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At least 937 records · Page 52

Ab initio predictions link the neutron skin of 208 Pb to nuclear forces

Heavy atomic nuclei have an excess of neutrons over protons, which leads to the formation of a neutron skin whose thickness is sensitive to details of the nuclear force. This links atomic nuclei to properties of neutron stars, thereby relating objects that differ in size by orders of magnitude. The nucleus 208 Pb is of particular interest because it exhibits a simple structure and is experimentally accessible. However, computing such a heavy nucleus has been out of reach for ab initio theory. By combining advances in quantum many-body methods, statistical tools and emulator technology, we make quantitative predictions for the properties of 208 Pb starting from nuclear forces that are consistent with symmetries of low-energy quantum chromodynamics. We explore 10 9 different nuclear force parameterizations via history matching, confront them with data in select light nuclei and arrive at an importance-weighted ensemble of interactions. We accurately reproduce bulk properties of 208 Pb and determine the neutron skin thickness, which is smaller and more precise than a recent extraction from parity-violating electron scattering but in agreement with other experimental probes. This work demonstrates how realistic two- and three-nucleon forces act in a heavy nucleus and allows us to make quantitative predictions across the nuclear landscape.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Space radiation measurements during the Artemis I lunar mission

Space radiation is a notable hazard for long-duration human spaceflight. Associated risks include cancer, cataracts, degenerative diseases and tissue reactions from large, acute exposures. Space radiation originates from diverse sources, including galactic cosmic rays, trapped-particle (Van Allen) belts5 and solar-particle events. Previous radiation data are from the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle in low-Earth orbit protected by heavy shielding and Earth’s magnetic field and lightly shielded interplanetary robotic probes such as Mars Science Laboratory and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Limited data from the Apollo missions and ground measurements with substantial caveats are also available. Here we report radiation measurements from the heavily shielded Orion spacecraft on the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission. At differing shielding locations inside the vehicle, a fourfold difference in dose rates was observed during proton-belt passes that are similar to large, reference solar-particle events. Interplanetary cosmic-ray dose equivalent rates in Orion were as much as 60% lower than previous observations. Furthermore, a change in orientation of the spacecraft during the proton-belt transit resulted in a reduction of radiation dose rates of around 50%. These measurements validate the Orion for future crewed exploration and inform future human spaceflight mission design.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Universal scaling laws and density slopes for dark matter haloes

Smalls scale challenges suggest some missing pieces in our current understanding of dark matter. In this work, a cascade theory for dark matter is proposed to provide extra insights, similar to the cascade phenomenon in hydrodynamic turbulence. The kinetic energy is cascaded in dark matter from small to large scales involves a constant rate $ε_u$ (≈–4.6×10 –7 m 2 / s 3 ). Confirmed by N-body simulations, the energy cascade leads to a two-thirds law for kinetic energy $v^2_r$ on scale $\textit{r}$ such that $v^2_r∝(ε_ur)^{2/3}$. Equivalently, a four-thirds law can be established for mean halo density $ρ_s$ enclosed in the scale radius $r_s$ such that $ρ_s ∝ε^{2/3}_uG^{–1}r^{–4/3}_s$, which was confirmed by galaxy rotation curves. Critical properties of dark matter might be obtained by identifying key constants on relevant scales. First, the largest halo scale $r_l$ can be determined by $–u^3_0/ε_u$, where u0 is the velocity dispersion. Second, the smallest scale rη is dependent on the nature of dark matter. For collisionless dark matter, $r_η∝(–Gℏ/ε_u)^{1/3}$ ≈ 10 –13 m , where ℏ is the Planck constant. An uncertainty principle for momentum and acceleration fluctuations is also postulated. For self-interacting dark matter, $r_η∝ε^2_uG^{–3}(σ/m)^3$, where σ/m is the cross-section of interaction. On halo scale, the energy cascade leads to an asymptotic density slope γ = –4/3 for fully virialized haloes with a vanishing radial flow, which might explain the nearly universal halo density. Based on the continuity equation, halo density is analytically shown to be closely dependent on the radial flow and mass accretion, such that simulated haloes can have different limiting slopes. A modified Einasto density profile is proposed accordingly.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dark matter halo mass functions and density profiles from mass and energy cascade

Abstract Halo abundance and structure play a central role for modeling structure formation and evolution. Without relying on a spherical or ellipsoidal collapse model, we analytically derive the halo mass function and cuspy halo density (inner slope of −4/3) based on the mass and energy cascade theory in dark matter flow. The hierarchical halo structure formation leads to halo or particle random walk with a position-dependent waiting time $$\tau _g$$ τ g . First, the inverse mass cascade from small to large scales leads to the halo random walk in mass space with $$\tau _g\propto m_h^{-\lambda }$$ τ g ∝ m h - λ , where $$m_h$$ m h is the halo mass and $$\lambda$$ λ is a halo geometry parameter with predicted value of 2/3. The corresponding Fokker-Planck solution for halo random walk in mass space gives rise to the halo mass function with a power-law behavior on small scale and exponential decay on large scale. This can be further improved by considering two different $$\lambda$$ λ for haloes below and above a critical mass scale $$m_h^*$$ m h ∗ , i.e. a double- $$\lambda$$ λ halo mass function. Second, a double- $$\gamma$$ γ density profile can be derived based on the particle random walk in 3D space with a position-dependent waiting time $$\tau _g \propto \Phi (r)^{-1} \propto r^{-\gamma }$$ τ g ∝ Φ ( r ) - 1 ∝ r - γ , where $$\Phi$$ Φ is the gravitational potential and r is the particle distance to halo center. Theory predicts $$\gamma =2/3$$ γ = 2 / 3 that leads to a cuspy density profile with an inner slope of −4/3, consistent with the predicted scaling laws from energy cascade. The Press-Schechter mass function and Einasto density profile are just special cases of proposed models. The small scale permanence can be identified due to the scale-independent rate of mass and energy cascade, where density profiles of different halo masses and redshifts converge to the $$-4/3$$ - 4 / 3 scaling law ( $$\rho _h \propto r^{-4/3}$$ ρ h ∝ r - 4 / 3 ) on small scales. Theory predicts the halo number density scales with halo mass as $$\propto m_h^{-1.9}$$ ∝ m h - 1.9 , while the halo mass density scales as $$\propto m_h^{4/9}$$ ∝ m h 4 / 9 . Results were compared against the Illustris simulations. This new perspective provides a theory for nearly universal halo mass functions and density profiles.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The challenge of blending in large sky surveys

The increasing sensitivity of modern sky surveys allow ever fainter emissions of light to be detected, but it also increases the chances of noticeable overlap between multiple sources of light, a phenomenon called blending. Furthermore, the consequences of blending are expected to be among the leading systematic measurement uncertainties of future surveys, such as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. This Perspective discusses two main approaches to addressing blending: attempting to separate individual sources and statistically correcting for the presence of blending at the population level. For both approaches, simultaneous access to data of multiple surveys will be critical to construct a joint data set that combines the strengths of each individual survey.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Event Horizon Telescope imaging of the archetypal blazar 3C 279 at an extreme 20 microarcsecond resolution

3C 279 is an archetypal blazar with a prominent radio jet that show broadband flux density variability across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We use an ultra-high angular resolution technique – global Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at 1.3 mm (230 GHz) – to resolve the innermost jet of 3C 279 in order to study its fine-scale morphology close to the jet base where highly variable γ-ray emission is thought to originate, according to various models. The source was observed during four days in April 2017 with the Event Horizon Telescope at 230 GHz, including the phased Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), at an angular resolution of ∼20 μas (at a redshift of z = 0.536 this corresponds to ∼0.13 pc ∼ 1700 Schwarzschild radii with a black hole mass MBH = 8 × 108 M⊙). Imaging and model-fitting techniques were applied to the data to parameterize the fine-scale source structure and its variation. We find a multicomponent inner jet morphology with the northernmost component elongated perpendicular to the direction of the jet, as imaged at longer wavelengths. The elongated nuclear structure is consistent on all four observing days and across different imaging methods and model-fitting techniques, and therefore appears robust. Owing to its compactness and brightness, we associate the northern nuclear structure as the VLBI “core”. This morphology can be interpreted as either a broad resolved jet base or a spatially bent jet. We also find significant day-to-day variations in the closure phases, which appear most pronounced on the triangles with the longest baselines. Our analysis shows that this variation is related to a systematic change of the source structure. Two inner jet components move non-radially at apparent speeds of ∼15 c and ∼20 c (∼1.3 and ∼1.7 μas day−1, respectively), which more strongly supports the scenario of traveling shocks or instabilities in a bent, possibly rotating jet. The observed apparent speeds are also coincident with the 3C 279 large-scale jet kinematics observed at longer (cm) wavelengths, suggesting no significant jet acceleration between the 1.3 mm core and the outer jet. The intrinsic brightness temperature of the jet components are ≲1010 K, a magnitude or more lower than typical values seen at ≥7 mm wavelengths. The low brightness temperature and morphological complexity suggest that the core region of 3C 279 becomes optically thin at short (mm) wavelengths.Key words: galaxies: active / galaxies: jets / galaxies: individual: 3C 279 / techniques: interferometric⋆ The data are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/640/A69 and at https://eventhorizontelescope.org/for-astronomers/data⋆⋆ Deceased.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Searching for dark matter in the Galactic halo with a wide field of view TeV gamma-ray observatory in the Southern Hemisphere

Although there is mounting evidence that dark matter (DM) exists in the Universe, its fundamental nature remains unknown. We present sensitivity estimates to detect DM particles with a future very-high-energy (gsim TeV) wide field-of-view gamma-ray observatory in the Southern Hemisphere. This observatory would search for gamma rays from the annihilation or decay of DM particles in the Galactic halo. With a wide field of view, both the Galactic Center and a large fraction of the Galactic halo will be detectable with unprecedented sensitivity to DM in the mass range of ~500 GeV to ~2 PeV . These results, combined with those from other present and future gamma-ray observatories, will likely probe the thermal relic annihilation cross section of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles for all masses from ~80 TeV down to the GeV range in most annihilation channels.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The cross correlation of the ABS and ACT maps

One of the most important checks for systematic errors in CMB studies is the cross correlation of maps made by independent experiments. In this study we report on the cross correlation between maps from the Atacama B-mode Search (ABS) and Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) experiments in both temperature and polarization. These completely different measurements have a clear correlation with each other and with the Planck satellite in both the EE and TE spectra at ℓ<400 over the roughly 0110 deg 2 common to all three. The TB, EB, and BB cross spectra are consistent with noise. Exploiting such cross-correlations will be important for future experiments operating in Chile that aim to probe the 30<ℓ<8,000 range.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The pathfinder X-Ray axion telescope for the International Axion Observatory (IAXO) and axion searches at the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST)

The axion, a hypothetical pseudo-scalar particle proposed by Peccei and Quinn to resolve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics, remains one of the most compelling dark matter candidates. Axions and Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) are characterized by a broad and largely unconstrained parameter space in mass and coupling strength, motivating extensive experimental searches. The International Axion Observatory (IAXO) is a next-generation axion helioscope designed to achieve over an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity to the axion-photon coupling constant gaγ relative to previous experiments such as the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST). IAXO will employ large-scale superconducting magnets, precision x-ray optics, and ultra-low-background detectors to search for solar axions produced primarily via the Primakoff effect. This work presents the design and performance of the IAXO pathfinder x-ray optic, a technological demonstrator that validated the optical concepts for IAXO through axion searches at CAST. Comprehensive ray-tracing simulations and experimental measurements were conducted to assess the optic's effective area, detection efficiency, and background suppression capabilities. Deployed at CAST in conjunction with Micromegas and GridPix detectors, the Pathfinder demonstrated record-setting sensitivity to both gaγ and the axion-electron coupling gae, establishing the most stringent laboratory constraints on solar axions to date. These results confirm the viability of the IAXO optical design and detector concept, providing a critical technological benchmark that informs the ongoing development of the BabyIAXO and full-scale IAXO telescopes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The Mira–Titan Universe – IV. High-precision power spectrum emulation

Modern cosmological surveys are delivering data sets characterized by unprecedented quality and statistical completeness; this trend is expected to continue in the future as new ground- and space-based surveys come online. In order to maximally extract cosmological information from these observations, matching theoretical predictions are needed. At low redshifts, the surveys probe the non-linear regime of structure formation where cosmological simulations are the primary means of obtaining the required information. The computational cost of sufficiently resolved large-volume simulations makes it prohibitive to run very large ensembles. Nevertheless, precision emulators built on a tractable number of high-quality simulations can be used to build very fast prediction schemes to enable a variety of cosmological inference studies. We have recently introduced the Mira–Titan Universe simulation suite designed to construct emulators for a range of cosmological probes. This gravity-only set of simulations covers the standard six cosmological parameters {ω m , ω b , σ 8 , $h, n_s, w_0$} and, in addition, includes massive neutrinos and a dynamical dark energy equation of state {ω ν , $w_a$}. In this paper, we present the final emulator for the matter power spectrum based on 111 cosmological simulations, each covering a (2.1 Gpc) 3 volume and evolving 3200 3 particles. In this work, an additional set of 1776 lower resolution simulations and TimeRG perturbation theory results for the power spectrum are used to cover scales straddling the linear to mildly non-linear regimes (maximum wavenumber $\textit{k}$ = 5 Mpc –1 ). The emulator provides predictions at the 2–3 percent level of accuracy over a wide range of cosmological parameters and is publicly released as part of this paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Effects of turbulent diffusion and back-reaction on the dust distribution around two resonant planets

In evolved and dusty circumstellar discs, two planets with masses comparable to Jupiter and Saturn that migrate outwards while maintaining an orbital resonance can produce distinctive features in the dust distribution. Dust accumulates at the outer edge of the common gas gap, which behaves as a dust trap, where the local dust concentration is significantly enhanced by the planets’ outward motion. Concurrently, an expanding cavity forms in the dust distribution inside the planets’ orbits, because dust does not filter through the common gaseous gap and grain depletion in the region continues via inward drifting. There is no cavity in the gas distribution because gas can filter through the gap, although ongoing gas accretion on the planets can reduce the gas density in the inner disc. Such behaviour was demonstrated by means of simulations neglecting the effects of dust diffusion due to turbulence and of dust backreaction on the gas. Both effects may alter the formation of the dust peak at the gap outer edge and of the inner dust cavity, by letting grains filter through the dust trap. We performed high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the coupled evolution of gas and dust species, the latter treated as pressureless fluids, in the presence of two giant planets. We show that diffusion and backreaction can change some morphological aspects of the dust distribution but do not alter some main features, such as the outer peak and the expanding inner cavity. Furthermore, these findings are confirmed for different parametrizations of gas viscosity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Relative alignment between magnetic fields and molecular gas structure in molecular clouds

Here, we compare the structure of synthetic dust polarization with synthetic molecular line emission from radiative transfer calculations using a three-dimensional, turbulent collapsing-cloud magnetohydrodynamics simulation. The histogram of relative orientation (HRO) technique and the projected Rayleigh statistic (PRS) are considered. In our trans-Alfvénic (more strongly magnetized) simulation, there is a transition to perpendicular alignment at densities above ~4 × 10 3 cm –3 . This transition is recovered in most of our synthetic observations of optically thin molecular tracers; however, for 12 CO it does not occur and the PRS remains in parallel alignment across the whole observer space. We calculate the physical depth of the optical depth τ = 1 surface and find that for 12 CO it is largely located in front of the cloud mid-plane, suggesting that 12 CO is too optically thick and instead mainly probes low-volume density gas. In our super-Alfvénic simulation, the magnetic field becomes significantly more tangled, and all observed tracers tend towards no preference for perpendicular or parallel alignment. An observable difference in alignment between optically thin and optically thick tracers may indicate the presence of a dynamically important magnetic field, though there is some degeneracy with viewing angle. We convolve our data with a Gaussian beam and compare it with HRO results of the Vela C molecular cloud. We find good agreement between these results and our sub-Alfvénic simulations when viewed with the magnetic field in the plane of the sky (especially when sensitivity limitations are considered), though the observations are also consistent with an intermediately inclined magnetic field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Total absorption spectroscopy of the β decay of 101,102 Zr and 109 Tc

The β decay of 101,102 Zr and 109 Tc was studied using the technique of total absorption spectroscopy. The experiment was performed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory using the Summing NaI(Tl) (SuN) detector in the first-ever application of total absorption spectroscopy with a fast beam produced via projectile fragmentation. The β -decay feeding intensity and Gamow-Teller transition strength distributions were extracted for these three decays. The extracted distributions were compared to three different quasiparticle random-phase approximation (QRPA) models based on different mean-field potentials. A comparison with calculations from one of the QRPA models was performed to learn about the ground-state shape of the parent nucleus. For 101 Zr and 102 Zr, calculations assuming a pure shape configuration (oblate or prolate) were not able to reproduce the extracted distributions. These results may indicate that some type of mixture between oblate and prolate shapes is necessary to reproduce the extracted distributions. For 109 Tc, a comparison of the extracted distributions with QRPA calculations suggests a dominant oblate configuration. The other two QRPA models are commonly used to provide β-decay properties in r-process network calculations. This work shows the importance of making comparisons between the experimental and theoretical β-decay distributions, rather than just half-lives and β-delayed neutron emission probabilities, as close to the r-process path as possible.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Density dependence of the symmetry energy in the post–PREX-CREX era

The recently published CREX results suggest a rather peculiar picture for the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Whereas PREX favors a large neutron skin thickness in 208 Pb, thereby suggesting a stiff equation of state, CREX suggests instead a much softer equation of state. Here, this discrepancy has caused a large spur in the theoretical community, since no model has been able to simultaneously reproduce within 1σ the PREX and CREX results. Motivated by a novel correlation between a CREX observable and a combination of bulk symmetry energy parameters, we calibrate three new covariant energy density functionals that reproduce binding energies and charge radii of spherical nuclei—and also accommodate the constraints imposed by PREX and CREX. Given that these models suggest a stiff equation of state at high densities, predictions for neutron star properties are also discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Surface stress tensor and junction conditions on a rotating null horizon

The general form of the surface stress tensor of an infinitesimally thin shell located on a rotating null horizon is derived, when different interior and exterior geometries are joined there. Even though the induced metric on the surface must be the same approached from either side, the first derivatives of the metric need not be. Such discontinuities lead to a Dirac δ-distribution in the Einstein tensor localized on the horizon. For a general stationary axisymmetric geometry the surface stress tensor can be expressed in terms of two geometric invariants that characterize the surface, namely the discontinuities [κ] and [J] of the surface gravity κ and angular momentum density J. The Komar energy and angular momentum are given in coordinates adapted to the Killing symmetries, and the surface contributions to each determined in terms of [κ] and [J] . Guided by these, a simple modification of the original Israel junction conditions is verified directly from the Einstein tensor density to give the correct finite result for the surface stress, when the normal n to the surface is allowed to tend continuously to a null vector. The relation to Israel’s original junction conditions, which fail on null surfaces, is given. The modified junction conditions are suitable to the matching of a rotating “black hole” exterior to any interior geometry joined at the Kerr null horizon surface, even when the surface normal is itself discontinuous and the Barrabès-Israel formalism is also inapplicable. This joining on a rotating null horizon is purely of the matter shell type and does not contain a propagating gravitational shock wave.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

β Decay of 61 V and its Role in Cooling Accreted Neutron Star Crusts

The interpretation of observations of cooling neutron star crusts in quasipersistent x-ray transients is affected by predictions of the strength of neutrino cooling via crust Urca processes. The strength of crust Urca neutrino cooling depends sensitively on the electron-capture and β -decay ground-state-to-ground-state transition strengths of neutron-rich rare isotopes. Nuclei with a mass number of A = 61 are predicted to be among the most abundant in accreted crusts, and the last remaining experimentally undetermined ground-state-to-ground-state transition strength was the β decay of 61 V. This Letter reports the first experimental determination of this transition strength, a ground-state branching of $8.1^{+4.0}_{- 3.1}%$, corresponding to a log ft value of $5.5^{+0.2}_{-0.2}$. This result was achieved through the measurement of the β -delayed γ rays using the total absorption spectrometer SuN and the measurement of the β -delayed neutron branch using the neutron long counter system NERO at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. This method helps to mitigate the impact of the pandemonium effect in extremely neutron-rich nuclei on experimental results. The result implies that A = 61 nuclei do not provide the strongest cooling in accreted neutron star crusts as expected by some predictions, but that their cooling is still larger compared to most other mass numbers. Finally, only nuclei with mass numbers 31, 33, and 55 are predicted to be cooling more strongly. However, the theoretical predictions for the transition strengths of these nuclei are not consistently accurate enough to draw conclusions on crust cooling. With the experimental approach developed in this work, all relevant transitions are within reach to be studied in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Electron Acceleration during Macroscale Magnetic Reconnection

Here, the first self-consistent simulations of electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a macroscale system are presented. Consistent with solar flare observations, the spectra of energetic electrons take the form of power laws that extend more than two decades in energy. The drive mechanism for these nonthermal electrons is Fermi reflection in growing and merging magnetic flux ropes. A strong guide field suppresses the production of nonthermal electrons by weakening the Fermi drive mechanism. For a weak guide field the total energy content of nonthermal electrons dominates that of the hot thermal electrons even though their number density remains small. Our results are benchmarked with the hard x-ray, radio, and extreme ultraviolet observations of the X8.2-class solar flare on September 10, 2017.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Comment on “Nonideal Fields Solve the Injection Problem in Relativistic Reconnection”

Sironi (hereafter S22) reported the correlation between high-energy particles and their crossings of regions with electric field larger than magnetic field (E > B regions) in kinetic simulations of relativistic magnetic reconnection. They claim that E > B regions (for vanishing guide fields) accelerate particles to the injection energy γ inj ~ σ (magnetization). S22 shows that if test particles are reset to low energies in E > B regions, injection is suppressed. Here, we reexamine these claims using a simulation resembling the reference case in S22 with no guide field. We show that E > B regions contribute very little to injection (~ 10% γ inj ) as they only host particles for a short duration. The energization before any E > B crossings has a comparable contribution, indicating E > B regions are not unique for pre-acceleration. A new test-particle simulation that zeroes out E during E > B does not strongly influence injection. We suggest that the procedure to exclude E > B acceleration in S22 partly removes acceleration outside E > B, leading to a false conclusion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗