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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Many-Body Collective Neutrino Oscillations: Recent Developments

Neutrino flavor transformations in core-collapse supernovae and binary neutron star mergers represent a complex and unsolved problem that is integral to our understanding of the dynamics and nucleosynthesis in these environments. The high number densities of neutrinos present in these environments can engender various collective effects in neutrino flavor transformations, driven either by neutrino-neutrino coherent scattering, or in some cases, through collisional (incoherent) interactions. An ensemble of neutrinos undergoing coherent scattering among themselves is an interacting quantum many-body system -- as such, there is a tantalising prospect of quantum entanglement developing between the neutrinos, which can leave imprints on their flavor evolution histories. Here, in this study, we seek to summarize recent progress that has been made towards understanding this phenomenon.

Hypernuclei↗
DOE OSTI2022

BASS. XXXIII. Swift-BAT Blazars and Their Jets through Cosmic Time

We derive the most up-to-date Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) blazar luminosity function in the 14–195 keV range, making use of a clean sample of 118 blazars detected in the BAT 105 month survey catalog, with newly obtained redshifts from the BAT Active Galatic Nucleus Spectroscopic Survey. We determine the best-fit X-ray luminosity function for the whole blazar population, as well as for flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) alone. The main results are: (1) at any redshift, BAT detects the most luminous blazars, above any possible break in their luminosity distribution, which means we cannot differentiate between density and luminosity evolution; (2) the whole blazar population, dominated by FSRQs, evolves positively up to redshift z ~ 4.3, confirming earlier results and implying lower number densities of blazars at higher redshifts than previously estimated. The contribution of this source class to the cosmic X-ray background at 14–195 keV can range from 5%–18%, while possibly accounting for 100% of the MeV background. We also derived the average 14 keV–10 GeV spectral energy distribution for BAT blazars, which allows us to predict the number counts of sources in the MeV range, as well as the expected number of high-energy (>100 TeV) neutrinos. A mission like COSI will detect 40 MeV blazars, of which two may have coincident neutrino detections. Finally, taking into account beaming selection effects, the distribution and properties of the parent population of these extragalactic jets are derived. We find that the distribution of viewing angles is quite narrow, with most sources aligned within <5° of the line of sight. Moreover, the average Lorentz factor, $\langle$Γ$\rangle$ = 8–12, is lower than previously suggested for these powerful sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Variable X-Ray Reverberation in the Rapidly Accreting Active Galactic Nucleus Ark 564: The Response of the Soft Excess to the Changing Geometry of the Inner Accretion Flow

X-ray reverberation, which exploits the time delays between variability in different energy bands as a function of Fourier frequency, probes the structure of the inner accretion disks and X-ray coronae of active galactic nuclei. We present a systematic X-ray spectroscopic and reverberation study of the high-Eddington-ratio narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564, using over 900 ks of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations spanning 13 yr. The time-averaged spectra can be well described by a model consisting of a coronal continuum, relativistic disk reflection, warm Comptonization, and three warm absorbers. Leveraging the high X-ray brightness of Ark 564, we are able to resolve the time evolution of the spectra and contemporaneous reverberation lags. The soft-band lag relative to the continuum increases with the X-ray flux, while Fe Kα lags are detected in only a subset of epochs and do not correlate with soft lags. Models based on a lamppost corona and reflection from a standard thin disk can broadly reproduce the observed lag-energy spectra of low-flux epochs; however, additional reverberation from the warm Comptonized atmosphere is required to explain the soft lags observed in high-flux epochs. A vertically puffed-up inner disk and a variable, vertically extended corona can better explain the observed evolution of the lags and covariance spectra. Our study underscores the importance of multiepoch, multiband analyses for a comprehensive understanding the inner accretion disk and corona.

Active galactic nuclei↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantum Monte Carlo and Fewer-Body Approaches to Scattering, Reactions, and Related Properties of Nuclei

The overall goals of this project were to advance understanding of reactions and scattering states in light nuclei, as well as related properties of bound states, and to facilitate application of that understanding to astrophysics and cosmology. These goals were pursued mainly using quantum Monte Carlo methods to compute nuclear properties using protons and neutrons as the basic degrees of freedom.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Stellar and weak lensing profiles of massive galaxies in the Hyper-Suprime Cam survey and in hydrodynamic simulations

ABSTRACT We perform a consistent comparison of the mass and mass profiles of massive (M⋆ > 1011.4 M⊙) central galaxies at z ∼ 0.4 from deep Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) observations and from the Illustris, TNG100, and Ponos simulations. Weak lensing measurements from HSC enable measurements at fixed halo mass and provide constraints on the strength and impact of feedback at different halo mass scales. We compare the stellar mass function (SMF) and the Stellar-to-Halo Mass Relation (SHMR) at various radii and show that the radius at which the comparison is performed is important. In general, Illustris and TNG100 display steeper values of α where $M_{\star } \propto M_{\rm vir}^{\alpha }$. These differences are more pronounced for Illustris than for TNG100 and in the inner rather than outer regions of galaxies. Differences in the inner regions may suggest that TNG100 is too efficient at quenching in situ star formation at Mvir ≃ 1013 M⊙ but not efficient enough at Mvir ≃ 1014 M⊙. The outer stellar masses are in excellent agreement with our observations at Mvir ≃ 1013 M⊙, but both Illustris and TNG100 display excess outer mass as Mvir ≃ 1014 M⊙ (by ∼0.25 and ∼0.12 dex, respectively). We argue that reducing stellar growth at early times in $M_\star \sim 10^{9-10} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ galaxies would help to prevent excess ex-situ growth at this mass scale. The Ponos simulations do not implement AGN feedback and display an excess mass of ∼0.5 dex at r < 30 kpc compared to HSC which is indicative of overcooling and excess star formation in the central regions. The comparison of the inner profiles of Ponos and HSC suggests that the physical scale over which the central AGN limits star formation is r ≲ 20 kpc. Joint comparisons between weak lensing and galaxy stellar profiles are a direct test of whether simulations build and deposit galaxy mass in the correct dark matter haloes and thereby provide powerful constraints on the physics of feedback and galaxy growth. Our galaxy and weak lensing profiles are publicly available to facilitate comparisons with other simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

The QPO in RE J1034+396 Originates in the Hot Corona

RE J1034+396 is one of the few active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with a significant quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO). The QPO has been observed in over 1 Ms of XMM-Newton observations spanning over a decade. We investigate the power spectral density function (PSD) of seven long (∼90 ks) XMM-Newton observations of the AGN RE J1034+396 in two energy bands. The soft (0.3–0.5 keV) band targets emission from the disk, while the hard (2–7 keV) band isolates the primary X-ray continuum emission from the corona. The QPO is significantly detected in the hard band of five of the seven observations. The best-fitting models indicate that the QPO detection in both bands is entirely attributable to the coronal emission with no additional contribution from the disk. This explains the strong coherence between the hard and soft bands at the QPO frequency. The covariance spectrum is consistent with this picture as the variability at QPO frequencies is attributed solely to fluctuations in the hot corona. The time lag as a function of energy is well described by a ∼2000 s intrinsic soft lag, resulting from the disk responding to emission from the corona, that undergoes phase wrapping at approximately the QPO frequency. By demonstrating that in this system the QPO arises in the corona, we provide new insights into the mechanisms generating QPOs.

Active galactic nuclei↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the new-generation ground-based observatory for γ astronomy, provides unique capabilities to address significant open questions in astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. We study some of the salient areas of γ cosmology that can be explored as part of the Key Science Projects of CTA, through simulated observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and of their relativistic jets. Observations of AGN with CTA will enable a measurement of γ absorption on the extragalactic background light with a statistical uncertainty below 15% up to a redshift z=2 and to constrain or detect γ halos up to intergalactic-magnetic-field strengths of at least 0.3 pG . Extragalactic observations with CTA also show promising potential to probe physics beyond the Standard Model. The best limits on Lorentz invariance violation from γ astronomy will be improved by a factor of at least two to three. CTA will also probe the parameter space in which axion-like particles could constitute a significant fraction, if not all, of dark matter. We conclude on the synergies between CTA and other upcoming facilities that will foster the growth of γ cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Chandra view of the relation between X-ray and UV emission in quasars

Here, we present a study of the relation between X-rays and ultraviolet emission in quasars for a sample of broad-line, radio-quiet objects obtained from the cross-match of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR14 with the latest Chandra Source Catalog 2.0 (2332 quasars) and the Chandra COSMOS Legacy survey (273 quasars). The non-linear relation between the ultraviolet (at 2500 Å, L UV ) and the X-ray (at 2 keV, L X ) emission in quasars has been proved to be characterised by a smaller intrinsic dispersion than the observed one, as long as a homogeneous selection, aimed at preventing the inclusion of contaminants in the sample, is fulfilled. By leveraging on the low background of Chandra, we performed a complete spectral analysis of all the data available for the SDSS-CSC2.0 quasar sample (i.e. 3430 X-ray observations), with the main goal of reducing the uncertainties on the source properties (e.g. flux, spectral slope). We analysed whether any evolution of the L X – L UV relation exists by dividing the sample in narrow redshift intervals across the redshift range spanned by our sample, z ≃ 0.5–4. We find that the slope of the relation does not evolve with redshift and it is consistent with the literature value of 0.6 over the explored redshift range, implying that the mechanism underlying the coupling of the accretion disc and hot corona is the same at the different cosmic epochs. We also find that the dispersion decreases when examining the highest redshifts, where only pointed observations are available. These results further confirm that quasars are ‘standardisable candles’, that is we can reliably measure cosmological distances at high redshifts where very few cosmological probes are available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

An Estimate of the Impact of Reionization on Supermassive Black Hole Growth

Abstract The supermassive black holes (SMBHs) that power active galactic nuclei found at z ≥ 6 were formed during the Epoch of Reionization. Because reionization is an inhomogeneous process, the physical properties of SMBH host-galaxy environments will vary spatially during reionization. We construct a semi-analytic model to estimate the impact of reionization on SMBH growth. Using a series of merger trees, reionization models, and black hole (BH) growth models, we find that early reionization can reduce a SMBH’s mass by up to [50, 70, 90]% within dark matter halos of mass [10 12 , 10 11 , 10 10 ] M ⊙ by z = 6. Our findings also suggest that the redshift range in which BH growth is impacted by reionization strongly depends on whether the Eddington accretion rate can be exceeded. If so, we find that BH masses are significantly suppressed principally during the early phases of reionization ( z ≳ 10), while they are more readily suppressed across the full redshift range if super-Eddington growth is not allowed. We find that the global average impact of reionization may be to reduce the masses of BHs residing in ≲10 11 M ⊙ halos by a factor of ≳2. The census of SMBHs being uncovered by the JWST may offer a means to test the basic prediction that more massive BHs reside in cosmological volumes that are reionized at later times.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cross-correlation of Dark Energy Survey Year 3 lensing data with ACT and Planck thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect observations. I. Measurements, systematics tests, and feedback model constraints

Here we present a tomographic measurement of the cross-correlation between thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (TSZ) maps from Planck and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and weak galaxy lensing shears measured during the first three years of observations of the Dark Energy Survey. This correlation is sensitive to the thermal energy in baryons over a wide redshift range and is therefore a powerful probe of astrophysical feedback. We detect the correlation at a statistical significance of 21σ, the highest significance to date. We examine the TSZ maps for potential contaminants, including cosmic infrared background and radio sources, finding that cosmic infrared background has a substantial impact on our measurements and must be taken into account in our analysis. We use the cross-correlation measurements to test different feedback models. In particular, we model the TSZ using several different pressure profile models calibrated against hydrodynamical simulations. Our analysis marginalizes over redshift uncertainties, shear calibration biases, and intrinsic alignment effects. We also marginalize over Ω m and σ 8 using Planck or DES priors. We find that the data prefer the model with a low amplitude of the pressure profile at small scales, compatible with a scenario with strong active galactic nuclei feedback and ejection of gas from the inner part of the halos. When using a more flexible model for the shear profile, constraints are weaker, and the data cannot discriminate between different baryonic prescriptions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Identifying Missing Quasars from the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) cosmology survey includes a Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS), which will yield spectra for over 10 million bright galaxies (r < 20.2 AB mag). The resulting sample will be valuable for both cosmological and astrophysical studies. However, the star/galaxy separation criterion implemented in the nominal BGS target selection algorithm excludes quasar host galaxies in addition to bona fide stars. While this excluded population is comparatively rare (∼3–4 per square degrees), it may hold interesting clues regarding galaxy and quasar physics. Therefore, we present a target selection strategy that was implemented to recover these missing active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the BGS sample. The design of the selection criteria was both motivated and confirmed using spectroscopy. The resulting BGS-AGN sample is uniformly distributed over the entire DESI footprint. According to DESI survey validation data, the sample comprises 93% quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), 3% narrow-line AGN or blazars with a galaxy contamination rate of 2%, and a stellar contamination rate of 2%. Peaking around redshift z = 0.5, the BGS-AGN sample is intermediary between quasars from the rest of the BGS and those from the DESI QSO sample in terms of redshifts and AGN luminosities. The stacked spectrum is nearly identical to that of the DESI QSO targets, confirming that the sample is dominated by quasars. We highlight interesting small populations reaching z > 2, which are either faint quasars with nearby projected companions or very bright quasars with strong absorption features including the Lyα forest, metal absorbers, and/or broad absorption lines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Constraints on axion-like dark matter from a SERF comagnetometer

Ultralight axion-like particles are well-motivated relics that might compose the cosmological dark matter and source anomalous time-dependent magnetic fields. We report on terrestrial bounds from the Noble And Alkali Spin Detectors for Ultralight Coherent darK matter (NASDUCK) collaboration on the coupling of axion-like particles to neutrons and protons. The detector uses nuclei of noble-gas and alkali-metal atoms and operates in the Spin-Exchange Relaxation-Free (SERF) regime, achieving high sensitivity to axion-like dark matter fields. Conducting a month-long search, we cover the mass range of 1.4 × 10 -12 eV/c 2 to 2 × 10 -10 eV/c 2 and provide limits which supersede robust astrophysical bounds, and improve upon previous terrestrial constraints by over two orders of magnitude for many masses within this range for protons, and up to two orders of magnitude for neutrons. These are the sole reliable terrestrial bounds reported on the coupling of protons with axion-like dark matter, covering an unexplored terrain in its parameter space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The simulated catalogue of optical transients and correlated hosts (SCOTCH)

ABSTRACT As we observe a rapidly growing number of astrophysical transients, we learn more about the diverse host galaxy environments in which they occur. Host galaxy information can be used to purify samples of cosmological Type Ia supernovae, uncover the progenitor systems of individual classes, and facilitate low-latency follow-up of rare and peculiar explosions. In this work, we develop a novel data-driven methodology to simulate the time-domain sky that includes detailed modelling of the probability density function for multiple transient classes conditioned on host galaxy magnitudes, colours, star formation rates, and masses. We have designed these simulations to optimize photometric classification and analysis in upcoming large synoptic surveys. We integrate host galaxy information into the snana simulation framework to construct the simulated catalogue of optical transients and correlated hosts (SCOTCH, a publicly available catalogue of 5-million idealized transient light curves in LSST passbands and their host galaxy properties over the redshift range 0 < z < 3. This catalogue includes supernovae, tidal disruption events, kilonovae, and active galactic nuclei. Each light curve consists of true top-of-the-galaxy magnitudes sampled with high (≲2 d) cadence. In conjunction with SCOTCH, we also release an associated set of tutorials and transient-specific libraries to enable simulations of arbitrary space- and ground-based surveys. Our methodology is being used to test critical science infrastructure in advance of surveys by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Nancy G. Roman Space Telescope.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

New constraints on warm dark matter from the Lyman- α forest power spectrum

The forest of Lyman-α absorption lines detected in the spectra of distant quasars encodes information on the nature and properties of dark matter and the thermodynamics of diffuse baryonic material. Its main observable—the 1D flux power spectrum (FPS)—should exhibit a suppression on small scales and an enhancement on large scales in warm dark matter (WDM) cosmologies compared to standard Λ⁢CDM. Here, we present an unprecedented suite of 1080 high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations run with the graphics processing unit-accelerated code cholla to study the evolution of the Lyman-α forest under a wide range of physically motivated gas thermal histories along with different free-streaming lengths of WDM thermal relics in the early Universe. A statistical comparison of synthetic data with the forest FPS measured down to the smallest velocity scales ever probed at redshifts 4.0≲z≲5.2 [E. Boera et al., Revealing reionization with the thermal history of the intergalactic medium: New constraints from the Ly⁢α flux power spectrum, Astrophys. J. 872, 101 (2019)] yields a lower-limit m WDM >3.1 keV (95% C.L.) for the WDM particle mass and constrains the amplitude and spectrum of the photoheating and photoionizing background produced by star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei at these redshifts. Interestingly, our Bayesian inference analysis appears to weakly favor WDM models with a peak likelihood value at the thermal relic mass of m WDM =4.5 keV. In conclusion, we find that the suppression of the FPS from free-streaming saturates at k≳0.1 s km -1 because of peculiar velocity smearing, and this saturated suppression combined with a slightly lower gas temperature provides a moderately better fit to the observed small-scale FPS for WDM cosmologies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

BBN catalysis by doubly charged particles

Abstract We consider primordial nucleosynthesis in the presence of hypotheticalquasi-stable doubly charged particles. Existence ofX –– withmacroscopic lifetimes will lead to the formation of its bound states with 4 He and otherlight elements, significantly facilitating the subsequentformation of lithium nuclei. From observational constraints on maximumallowable amount of lithium, that we update in this work, we derivestrong constraints on the abundance and lifetime ofX –– . In alikely cosmological freeze-out scenario with temperatures initiallyexceeding the mass ofX –– , the BBN constrains the lifetime of theseparticles to be less than about 100 seconds. For parametrically longlifetimes, lithium abundance data constrainX –– abundance to be lessthan 10 -9 relative to protons, regardless of whether these particlesdecay or remain stable. Stable particles could saturate the dark matterdensity only if their mass is comparable to or in excess of10 10 GeV, and most ofX –– will be found in bound states withberyllium nuclei, so that chemically they would appear as abnormallyheavy helium isotopes.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2022

A study on the clustering properties of radio-selected sources in the Lockman Hole region at 325 MHz

Studying the spatial distribution of extragalactic source populations is vital in understanding the matter distribution in the Universe. It also enables understanding the cosmological evolution of dark matter density fields and the relationship between dark matter and luminous matter. Clustering studies are also required for EoR foreground studies since it affects the relevant angular scales. This paper investigates the angular and spatial clustering properties and the bias parameter of radio-selected sources in the Lockman Hole field at 325 MHz. The data probes sources with fluxes ≳0.3 mJy within a radius of 1.8° around the phase centre of a 6° × 6° mosaic. Based on their radio luminosity, the sources are classified into Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and Star-Forming Galaxies (SFGs). Clustering and bias parameters are determined for the combined populations and the classified sources. The spatial correlation length and the bias of AGNs are greater than SFGs- indicating that more massive haloes host the former. This study is the first reported estimate of the clustering property of sources at 325 MHz, intermediate between the pre-existing studies at high and low-frequency bands. It also probes a well-studied deep field at an unexplored frequency with moderate depth and area. Clustering studies require such observations along different lines of sight, with various fields and data sets across frequencies to avoid cosmic variance and systematics. Thus, an extragalactic deep field has been studied in this work to contribute to this knowledge.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

A Search for Millimeter-bright Blazars as Astrophysical Neutrino Sources

The powerful jets of blazars have been historically considered as likely sites of high-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. However, the particulars of the launched jet and the locations of leptonic and hadronic jet loading remain unclear. In the case when leptonic and hadronic particle injection occur jointly, a temporal correlation between synchrotron radiation and neutrino production is expected. We use a first catalog of millimeter wavelength (95–225 GHz) blazar light curves from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope for a time-dependent correlation with 12 yr of muon neutrino events from the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory. Such millimeter emission traces activity of the bright jet base, which is often self-absorbed at lower frequencies and potentially gamma-ray opaque. We perform an analysis of the population, as well as analyses of individual, selected sources. We do not observe a significant signal from the stacked population. TXS 0506+056 is found as the most significant, individual source, though this detection is not globally significant in our analysis of selected active galactic nuclei. Our results suggest that the majority of millimeter-bright blazars are neutrino dim. In general, it is possible that many blazars have lighter, leptonic jets, or that only selected blazars provide exceptional conditions for neutrino production.

Abbasi, R. [Loyola University, Chicago, IL (United↗
DOE OSTI2021

Following nuclei through nucleosynthesis: A novel tracing technique

Astrophysical nucleosynthesis is a family of diverse processes by which atomic nuclei undergo nuclear reactions and decay to form new nuclei. The complex nature of nucleosynthesis, which can involve as many as tens of thousands of interactions between thousands of nuclei, makes it difficult to study any one of these interactions in isolation using standard approaches. In this work, we present a new technique, nucleosynthesis tracing, that we use to quantify the relative fraction of nuclear abundances that pass through individual nuclear reaction, decay, and fission processes at any point during nucleosynthesis. Here, we apply this technique to study fission and β – decay as they occur in the rapid neutron capture (r) process of nucleosynthesis.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗