MELBA) https://www.melba-journal.org/papers/2022:016.html. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2103.05730

The detection of the high-energy neutrino IC-170922A in spatial (within the error region) and temporal flare activity correlation with the blazar TXS 0506+056 allowed these objects to be considered as progenitor sources of neutrinos. Besides this, no more detection of this kind was reported. Some other neutrinos detected by IceCube show a spatial correlation (within the error region) from other Fermi-LAT detected sources. However, these objects did not show a flare activity like TXS 0506+056. Assuming a lepto-hadronic scenario through p$\gamma$ interactions, this work describes the SED in some objects from the fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (4LAC) sources, which are in spatial correlation with neutrinos detected by IceCube. Additionally, we estimate the corresponding neutrino flux counterpart from these sources., Comment: Presented at the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2021), Berlin, Germany; PoS (ICRC2021)1009

Matched filter (MF) techniques have been widely used for retrieval of greenhouse gas enhancements (enh.) from imaging spectroscopy datasets. While multiple algorithmic techniques and refinements have been proposed, the greenhouse gas target spectrum used for concentration enh. estimation has remained largely unaltered since the introduction of quantitative MF retrievals. The magnitude of retrieved methane and carbon dioxide enh., and thereby integrated mass enh. (IME) and estimated flux of point-source emitters, is heavily dependent on this target spectrum. Current standard use of molecular absorption coefficients to create unit enh. target spectra does not account for absorption by background concentrations of greenhouse gases, solar and sensor geometry, or atmospheric water vapor absorption. We introduce geometric and atmospheric parameters into the generation of scene-specific (SS) unit enh. spectra to provide target spectra that are compatible with all greenhouse gas retrieval MF techniques. For methane plumes, IME resulting from use of standard, generic enh. spectra varied from -22 to +28.7% compared to SS enh. spectra. Due to differences in spectral shape between the generic and SS enh. spectra, differences in methane plume IME were linked to surface spectral characteristics in addition to geometric and atmospheric parameters. IME differences for carbon dioxide plumes, with generic enh. spectra producing integrated mass enh. -76.1 to -48.1% compared to SS enh. spectra. Fluxes calculated from these integrated enh. would vary by the same %s, assuming equivalent wind conditions. Methane and carbon dioxide IME were most sensitive to changes in solar zenith angle and ground elevation. SS target spectra can improve confidence in greenhouse gas retrievals and flux estimates across collections of scenes with diverse geometric and atmospheric conditions., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

The open star clusters (OSC) are important tracers for understanding the Galactic evolution. The parametric study of these astronomical-objects is crucial task due to the appearing sequence of the members of OSC. These members are defined through the various approaches such as photometric, statistical, kinematics etc. In the present paper, we have been using the photometric colours of the identified stars for categorized them into the blue and red component groups and identification of these groups is possible through (B-V) vs V colour magnitude diagram (CMD). Furthermore, the influence/effect of these groups is also examined in the estimation of cluster parameters. The stellar enhancement of cluster NGC 6866 is found through the blue-component-stars (BCS) and the linear solution of best fitted values of King Models of the radial-densityprofile (RDP) gives the core radius as 5.22+/-0.29 arcmin. The good agreement of present estimated parameters of the cluster with the literature seems to be an effective evidence to consider BCS as the true representative of the cluster. The stellar distribution of the cluster shows continuous phenomena of the mass segregation. An effect of the incompleteness of photometric data is related to the mass-function slope values, which is found to be -3.80+/-0.11 and also shows the incremental nature with the incompleteness., Comment: 08 pages, 12 figures, 02 tables, multidisciplinary conference