Showing 1–50 of 61 results for author: Xu, T

Measurement of the cosmic ray nickel energy spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 2 TeV/n with the DAMPE

Authors: F. Alemanno, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, H. V. Boutin, I. Cagnoli, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, Z. X. Chen, P. Coppin, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, A. Di Giovanni, T. K. Dong, Z. X. Dong, G. Donvito, J. L. Duan , et al. (123 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Nickel, one of the most stable elements alongside iron, is the most abundant heavy element beyond iron in cosmic rays. With DAMPE's excellent charge resolution and broad energy range, a high-precision energy spectrum provides valuable insights into the acceleration sources of heavy nuclei and their propagation through the interstellar medium. In this analysis, we report the direct measurement of c… ▽ More Nickel, one of the most stable elements alongside iron, is the most abundant heavy element beyond iron in cosmic rays. With DAMPE's excellent charge resolution and broad energy range, a high-precision energy spectrum provides valuable insights into the acceleration sources of heavy nuclei and their propagation through the interstellar medium. In this analysis, we report the direct measurement of cosmic-ray nickel spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 2 TeV/n with nine years of flight data. The nickel spectrum is consistent with a single power law with spectral index -2.60 +/- 0.03 from 40 GeV/n to 1 TeV/n. This work provides an accurate measurement of differential flux of nickel with kinetic energy extending to TeV/n for the first time. △ Less

Submitted 12 December, 2025; originally announced December 2025.

Dynamical Dark Energy and the Unresolved Hubble Tension: Multi-model Constraints from DESI 2025 and Other Probes

Authors: Zhuoming Zhang, Tengpeng Xu, Yun Chen

Abstract: We present a Bayesian comparative analysis of five cosmological models: $Λ$CDM, $w$CDM, $w_0w_a$CDM, $φ$CDM (with scalar-field dark energy), and an interacting dark energy scenario (the $ξ$-index model), to investigate dark energy evolution and the Hubble tension. Utilizing the latest data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2 (Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, BAO), Pantheon+ (Type… ▽ More We present a Bayesian comparative analysis of five cosmological models: $Λ$CDM, $w$CDM, $w_0w_a$CDM, $φ$CDM (with scalar-field dark energy), and an interacting dark energy scenario (the $ξ$-index model), to investigate dark energy evolution and the Hubble tension. Utilizing the latest data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2 (Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, BAO), Pantheon+ (Type Ia Supernovae, SNIa), and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data (including lensing) from \textit{Planck} and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), we report three key findings. First, the Hubble constant ($H_0$) inferred from the combined data consistently aligns with early-universe measurements across all models, indicating a persistent Hubble tension. Second, we find compelling evidence for dynamical dark energy: early-universe (CMB) constraints favor a phantom phase (with an equation-of-state parameter $w < -1$), while late-universe (BAO/SNIa) data prefer quintessence ($w > -1$). Third, the full dataset suggests a late-time interaction between dark energy and matter. Our results demonstrate that dark energy evolves with cosmic time, challenging the cosmological constant paradigm. △ Less

Submitted 18 December, 2025; v1 submitted 8 December, 2025; originally announced December 2025.

Comments: 16 pages, 14 figures, 1 table

Dynamical Heating from Dark Compact Objects and Axion Minihalos: Implications for the 21-cm Signal

Authors: Badal Bhalla, Aurora Ireland, Hongwan Liu, Huangyu Xiao, Tao Xu

Abstract: The temperature of baryons at the end of the cosmic dark ages can be inferred from observations of the 21-cm hyperfine transition in neutral hydrogen. Any energy injection from the dark sector can therefore be detected through these measurements. Dark compact objects and dark-matter substructures can modify the baryon temperature by transferring heat via dynamical friction. In this work, we evalua… ▽ More The temperature of baryons at the end of the cosmic dark ages can be inferred from observations of the 21-cm hyperfine transition in neutral hydrogen. Any energy injection from the dark sector can therefore be detected through these measurements. Dark compact objects and dark-matter substructures can modify the baryon temperature by transferring heat via dynamical friction. In this work, we evaluate the prospects for detecting dynamical friction-induced heating from dark compact objects with a mass in the range $10^2 M_{\odot}$ to $10^5 M_{\odot}$, as well as from axion minihalos, using upcoming 21-cm experiments. We find that both the 21-cm global signal and power-spectrum measurements will be sensitive to dark compact objects that constitute about 10% of the dark matter, and will substantially improve our sensitivity to axion-like particles with masses in the range $10^{-18}$ eV to $10^{-9}$ eV. △ Less

Submitted 28 November, 2025; originally announced December 2025.

Comments: 6+6 pages, 2 figures

CSST Strong Lensing Preparation: Cosmological Constraints Forecast from CSST Galaxy-Scale Strong Lensing

Authors: Hengyu Wu, Yun Chen, Tonghua Liu, Xiaoyue Cao, Tian Li, Hui Li, Nan Li, Ran Li, Tengpeng Xu

Abstract: Strong gravitational lensing by galaxies is a powerful tool for studying cosmology and galaxy structure. The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) will revolutionize this field by discovering up to $\sim$100,000 galaxy-scale strong lenses, a huge increase over current samples. To harness the statistical power of this vast dataset, we forecast its cosmological constraining power using the gravitatio… ▽ More Strong gravitational lensing by galaxies is a powerful tool for studying cosmology and galaxy structure. The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) will revolutionize this field by discovering up to $\sim$100,000 galaxy-scale strong lenses, a huge increase over current samples. To harness the statistical power of this vast dataset, we forecast its cosmological constraining power using the gravitational-dynamical mass combination method. We create a realistic simulated lens sample and test how uncertainties in redshift and velocity dispersion measurements affect results under ideal, optimistic, and pessimistic scenarios. We find that increasing the sample size from 100 to 10,000 systems dramatically improves precision: in the $Λ$CDM model, the uncertainty on the matter density parameter, $Ω_m$, drops from 0.2 to 0.01; in the $w$CDM model, the uncertainty on the dark energy equation of state, $w$, decreases from 0.3 to 0.04. With 10,000 lenses, our constraints on dark energy are twice as tight as those from the latest DESI BAO measurements. We also compare two parameter estimation techniques -- MultiNest sampling and Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling (BHM). While both achieve similar precision, BHM provides more robust estimates of intrinsic lens parameters, whereas MultiNest is about twice as fast. This work establishes an efficient and scalable framework for cosmological analysis with next-generation strong lensing surveys. △ Less

Submitted 11 November, 2025; originally announced November 2025.

Comments: 9 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Investigating Production of TeV-scale Muons in Extensive Air Shower at 2400 Meters Underground

Authors: Xinshun Zhang, Shaomin Chen, Wei Dou, Haoyang Fu, Lei Guo, Ziyi Guo, XiangPan Ji, Jianmin Li, Jinjing Li, Bo Liang, Ye Liang, Qian Liu, Wentai Luo, Ming Qi, Wenhui Shao, Haozhe Sun, Jian Tang, Yuyi Wang, Zhe Wang, Changxu Wei, Jun Weng, Yiyang Wu, Benda Xu, Chuang Xu, Tong Xu , et al. (8 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The China Jinping Underground Laboratory, characterized by a vertical rock overburden of 2,400 m, provides an exceptionally effective shield against cosmic muons with energies below 3 TeV. The surviving high-energy muons, produced as part of extensive air showers, open a unique observational window into primary cosmic rays with energies ranging from tens of TeV up to the PeV scale and beyond. This… ▽ More The China Jinping Underground Laboratory, characterized by a vertical rock overburden of 2,400 m, provides an exceptionally effective shield against cosmic muons with energies below 3 TeV. The surviving high-energy muons, produced as part of extensive air showers, open a unique observational window into primary cosmic rays with energies ranging from tens of TeV up to the PeV scale and beyond. This distinctive feature also enables detailed studies of the earliest stages of shower development. Using 1,338.6 live days of data collected with a one-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment, we measured the underground muon flux originating from air showers. The results show discrepancies of about 40%, corresponding to a significance of more than 5.5$σ$, relative to predictions from several leading hadronic interaction models. We interpret these findings from two complementary perspectives: (i) by adopting the expected cosmic ray spectra, we constrain the modeling of the initial hadronic interactions in air showers; and (ii) by assuming specific hadronic interaction models, we infer the mass composition of cosmic rays, and our data favor a lighter component in the corresponding energy range. Our study demonstrates the potential of deep underground laboratories to provide new experimental insights into cosmic rays. △ Less

Submitted 18 October, 2025; originally announced October 2025.

Comments: 7 pages; 5 figures

Direct Collapse Black Hole Candidates from Decaying Dark Matter

Authors: Yash Aggarwal, James B. Dent, Philip Tanedo, Tao Xu

Abstract: Injecting 1-13.6 eV photons into the early universe can suppress the molecular hydrogen abundance and alter the star formation history dramatically enough to produce direct collapse black holes. These, in turn, could explain the recently observed population of puzzling high-redshift supermassive black holes that appear to require super-Eddington accretion. We show that axion dark matter decay in t… ▽ More Injecting 1-13.6 eV photons into the early universe can suppress the molecular hydrogen abundance and alter the star formation history dramatically enough to produce direct collapse black holes. These, in turn, could explain the recently observed population of puzzling high-redshift supermassive black holes that appear to require super-Eddington accretion. We show that axion dark matter decay in the intergalactic medium can account for this energy injection. We use a single zone model of the gas core and semi-analytically evolve its chemo-thermal properties to track the conditions for which the system becomes an atomic cooling halo-a necessary precursor for the production of heavy black hole seeds to explain the high-redshift black hole population. Windows of axions masses between 24.5-26.5 eV with photon couplings as low as $4\times 10^{-12}$/GeV may realize this atomic cooling halo condition. We highlight the significance of the band structure of molecular hydrogen on the effectiveness of this process and discuss estimates of the heavy seed population and prospects for testing this model. △ Less

Submitted 23 October, 2025; v1 submitted 29 September, 2025; originally announced September 2025.

Comments: 30 pages + 3 appendices, 10 figures; v2: corrected typos (including missing line in Fig. 8), updated references

Report number: UCR-TR-2025-FLIP-BSG-75, CETUP2025-014

Investigation of hadronic cross sections of cosmic ray carbon and oxygen on BGO from 200 GeV to 10 TeV energy at the DAMPE experiment

Authors: F. Alemanno, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, H. Boutin, I. Cagnoli, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, Z. X. Chen, P. Coppin, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, A. Di Giovanni, T. K. Dong, Z. X. Dong , et al. (122 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) has made significant progress in measuring the fluxes of cosmic rays. These new measurements are pivotal in advancing our understanding of the origins and propagation mechanisms of cosmic rays. The bismuth germanium oxide (BGO) calorimeter plays a crucial role in these measurements, particularly in the precise determination of cosmic ray fluxes. However, f… ▽ More The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) has made significant progress in measuring the fluxes of cosmic rays. These new measurements are pivotal in advancing our understanding of the origins and propagation mechanisms of cosmic rays. The bismuth germanium oxide (BGO) calorimeter plays a crucial role in these measurements, particularly in the precise determination of cosmic ray fluxes. However, for a calorimetric experiment like DAMPE, uncertainties in hadronic models persist as a major barrier in achieving more accurate measurements of fluxes of cosmic ray nuclei. This study centers on the measurement of the inelastic hadronic cross sections of carbon and oxygen nuclei interacting with BGO crystals target over an extensive energy range, spanning from 200 GeV to 10 TeV. For carbon nuclei interacting with the BGO target, the measurements of the cross sections have achieved a total relative uncertainty of less than 10% below 8 TeV for carbon, and below 3 TeV for oxygen. For oxygen nuclei, the same level of precision was attained below 3 TeV. Additionally, we compare the experimental results with Geant4 and FLUKA simulations to validate the accuracy and consistency of these simulation tools. Through comprehensive analysis of the inelastic hadronic interaction cross sections, this research provides validation for the hadronic interaction models used in DAMPE's cosmic-ray flux measurements. △ Less

Submitted 21 September, 2025; originally announced September 2025.

Probing the meV QCD Axion with the $\texttt{SQWARE}$ Quantum Semiconductor Haloscope

Authors: Jaanita Mehrani, Tao Xu, Andrey Baydin, Michael J. Manfra, Henry O. Everitt, Andrew J. Long, Kuver Sinha, Junichiro Kono, Shengxi Huang

Abstract: We propose the Semiconductor-Quantum-Well Axion Radiometer Experiment ($\texttt{SQWARE}$) -- a new experimental platform for direct detection of axion dark matter in the meV mass range -- based on resonantly enhanced axion-photon conversion through the inverse Primakoff effect in engineered quantum semiconductor heterostructures. The core of the radiometer is a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well st… ▽ More We propose the Semiconductor-Quantum-Well Axion Radiometer Experiment ($\texttt{SQWARE}$) -- a new experimental platform for direct detection of axion dark matter in the meV mass range -- based on resonantly enhanced axion-photon conversion through the inverse Primakoff effect in engineered quantum semiconductor heterostructures. The core of the radiometer is a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structure forming a magnetoplasmonic cavity, containing an ultrahigh-mobility two-dimensional electron gas, which realizes a tunable epsilon-near-zero resonance in the terahertz frequency range. By controlling the orientation of the cavity within a strong external magnetic field, both the resonance frequency and the axion-induced current are optimized $\textit{in situ}$, enabling efficient scanning across a broad mass range without complex mechanical adjustment. The axion-induced electromagnetic signal radiatively emitted from the magnetoplasmonic cavity is detected by a state-of-the-art photodetector. We present the theoretical basis for resonant enhancement, detail the experimental design and benchmarks through extensive simulations, and project the sensitivity of $\texttt{SQWARE}$ for several realistic configurations. Our results demonstrate that $\texttt{SQWARE}$ can probe the well-motivated quantum chromodynamics axion parameter space and close a critical gap in direct searches at meV masses. △ Less

Submitted 17 September, 2025; originally announced September 2025.

Comments: 5+19 pages, 3+15 figures

Fast and Fewrious: Stochastic binary perturbations from fast compact objects

Authors: Badal Bhalla, Benjamin V. Lehmann, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: Massive compact objects soften binaries. This process has been used for decades to constrain the population of such objects, particularly as a component of dark matter (DM). The effects of light compact objects, such as those in the unconstrained asteroid-mass range, have generally been neglected. In principle, low-energy perturbers can harden binaries instead of softening them, but the standard l… ▽ More Massive compact objects soften binaries. This process has been used for decades to constrain the population of such objects, particularly as a component of dark matter (DM). The effects of light compact objects, such as those in the unconstrained asteroid-mass range, have generally been neglected. In principle, low-energy perturbers can harden binaries instead of softening them, but the standard lore is that this effect vanishes when the perturber velocities are large compared to the binary's orbital velocity, as is typical for DM constituents. Here, we revisit the computation of the hardening rate induced by light perturbers. We show that although the perturbations average to zero over many encounters, many scenarios of interest for DM constraints are in the regime where the variance cannot be neglected. We show that a few fast-moving perturbers can leave stochastic perturbations in systems that are measured with great precision, and we use this framework to revisit the constraint potential of systems such as binary pulsars and the Solar System. This opens a new class of dynamical probes with potential applications to asteroid-mass DM candidates. △ Less

Submitted 22 July, 2025; originally announced July 2025.

Comments: 13 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

Report number: MIT-CTP/5887

Thermal Gravitons from Warm Inflation

Authors: Gabriele Montefalcone, Barmak Shams Es Haghi, Tao Xu, Katherine Freese

Abstract: In warm inflation (WI), the persistent thermal bath that is sustained by dissipative interactions with the inflaton field produces a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs). In this paper we study the production and evolution of these GWs. Specifically, we investigate the emission of thermal gravitons (gravitons emitted by a thermal bath) from particle scattering in the bath and the evo… ▽ More In warm inflation (WI), the persistent thermal bath that is sustained by dissipative interactions with the inflaton field produces a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs). In this paper we study the production and evolution of these GWs. Specifically, we investigate the emission of thermal gravitons (gravitons emitted by a thermal bath) from particle scattering in the bath and the evolution of the corresponding GWs. We find that the bulk of thermal graviton production in WI occurs during the transition to radiation domination after inflation. Further, the energy density of thermal gravitons is enhanced by roughly one to two orders of magnitude compared to that in a radiation-dominated scenario with the same reheating temperature. We also calculate the spectrum of the resulting stochastic GW background and find that it has a distinctive shape, consisting of a peak at high frequencies ~100 GHz and an almost flat spectrum extending to low frequencies. The peak arises from emission of sub-horizon modes that follow the temperature of the bath. The flat part of the spectrum corresponds to the modes that exit the horizon during WI and re-enter during radiation domination. We show that the detection prospects for the high-frequency peak of the GW spectrum, while improved slightly compared to the radiation-dominated case, still remain challenging. The thermal spectrum's low-frequency plateau is typically subdominant to the amplitude of the standard vacuum tensor modes from inflation, although WI models can exist where the thermal graviton plateau surpasses the vacuum contribution without exceeding current observational limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio. Furthermore, we calculate the thermal graviton contribution from WI to dark radiation and show that WI models are generally expected to satisfy current observational bounds, including those from the cosmic microwave background. △ Less

Submitted 26 September, 2025; v1 submitted 11 July, 2025; originally announced July 2025.

Comments: 13 pages, 4 figures, v2: minor changes, matches published version

Report number: NORDITA-2025-038, UTWI-19-2025

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 112 (2025), 063556

Torsion cosmology in the light of DESI, supernovae and CMB observational constraints

Authors: Tonghua Liu, Xiaolei Li, Tengpeng Xu, Marek Biesiada, Jieci Wang

Abstract: In this work, we investigate a torsion-based cosmological model within the Einstei-Cartan framework, constrained by the latest combined datasets including DESI DR2 BAO, PantheonPlus and DESY5 supernovae, and the full Planck 2018 CMB measurements (temperature, polarization, and joint NPIPE PR4 + ACT DR6 lensing). The torsion parameter is constrained to $α= -0.00066 \pm 0.00098$ with the full datase… ▽ More In this work, we investigate a torsion-based cosmological model within the Einstei-Cartan framework, constrained by the latest combined datasets including DESI DR2 BAO, PantheonPlus and DESY5 supernovae, and the full Planck 2018 CMB measurements (temperature, polarization, and joint NPIPE PR4 + ACT DR6 lensing). The torsion parameter is constrained to $α= -0.00066 \pm 0.00098$ with the full dataset combination, consistent with zero at less than $1σ$, while yielding a Hubble constant $H_0 = 68.41 \pm 0.32$ km/s/Mpc and matter clustering amplitude $S_8 = 0.812 \pm 0.006$. The model shows notable potential in alleviating cosmological tensions, reducing the $S_8$ discrepancy with KiDS-1000 from $\sim 2.3σ$ in $Λ$CDM to only $0.1σ$. Model comparisons based on the Akaike information criterion show consistent improvements across all datasets, with $Δ{\rm AIC}$ values ranging from $-5.68$ to $-6.62$, indicating a statistically preferred fit for the torsion model. These results suggest that the torsion framework provides a physically well-motivated extension to $Λ$CDM, capable of simultaneously addressing key cosmological tensions while maintaining excellent agreement with diverse observational probes. △ Less

Submitted 19 September, 2025; v1 submitted 6 July, 2025; originally announced July 2025.

Comments: 8 pages, 1 figure, comments are welcome, some references haven been addition

Journal ref: Eur. Phys. J. C, 85:1351 (2025)

From Fluctuation to Polarization: Imprints of $O(1-10)\, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ Curvature Perturbations in CMB B-modes from Scalar-Induced Gravitational Waves

Authors: Aurora Ireland, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: Probing primordial curvature perturbations on small scales, beyond those accessible using cosmic microwave background (CMB) primary anisotropies and Lyman-$α$ forest data, remains a major open challenge. Current constraints on the scalar power spectrum at these scales are either weak or rely heavily on model-dependent assumptions about small-scale structure. In this work, we propose a novel method… ▽ More Probing primordial curvature perturbations on small scales, beyond those accessible using cosmic microwave background (CMB) primary anisotropies and Lyman-$α$ forest data, remains a major open challenge. Current constraints on the scalar power spectrum at these scales are either weak or rely heavily on model-dependent assumptions about small-scale structure. In this work, we propose a novel method to probe the small-scale primordial power spectrum using scalar-induced tensor perturbations, which are inevitably sourced by curvature perturbations at second order in cosmological perturbation theory. While induced tensor modes have traditionally been studied in the context of the stochastic gravitational wave background, we highlight a complementary observable: the distinctive pattern of B-mode polarization they imprint on the CMB. We compute the angular spectrum of these B-modes arising from enhanced scalar perturbations and show that the resulting signal can be competitive with inflationary predictions for values of the tensor-to-scalar ratio targeted in upcoming CMB experiments, most notably CMB-Stage 4. We map the region of the scalar power spectrum to which these future B-mode experiments will be sensitive and compare with existing constraints, finding it to exceed current sensitivities at $k \sim O(1-10)\, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$. In addition to providing a new CMB-based probe of the small-scale power spectrum, this work also motivates dedicated B-mode searches at higher multipoles ($\ell \gtrsim 100$). △ Less

Submitted 30 August, 2025; v1 submitted 2 July, 2025; originally announced July 2025.

Comments: 24 pages, 7 figures; v2: added citations & minor comments, matches published version

Gravitational wave signatures of primordial black hole accretion during early matter domination

Authors: Rouzbeh Allahverdi, James B. Dent, Ngo Phuc Duc Loc, Tao Xu

Abstract: We present a scenario in which primordial black holes (PBHs) form in a post-inflationary radiation-dominated (RD) phase and then experience significant accretion during a phase of early matter dominated (EMD). We show that PBH masses could grow by up to two orders of magnitude. Restricting to the linear perturbation regime, we compute the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum that features two peaks. T… ▽ More We present a scenario in which primordial black holes (PBHs) form in a post-inflationary radiation-dominated (RD) phase and then experience significant accretion during a phase of early matter dominated (EMD). We show that PBH masses could grow by up to two orders of magnitude. Restricting to the linear perturbation regime, we compute the gravitational wave (GW) spectrum that features two peaks. The high-frequency peak is associated with the PBH formation in the RD phase, while the low-frequency peak is due to the sudden transition from EMD to the later, standard RD phase. We identify a PBH mass range where one or both peaks can be observed by a combination of different GW detectors. Finally, we show the signal-to-noise ratio of the total GW spectrum for PBHs in the asteroid mass window, where they could comprise the totality of dark matter. △ Less

Submitted 27 May, 2025; originally announced May 2025.

Comments: 14 pages + 2 pages of Appendices

Report number: CETUP-2024-011

Measurement of separate electron and positron spectra from 10 GeV to 20GeV with the geomagnetic field on DAMPE

Authors: DAMPE Collaboration, F. Alemanno, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, H. Boutin, I. Cagnoli, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, Z. X. Chen, P. Coppin, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, I. DeMitri, F. dePalma, A. DiGiovanni, T. K. Dong , et al. (127 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and positrons in space are of great significance for studying the origin and propagation of cosmic-rays. The satellite-borne experiment DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) has been used to measure the separate electron and positron spectra, as well as the positron fraction. In this work, the Earth's magnetic field is used to distinguish CR electrons and positrons, a… ▽ More The cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and positrons in space are of great significance for studying the origin and propagation of cosmic-rays. The satellite-borne experiment DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) has been used to measure the separate electron and positron spectra, as well as the positron fraction. In this work, the Earth's magnetic field is used to distinguish CR electrons and positrons, as the DAMPE detector does not carry an onboard magnet. The energy range for the measurements is from 10 to 20 GeV, being currently limited at high energy by the zenith pointing orientation of DAMPE. The results are consistent with previous measurements based on the magnetic spectrometer by AMS-02 and PAMELA, while the results of Fermi-LAT seem then to be systematically shifted to larger values. △ Less

Submitted 21 August, 2025; v1 submitted 9 May, 2025; originally announced May 2025.

Comments: Accepted for publication in Chinese Physics C

Hemispheric Distribution of Solar Active Regions During Solar Cycles 23-25

Authors: Yuxia Liu, Tingting Xu, Miao Wan, Linhua Deng, Xinhua Zhao, Shiyang Qi, Nanbin Xiang, Weihong Zhou

Abstract: Solar active regions (ARs) are crucial for understanding the long-term evolution of solar activities and predicting eruptive phenomena, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections. However, the cycle-dependent properties in the north-south asymmetry of ARs have not been fully understood. In this study, we investigate the hemispheric distribution of ARs from Carrington Rotation 1909 to 2278 (… ▽ More Solar active regions (ARs) are crucial for understanding the long-term evolution of solar activities and predicting eruptive phenomena, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections. However, the cycle-dependent properties in the north-south asymmetry of ARs have not been fully understood. In this study, we investigate the hemispheric distribution of ARs from Carrington Rotation 1909 to 2278 (between 1996 May and 2023 November) by using three parameters that describe the magnetic field distribution of ARs: number, area, and flux. The main findings are as follows: (1) The three AR parameters show significant hemispheric asymmetry in cycles 23-25. The strong correlation between AR area and flux indicates that they can better reflect the intrinsic properties of solar magnetic field. (2) The correlation between sunspot activity and AR parameters varies in the two hemispheres across the different cycles. The AR parameters provide additional information for the variations in sunspot activity, which can better predict the intensity and cyclical changes of solar activity. (3) The variation in the fitting slope sign of the asymmetry index for AR parameters reflects periodic changes in hemispheric ARs, providing valuable insights into the activity of other stars. (4) Both the dominant hemisphere and the cumulative trend of AR parameters display a cycle-dependent behavior. Moreover, the trend variations of AR area and flux are similar, reflecting the long-term evolutionary characteristics of solar magnetic field. Our analysis results are relevant for understanding the hemispheric coupling of solar magnetic activity and its cyclic evolutionary patterns. △ Less

Submitted 24 April, 2025; originally announced April 2025.

Observation of a spectral hardening in cosmic ray boron spectrum with the DAMPE space mission

Authors: DAMPE Collaboration, F. Alemanno, C. Altomare, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, H. Boutin, I. Cagnoli, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, Z. X. Chen, P. Coppin, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, A. Di Giovanni , et al. (121 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Secondary cosmic ray fluxes are important probes of the propagation and interaction of high-energy particles in the Galaxy. Recent measurements of primary and secondary cosmic ray nuclei have revealed unexpected spectral features that demand a deeper understanding. In this work we report the direct measurement of the cosmic ray boron spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 8 TeV/n with eight years of data colle… ▽ More Secondary cosmic ray fluxes are important probes of the propagation and interaction of high-energy particles in the Galaxy. Recent measurements of primary and secondary cosmic ray nuclei have revealed unexpected spectral features that demand a deeper understanding. In this work we report the direct measurement of the cosmic ray boron spectrum from 10 GeV/n to 8 TeV/n with eight years of data collected by the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) mission. The measured spectrum shows an evident hardening at $182\pm24$ GeV/n with a spectral power index of $γ_1 = 3.02 \pm 0.01$ before the break and an index change of $Δγ= 0.31 \pm 0.05$ after the break. A simple power law model is disfavored at a confidence level of 8$σ$. Compared with the hardenings measured in the DAMPE proton and helium spectra, the secondary boron spectrum hardens roughly twice as much as these primaries, which is consistent with a propagation related mechanism to interpret the spectral hardenings of cosmic rays observed at hundreds of GeV/n. △ Less

Submitted 18 December, 2024; v1 submitted 16 December, 2024; originally announced December 2024.

Comments: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to PRL

Exploring the anisotropic gravitational wave background from all-sky mock gravitational wave event catalogues

Authors: Zhencheng Li, Zhen Jiang, Yun Liu, Xi-Long Fan, Liang Gao, Yun Chen, Tengpeng Xu

Abstract: Anisotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) serves as a potential probe of the large-scale structure (LSS) of the universe. In this work, we explore the anisotropic SGWB from local ($z < \sim 0.085$) merging stellar mass compact binaries, specifically focusing on merging stellar binary black holes, merging neutron-star-black-hole binaries, and merging binary neutron stars. The anal… ▽ More Anisotropic stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) serves as a potential probe of the large-scale structure (LSS) of the universe. In this work, we explore the anisotropic SGWB from local ($z < \sim 0.085$) merging stellar mass compact binaries, specifically focusing on merging stellar binary black holes, merging neutron-star-black-hole binaries, and merging binary neutron stars. The analysis employs seven all-sky mock lightcone gravitational wave event catalogues, which are derived from the Millennium simulation combined with a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation and a binary population synthesis model. We calculate the angular power spectra $\mathrm{C}_\ell$ at multipole moments $\ell$, expressed as $\text{log}_{10} [\ell(\ell+1)\mathrm{C}_\ell/(2π)]$, based on the skymaps of the overdensity $δ_\mathrm{GW}$ in the anisotropic SGWB. The spectra for all three source types exhibit an approximately linear increase with $\text{log}_{10} \ell$ at higher $\ell$ (e.g., $\ell > \sim 30 - 300$) in seven catalogues, with a characteristic slope of $\sim 2$. The spectra of seven catalogues exhibit considerable variations, arising from fluctuations in spatial distribution, primarily in the radial distribution, of nearby sources (e.g., $< 50$ Mpc/h). After subtracting these nearby sources, the variations become much smaller and the spectra for the three source types become closely aligned (within discrepancies of a factor of $\sim 2$ across $\ell = 1 - 1000$ for all catalogues). We also find that including further sources results in a rapid decrease in the anisotropy. △ Less

Submitted 29 June, 2025; v1 submitted 13 December, 2024; originally announced December 2024.

Comments: 13 pages 5 figures

Journal ref: 2025 ApJ 985 208

Blue Loops, Cepheids, and Forays into Axions

Authors: Kaleb Anderson, Thomas C. Gehrman, Pearl Sandick, Kuver Sinha, Edward Walsh, Tao Xu

Abstract: The blue loop stage of intermediate mass stars has been called a "magnifying glass", where even seemingly small effects in prior stages of evolution, as well as assumptions about stellar composition, rotation, and convection, produce discernible changes. As such, blue loops, and especially the existence and properties of Cepheids, can serve as a laboratory where feebly connected Beyond Standard Mo… ▽ More The blue loop stage of intermediate mass stars has been called a "magnifying glass", where even seemingly small effects in prior stages of evolution, as well as assumptions about stellar composition, rotation, and convection, produce discernible changes. As such, blue loops, and especially the existence and properties of Cepheids, can serve as a laboratory where feebly connected Beyond Standard Model particles such as axions can be gainfully studied. We undertake a careful study of the effects of these putative particles on the blue loop, paying close attention to the evolution of the core potential and the hydrogen profile. Our simulations, performed with MESA, place bounds on the axion-photon coupling using the galactic Cepheid S Mus, with dynamically-determined mass of $6 M_\odot$, as a benchmark. The effects of varying convective overshoot on the core potential and hydrogen profile, and the ensuing changes in the axion constraints, are carefully studied. Along the way, we explore the "mirror principle" induced by the hydrogen burning shell and contrast our results with those existing in the literature. Less conservative (but more stringent) bounds on the axion-photon coupling are given for a $9 M_\odot$ model, which is the heaviest that can be simulated if overshoot is incorporated, and tentative projections are given for a $12 M_\odot$ model, which is approximately the heaviest tail of the mass distribution of galactic Cepheids determined by pulsation models using Gaia DR2. Our main message is that the reliable simulation and observation (ideally, through dynamical mass determination) of massive Cepheids constitutes an important frontier in axion searches, challenges in modeling uncertainties in the microphysics of the blue loop stage notwithstanding. △ Less

Submitted 4 April, 2025; v1 submitted 4 December, 2024; originally announced December 2024.

Comments: 28+3 pages, 20 figures; v2: version published in JCAP

Journal ref: JCAP 04 (2025) 083

Light in the Shadows: Primordial Black Holes Making Dark Matter Shine

Authors: Kaustubh Agashe, Manuel Buen-Abad, Jae Hyeok Chang, Steven J. Clark, Bhaskar Dutta, Yuhsin Tsai, Tao Xu

Abstract: We consider the possibility of indirect detection of dark sector processes by investigating a novel form of interaction between ambient dark matter (DM) and primordial black holes (PBHs). The basic scenario we envisage is that the ambient DM is ``dormant'', \ie, it has interactions with the SM, but its potential for an associated SM signal is not realized for various reasons. We argue that the pre… ▽ More We consider the possibility of indirect detection of dark sector processes by investigating a novel form of interaction between ambient dark matter (DM) and primordial black holes (PBHs). The basic scenario we envisage is that the ambient DM is ``dormant'', \ie, it has interactions with the SM, but its potential for an associated SM signal is not realized for various reasons. We argue that the presence of PBHs with active Hawking radiation (independent of any DM considerations) can act as a catalyst in this regard by overcoming the aforementioned bottlenecks. The central point is that PBHs radiate all types of particles, whether in the standard model (SM) or beyond (BSM), which have a mass at or below their Hawking temperature. The emission of such radiation is ``democratic" (up to the particle spin), since it is based on a coupling of sorts of gravitational origin. In particular, such shining of (possibly dark sector) particles onto ambient DM can then activate the latter into giving potentially observable SM signals. We illustrate this general mechanism with two specific models. First, we consider asymmetric DM, which is characterized by an absence of ambient anti-DM, and consequently the absence of DM indirect detection signals. In this case, PBHs can ``resurrect'' such a signal by radiating anti-DM, which then annihilates with ambient DM in order to give SM particles such as photons. In our second example, we consider the PBH emission of dark gauge bosons which can excite ambient DM into a heavier state (which is, again, not ambient otherwise), this heavier state later decays back into DM and photons. Finally, we demonstrate that we can obtain observable signals of these BSM models from asteroid-mass PBHs (Hawking radiating currently with $\sim \mathcal{O}(\mathrm{MeV})$ temperatures) at gamma-ray experiments such as AMEGO-X. △ Less

Submitted 20 September, 2024; originally announced September 2024.

Comments: 19 pages + 3 appendices, 9 figures

Report number: UMD-PP-024-09, FERMILAB-PUB-24-0548-T-V, MI-HET-838

Dancing with invisible partners: Three-body exchanges with primordial black holes

Authors: Badal Bhalla, Benjamin V. Lehmann, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: The abundance of massive primordial black holes has historically been constrained by dynamical probes. Since these objects can participate in hard few-body scattering processes, they can readily transfer energy to stellar systems, and, in particular, can disrupt wide binaries. However, disruption is not the only possible outcome of such few-body processes. Primordial black holes could also partici… ▽ More The abundance of massive primordial black holes has historically been constrained by dynamical probes. Since these objects can participate in hard few-body scattering processes, they can readily transfer energy to stellar systems, and, in particular, can disrupt wide binaries. However, disruption is not the only possible outcome of such few-body processes. Primordial black holes could also participate in exchange processes, in which one component of a binary system is ejected and replaced by the black hole itself. In this case, the remaining object in the binary would dynamically appear to have an invisible companion. We study the rate of exchange processes for primordial black holes as a component of dark matter and evaluate possible mechanisms for detecting such binaries. We find that many such binaries plausibly exist in the Solar neighborhood, and show that this process can account for observed binary systems whose properties run counter to the predictions of isolated binary evolution. △ Less

Submitted 12 February, 2025; v1 submitted 8 August, 2024; originally announced August 2024.

Comments: 15 pages, 4 figures. V2: Matches the published version in the PRD

Report number: MIT-CTP/5743

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 111, 043029 [2025]

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations analyses with Density-Split Statistics

Authors: Tengpeng Xu, Yan-Chuan Cai, Yun Chen, Mark Neyrinck, Liang Gao, Qiao Wang

Abstract: Accurate modeling for the evolution of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) is essential for using it as a standard ruler to probe cosmology. We explore the non-linearity of the BAO in different environments using the density-split statistics and compare them to the case of the conventional two-point correlation function (2PCF). We detect density-dependent shifts for the position of the BAO with… ▽ More Accurate modeling for the evolution of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) is essential for using it as a standard ruler to probe cosmology. We explore the non-linearity of the BAO in different environments using the density-split statistics and compare them to the case of the conventional two-point correlation function (2PCF). We detect density-dependent shifts for the position of the BAO with respect to its linear version using halos from N-body simulations. Around low/high-densities, the scale of the BAO expands/contracts due to non-linear peculiar velocities. As the simulation evolves from redshift 1 to 0, the difference in the magnitude of the shifts between high- and low-dense regions increases from the sub-percent to the percent level. The width of the BAO around high density regions increases as the universe evolves, similar to the known broadening of the BAO in the 2PCF due to non-linear evolution. In contrast, the width is smaller and stable for low density regions. We discuss possible implications for the reconstructions of the BAO in light of our results. △ Less

Submitted 11 March, 2025; v1 submitted 2 July, 2024; originally announced July 2024.

Comments: 15 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables; Accepted for Publication in ApJ

Journal ref: ApJ, 2025, 982, 5

Hawking Radiation of Nonrelativistic Scalars: Applications to Pion and Axion Production

Authors: Hao-Ran Cui, Yuhsin Tsai, Tao Xu

Abstract: In studying secondary gamma-ray emissions from Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), the production of scalar particles like pions and axion-like particles (ALPs) via Hawking radiation is crucial. While previous analyses assumed relativistic production, asteroid-mass PBHs, relevant to upcoming experiments like AMEGO-X, likely produce pions and ALPs non-relativistically when their masses exceed 10 MeV. To… ▽ More In studying secondary gamma-ray emissions from Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), the production of scalar particles like pions and axion-like particles (ALPs) via Hawking radiation is crucial. While previous analyses assumed relativistic production, asteroid-mass PBHs, relevant to upcoming experiments like AMEGO-X, likely produce pions and ALPs non-relativistically when their masses exceed 10 MeV. To account for mass dependence in Hawking radiation, we revisit the greybody factors for massive scalars from Schwarzschild black holes, revealing significant mass corrections to particle production rates compared to the projected AMEGO-X sensitivity. We highlight the importance of considering non-relativistic $π^0$ production in interpreting PBH gamma-ray signals, essential for determining PBH properties. Additionally, we comment on the potential suppression of pion production due to form factor effects when producing extended objects via Hawking radiation. We also provide an example code for calculating the Hawking radiation spectrum of massive scalar particles. △ Less

Submitted 3 December, 2025; v1 submitted 1 July, 2024; originally announced July 2024.

Comments: v1: 16+2 pages, 8 figures.v2: version published in JHEP. v3: Include earlier references on greybody factor calculations for massive scalars. The numerical code is available at https://github.com/Hao-Ran-Brook/HoRNS

Journal ref: JHEP11(2024)071

Exploring Dark Forces with Multimessenger Studies of Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals

Authors: Badal Bhalla, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: The exploration of dark sector interactions via gravitational waves (GWs) from binary inspirals has been a subject of recent interest. We study dark forces using extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), pointing out two issues of interest. Firstly, the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) of the EMRI, which sets the characteristic length scale of the system and hence the dark force range to which i… ▽ More The exploration of dark sector interactions via gravitational waves (GWs) from binary inspirals has been a subject of recent interest. We study dark forces using extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), pointing out two issues of interest. Firstly, the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) of the EMRI, which sets the characteristic length scale of the system and hence the dark force range to which it exhibits enhanced sensitivity, probes force mediator masses that complement those studied with supermassive black hole (SMBH) or neutron star binaries. The LISA mission (the proposed $μ$Ares detector) will probe mediators with masses $m_V \sim 10^{-16}~{\rm eV}$ ($m_V \sim 10^{-18}~{\rm eV}$), corresponding to ISCOs of $10^6 M_\odot$ ($10^8 M_\odot$) central SMBHs. Secondly, while the sensitivity to dark couplings is typically limited by the uncertainty in the binary component masses, independent mass measurements of the central SMBH through reverberation mapping campaigns or the motion of dynamical tracers enable one to break this degeneracy. Our results, therefore, highlight the necessity for coordinated studies, loosely referred to as "multimessenger", between future $μ{\rm Hz}-{\rm mHz}$ GW observatories and ongoing and forthcoming SMBH mass measurement campaigns, including OzDES-RM, SDSS-RM, and SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper. △ Less

Submitted 9 September, 2024; v1 submitted 9 May, 2024; originally announced May 2024.

Comments: 16+6 pages, 6 figures

Report number: CETUP-2023-013

Journal ref: JCAP 09(2024)023

Multi-messenger Probes of Asteroid Mass Primordial Black Holes: Superradiance Spectroscopy, Hawking Radiation, and Microlensing

Authors: James B. Dent, Bhaskar Dutta, Tao Xu

Abstract: Superradiance provides a unique opportunity for investigating dark sectors as well as primordial black holes, which themselves are candidates for dark matter over a wide mass range. Using axion-like particles as an example, we show that line signals emerging from a superradiated axion cloud combined with black hole Hawking radiation in extragalactic and galactic halos, along with microlensing obse… ▽ More Superradiance provides a unique opportunity for investigating dark sectors as well as primordial black holes, which themselves are candidates for dark matter over a wide mass range. Using axion-like particles as an example, we show that line signals emerging from a superradiated axion cloud combined with black hole Hawking radiation in extragalactic and galactic halos, along with microlensing observations lead to complementary constraints on parameter space combinations including the axion-photon coupling, axion mass, black hole mass, and its dark matter fraction, $f_{\rm PBH}$. For the asteroid mass range $\sim10^{16}-10^{22}~{\rm g}$, where primordial black holes can provide the totality of dark matter, we demonstrate that ongoing and upcoming observations such as SXI, JWST, and AMEGO-X will be sensitive to possible line and continuum signals, respectively, providing probes of previously inaccessible regions of $f_{\rm PBH}$ parameter space. Further complementarity from a stochastic gravitational-wave background emerging from the black hole formation mechanism is also considered. △ Less

Submitted 20 January, 2025; v1 submitted 3 April, 2024; originally announced April 2024.

Comments: 6+3 pages, 6 figures; v2: matches published version

Report number: MI-HET-829, UH511-1329-2022, CETUP-2023-014

Journal ref: Phys. Lett. B 861 (2025) 139254

Effects of type Ia supernovae absolute magnitude priors on the Hubble constant value

Authors: Yun Chen, Suresh Kumar, Bharat Ratra, Tengpeng Xu

Abstract: We systematically explore the influence of the prior of the peak absolute magnitude ($M$) of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) on the measurement of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) from SNe Ia observations. We consider five different data-motivated $M$ priors, representing varying levels of dispersion, and assume the spatially-flat $Λ$CDM cosmological model. Different $M$ priors lead to relative changes in… ▽ More We systematically explore the influence of the prior of the peak absolute magnitude ($M$) of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) on the measurement of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) from SNe Ia observations. We consider five different data-motivated $M$ priors, representing varying levels of dispersion, and assume the spatially-flat $Λ$CDM cosmological model. Different $M$ priors lead to relative changes in the mean values of $H_0$ from 2% to 7%. Loose priors on $M$ yield $H_0$ estimates consistent with both the Planck 2018 result and the SH0ES result at the 68% confidence level. We also examine the potential impact of peculiar velocity subtraction on the value of $H_0$, and show that it is insignificant for the SNe Ia observations with redshift $z > 0.01$ used in our analyses. We also repeat the analysis in the cosmography model and find very similar results. This suggests that our results are robust and model independent. △ Less

Submitted 28 February, 2024; v1 submitted 23 January, 2024; originally announced January 2024.

Comments: 10 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; Accepted for Publication in ApJL

Journal ref: ApJL, 2024, 964, L4

Recycled Dark Matter

Authors: Thomas C. Gehrman, Barmak Shams Es Haghi, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: We outline a new production mechanism for dark matter that we dub "recycling": dark sector particles are kinematically trapped in the false vacuum during a dark phase transition; the false pockets collapse into primordial black holes (PBHs), which ultimately evaporate before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) to reproduce the dark sector particles. The requirement that all PBHs evaporate prior to BBN… ▽ More We outline a new production mechanism for dark matter that we dub "recycling": dark sector particles are kinematically trapped in the false vacuum during a dark phase transition; the false pockets collapse into primordial black holes (PBHs), which ultimately evaporate before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) to reproduce the dark sector particles. The requirement that all PBHs evaporate prior to BBN necessitates high scale phase transitions and hence high scale masses for the dark sector particles in the true vacuum. Our mechanism is therefore particularly suited for the production of ultra heavy dark matter (UHDM) with masses above $\sim 10^{12}\,{\rm GeV}$. The correct relic density of UHDM is obtained because of the exponential suppression of the false pocket number density. Recycled UHDM has several novel features: the dark sector today consists of multiple decoupled species that were once in thermal equilibrium and the PBH formation stage has extended mass functions whose shape can be controlled by IR operators coupling the dark and visible sectors. △ Less

Submitted 20 March, 2024; v1 submitted 12 October, 2023; originally announced October 2023.

Comments: 23 pages, 7 figures; v2: Lifetime of scalar updated, conclusions unchanged; v3: matches published version

Report number: UTWI-35-2023

Journal ref: JCAP03(2024)044

The Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy Onboard the SATech-01 Satellite

Authors: Z. X. Ling, X. J. Sun, C. Zhang, S. L. Sun, G. Jin, S. N. Zhang, X. F. Zhang, J. B. Chang, F. S. Chen, Y. F. Chen, Z. W. Cheng, W. Fu, Y. X. Han, H. Li, J. F. Li, Y. Li, Z. D. Li, P. R. Liu, Y. H. Lv, X. H. Ma, Y. J. Tang, C. B. Wang, R. J. Xie, Y. L. Xue, A. L. Yan , et al. (101 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA), a pathfinder of the Wide-field X-ray Telescope of the Einstein Probe (EP) mission, was successfully launched onboard the SATech-01 satellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on 27 July 2022. In this paper, we introduce the design and on-ground test results of the LEIA instrument. Using state-of-the-art Micro-Pore Optics (MPO), a wide field-of-view (Fo… ▽ More The Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA), a pathfinder of the Wide-field X-ray Telescope of the Einstein Probe (EP) mission, was successfully launched onboard the SATech-01 satellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on 27 July 2022. In this paper, we introduce the design and on-ground test results of the LEIA instrument. Using state-of-the-art Micro-Pore Optics (MPO), a wide field-of-view (FoV) of 346 square degrees (18.6 degrees * 18.6 degrees) of the X-ray imager is realized. An optical assembly composed of 36 MPO chips is used to focus incident X-ray photons, and four large-format complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, each of 6 cm * 6 cm, are used as the focal plane detectors. The instrument has an angular resolution of 4 - 8 arcmin (in FWHM) for the central focal spot of the point spread function, and an effective area of 2 - 3 cm2 at 1 keV in essentially all the directions within the field of view. The detection passband is 0.5 - 4 keV in the soft X-rays and the sensitivity is 2 - 3 * 10-11 erg s-1 cm-2 (about 1 mini-Crab) at 1,000 second observation. The total weight of LEIA is 56 kg and the power is 85 W. The satellite, with a design lifetime of 2 years, operates in a Sun-synchronous orbit of 500 km with an orbital period of 95 minutes. LEIA is paving the way for future missions by verifying in flight the technologies of both novel focusing imaging optics and CMOS sensors for X-ray observation, and by optimizing the working setups of the instrumental parameters. In addition, LEIA is able to carry out scientific observations to find new transients and to monitor known sources in the soft X-ray band, albeit limited useful observing time available. △ Less

Submitted 24 May, 2023; originally announced May 2023.

Comments: Accepted by RAA

Galaxy Morphology Classification Using Multi-Scale Convolution Capsule Network

Authors: Guangping Li, Tingting Xu, Liping Li, Xianjun Gao, Zhijing Liu, Jie Cao, Mingcun Yang, Weihong Zhou

Abstract: The classification of galaxy morphology is a hot issue in astronomical research. Although significant progress has been made in the last decade in classifying galaxy morphology using deep learning technology, there are still some deficiencies in spatial feature representation and classification accuracy. In this study, we present a multi-scale convolutional capsule network (MSCCN) model for the cl… ▽ More The classification of galaxy morphology is a hot issue in astronomical research. Although significant progress has been made in the last decade in classifying galaxy morphology using deep learning technology, there are still some deficiencies in spatial feature representation and classification accuracy. In this study, we present a multi-scale convolutional capsule network (MSCCN) model for the classification of galaxy morphology. First, this model improves the convolutional layers through using a multi-branch structure to extract multi-scale hidden features of galaxy images. In order to further explore the hidden information in the features, the multi-scale features are encapsulated and fed into the capsule layer. Second, we use a sigmoid function to replace the softmax function in dynamic routing, which can enhance the robustness of MSCCN. Finally, the classification model achieving 97% accuracy, 96% precision, 98% recall, and 97% F1-score under macroscopic averaging. In addition, a more comprehensive model evaluation were accomplished in this study. We visualized the morphological features for the part of sample set, which using the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) algorithm. The results shows that the model has the better generalization ability and robustness, it can be effectively used in the galaxy morphological classification. △ Less

Submitted 20 April, 2023; originally announced April 2023.

The Primordial Black Holes that Disappeared: Connections to Dark Matter and MHz-GHz Gravitational Waves

Authors: Thomas C. Gehrman, Barmak Shams Es Haghi, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: In the post-LIGO era, there has been a lot of focus on primordial black holes (PBHs) heavier than $\sim 10^{15}$g as potential dark matter (DM) candidates. We point out that the branch of the PBH family that disappeared - PBHs lighter than $\sim 10^9$g that ostensibly Hawking evaporated away in the early Universe - also constitute an interesting frontier for DM physics. Hawking evaporation itself… ▽ More In the post-LIGO era, there has been a lot of focus on primordial black holes (PBHs) heavier than $\sim 10^{15}$g as potential dark matter (DM) candidates. We point out that the branch of the PBH family that disappeared - PBHs lighter than $\sim 10^9$g that ostensibly Hawking evaporated away in the early Universe - also constitute an interesting frontier for DM physics. Hawking evaporation itself serves as a portal through which such PBHs can illuminate new physics, for example by emitting dark sector particles. Taking a simple DM scalar singlet model as a template, we compute the abundance and mass of PBHs that could have provided, by Hawking evaporation, the correct DM relic density. We consider two classes of such PBHs: those originating from curvature perturbations generated by inflation, and those originating from false vacuum collapse during a first-order phase transition. For PBHs of both origins we compute the gravitational wave (GW) signals emanating from their formation stage: from second-order effects in the case of curvature perturbations, and from sound waves in the case of phase transitions. The GW signals have peak frequencies in the MHz-GHz range typical of such light PBHs. We compute the strength of such GWs compatible with the observed DM relic density, and find that the GW signal morphology can in principle allow one to distinguish between the two PBH formation histories. △ Less

Submitted 12 October, 2023; v1 submitted 18 April, 2023; originally announced April 2023.

Comments: 23 pages + references, 8 figures; v2: added references, version published in JCAP

Report number: UTWI-10-2023

Journal ref: JCAP 10 (2023) 001

Measurement of the cosmic p+He energy spectrum from 50 GeV to 0.5 PeV with the DAMPE space mission

Authors: DAMPE Collaboration, F. Alemanno, C. Altomare, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, I. Cagnoli, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, P. Coppin, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, H. T. Dai, A. De Benedittis, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, M. Deliyergiyev , et al. (130 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Recent observations of the light component of the cosmic-ray spectrum have revealed unexpected features that motivate further and more precise measurements up to the highest energies. The Dark Matter Particle Explorer is a satellite-based cosmic-ray experiment that has been operational since December 2015, continuously collecting data on high-energy cosmic particles with very good statistics, ener… ▽ More Recent observations of the light component of the cosmic-ray spectrum have revealed unexpected features that motivate further and more precise measurements up to the highest energies. The Dark Matter Particle Explorer is a satellite-based cosmic-ray experiment that has been operational since December 2015, continuously collecting data on high-energy cosmic particles with very good statistics, energy resolution, and particle identification capabilities. In this work, the latest measurements of the energy spectrum of proton+helium in the energy range from 46 GeV to 464 TeV are presented. Among the most distinctive features of the spectrum, a spectral hardening at 600 GeV has been observed, along with a softening at 29 TeV measured with a 6.6σ significance. Moreover, the detector features and the analysis approach allowed for the extension of the spectral measurement up to the sub-PeV region. Even if with small statistical significance due to the low number of events, data suggest a new spectral hardening at about 150 TeV. △ Less

Submitted 14 August, 2024; v1 submitted 31 March, 2023; originally announced April 2023.

Comments: Published on PRD

Detecting Axion-Like Particles with Primordial Black Holes

Authors: Kaustubh Agashe, Jae Hyeok Chang, Steven J. Clark, Bhaskar Dutta, Yuhsin Tsai, Tao Xu

Abstract: Future gamma-ray experiments, such as the e-ASTROGAM and AMEGO telescopes, can detect the Hawking radiation of photons from primordial black holes (PBHs) if they make up a fraction or all of dark matter. PBHs can analogously also Hawking radiate new particles, which is especially interesting if these particles are mostly secluded from the Standard Model (SM) sector, since they might therefore be l… ▽ More Future gamma-ray experiments, such as the e-ASTROGAM and AMEGO telescopes, can detect the Hawking radiation of photons from primordial black holes (PBHs) if they make up a fraction or all of dark matter. PBHs can analogously also Hawking radiate new particles, which is especially interesting if these particles are mostly secluded from the Standard Model (SM) sector, since they might therefore be less accessible otherwise. A well-motivated example of this type is axion-like particles (ALPs) with a tiny coupling to photons. We assume that the ALPs produced by PBHs decay into photons well before reaching the earth, so these will augment the photons directly radiated by the PBHs. Remarkably, we find that the peaks in the energy distributions of ALPs produced from PBHs are different than the corresponding ones for Hawking radiated photons due to the spin-dependent greybody factor. Therefore, we demonstrate that this process will in fact distinctively modify the PBHs' gamma-ray spectrum relative to the SM prediction. We use monochromatic asteroid-mass PBHs as an example to show that e-ASTROGAM can observe the PBH-produced ALP gamma-ray signal (for masses up to ~60 MeV) and further distinguish it from Hawking radiation without ALPs. By measuring the gamma-ray signals, e-ASTROGAM can thereby probe yet unexplored parameters in the ALP mass and photon coupling. △ Less

Submitted 6 August, 2025; v1 submitted 22 December, 2022; originally announced December 2022.

Comments: 8 pages + references, 5 figures. v2: the version accepted by PRD, with an additional correction to Fig.2

Report number: UMD-PP-022-12, MI-HET-792

Baryogenesis, Primordial Black Holes and MHz-GHz Gravitational Waves

Authors: Thomas C. Gehrman, Barmak Shams Es Haghi, Kuver Sinha, Tao Xu

Abstract: Gravitational waves (GWs) in the MHz - GHz frequency range are motivated by a host of early Universe phenomena such as oscillons, preheating, and cosmic strings. We point out that baryogenesis too serves as a motivation to probe GWs in this frequency range. The connection is through primordial black holes (PBHs): on the one hand, PBHs induce baryogenesis by Hawking evaporating into a species that… ▽ More Gravitational waves (GWs) in the MHz - GHz frequency range are motivated by a host of early Universe phenomena such as oscillons, preheating, and cosmic strings. We point out that baryogenesis too serves as a motivation to probe GWs in this frequency range. The connection is through primordial black holes (PBHs): on the one hand, PBHs induce baryogenesis by Hawking evaporating into a species that has baryon number and $CP$ violating decays; on the other, PBHs induce GWs through second order effects when the scalar fluctuations responsible for their formation re-enter the horizon. We describe the interplay of the parameters responsible for successful baryogenesis on the plane of the strain and frequency of the induced GWs, being careful to delineate regimes where PBH domination or washout effects occur. We provide semi-analytic scalings of the GW strain with the baryon number to entropy ratio and other parameters important for baryogenesis. Along the way, we sketch a solution to the dark matter-baryogenesis coincidence problem with two populations of PBHs, which leads to a double-peaked GW signal. Our results underscore the importance of probing the ultra high frequency GW frontier. △ Less

Submitted 11 March, 2023; v1 submitted 15 November, 2022; originally announced November 2022.

Comments: 35 pages, 9 figures. v2: added references, corrected a typo in Eq. (3.12), version published in JCAP

Report number: UTWI-16-2022

Search for relativistic fractionally charged particles in space

Authors: DAMPE Collaboration, F. Alemanno, C. Altomare, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, M. S. Cai, E. Casilli, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, H. T. Dai, A. De-Benedittis, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, M. Deliyergiyev, A. Di Giovanni, M. Di Santo , et al. (126 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: More than a century after the performance of the oil drop experiment, the possible existence of fractionally charged particles FCP still remains unsettled. The search for FCPs is crucial for some extensions of the Standard Model in particle physics. Most of the previously conducted searches for FCPs in cosmic rays were based on experiments underground or at high altitudes. However, there have been… ▽ More More than a century after the performance of the oil drop experiment, the possible existence of fractionally charged particles FCP still remains unsettled. The search for FCPs is crucial for some extensions of the Standard Model in particle physics. Most of the previously conducted searches for FCPs in cosmic rays were based on experiments underground or at high altitudes. However, there have been few searches for FCPs in cosmic rays carried out in orbit other than AMS-01 flown by a space shuttle and BESS by a balloon at the top of the atmosphere. In this study, we conduct an FCP search in space based on on-orbit data obtained using the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) satellite over a period of five years. Unlike underground experiments, which require an FCP energy of the order of hundreds of GeV, our FCP search starts at only a few GeV. An upper limit of $6.2\times 10^{-10}~~\mathrm{cm^{-2}sr^{-1} s^{-1}}$ is obtained for the flux. Our results demonstrate that DAMPE exhibits higher sensitivity than experiments of similar types by three orders of magnitude that more stringently restricts the conditions for the existence of FCP in primary cosmic rays. △ Less

Submitted 9 September, 2022; originally announced September 2022.

Comments: 19 pages, 6 figures, accepted by PRD

Report number: 106, 063026

Journal ref: Physical Review D 106.6 (2022): 063026

RFI Identification Based On Deep-Learning]{A Robust RFI Identification For Radio Interferometry based on a Convolutional Neural Network

Authors: Haomin Sun, Hui Deng, Feng Wang, Ying Mei, Tingting Xu, Oleg Smirnov, Linhua Deng, Shoulin Wei

Abstract: The rapid development of new generation radio interferometers such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) has opened up unprecedented opportunities for astronomical research. However, anthropogenic Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from communication technologies and other human activities severely affects the fidelity of observational data. It also significantly reduces the sensitivity of the teles… ▽ More The rapid development of new generation radio interferometers such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) has opened up unprecedented opportunities for astronomical research. However, anthropogenic Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from communication technologies and other human activities severely affects the fidelity of observational data. It also significantly reduces the sensitivity of the telescopes. We proposed a robust Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model to identify RFI based on machine learning methods. We overlaid RFI on the simulation data of SKA1-LOW to construct three visibility function datasets. One dataset was used for modeling, and the other two were used for validating the model's usability. The experimental results show that the Area Under the Curve (AUC) reaches 0.93, with satisfactory accuracy and precision. We then further investigated the effectiveness of the model by identifying the RFI in the actual observational data from LOFAR and MeerKAT. The results show that the model performs well. The overall effectiveness is comparable to AOFlagger software and provides an improvement over existing methods in some instances. △ Less

Submitted 1 March, 2022; originally announced March 2022.

Comments: 10 Pages, 9 figures, Accepted by MNRAS

Correlating Gravitational Wave and Gamma-ray Signals from Primordial Black Holes

Authors: Kaustubh Agashe, Jae Hyeok Chang, Steven J. Clark, Bhaskar Dutta, Yuhsin Tsai, Tao Xu

Abstract: Asteroid-mass primordial black holes (PBH) can explain the observed dark matter abundance while being consistent with the current indirect detection constraints. These PBH can produce gamma-ray signals from Hawking radiation that are within the sensitivity of future measurements by the AMEGO and e-ASTROGAM experiments. PBH which give rise to such observable gamma-ray signals have a cosmic origin f… ▽ More Asteroid-mass primordial black holes (PBH) can explain the observed dark matter abundance while being consistent with the current indirect detection constraints. These PBH can produce gamma-ray signals from Hawking radiation that are within the sensitivity of future measurements by the AMEGO and e-ASTROGAM experiments. PBH which give rise to such observable gamma-ray signals have a cosmic origin from large primordial curvature fluctuations. There must then be a companion, stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background produced by the same curvature fluctuations. We demonstrate that the resulting GW signals will be well within the sensitivity of future detectors such as LISA, DECIGO, BBO, and the Einstein Telescope. The multi-messenger signal from the observed gamma-rays and GW will allow a precise measurement of the primordial curvature perturbation that produces the PBH. Indeed, we argue that the resulting correlation between the two types of observations can provide a smoking-gun signal of PBH. △ Less

Submitted 15 January, 2023; v1 submitted 9 February, 2022; originally announced February 2022.

Comments: 17 pages, 5 figures. v2: version published in PRD, fixed a typo in Eq.28

Report number: UMD-022-01, MI-TH-2112

Investigating the dynamical models of cosmology with recent observations and upcoming gravitational-wave data

Authors: Jie Zheng, Yun Chen, Tengpeng Xu, Zong-Hong Zhu

Abstract: We explore and compare the capabilities of the recent observations of standard cosmological probes and the future observations of gravitational-wave (GW) standard sirens on constraining cosmological parameters. It is carried out in the frameworks of two typical dynamical models of cosmology, i.e., the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model with $ω(z) = ω_0 +ω_a*z/(1+z)$, and the $ξ$-index model with… ▽ More We explore and compare the capabilities of the recent observations of standard cosmological probes and the future observations of gravitational-wave (GW) standard sirens on constraining cosmological parameters. It is carried out in the frameworks of two typical dynamical models of cosmology, i.e., the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model with $ω(z) = ω_0 +ω_a*z/(1+z)$, and the $ξ$-index model with $ρ_X\proptoρ_ma^ξ$, where $ω(z)$ is the dark energy equation of state, and $ρ_X$ and $ρ_m$ are the energy densities of dark energy and matter, respectively. In the cosmological analysis, the employed data sets include the recent observations of the standard cosmological probes, i.e., Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and cosmic microwave background (CMB), and also the mock GW standard siren sample with 1000 merging neutron star events anticipated from the third-generation detectors. In the scenarios of both $ω_0ω_a$CDM and $ξ$-index models, it turns out that the mock GW sample can reduce the uncertainty of the Hubble constant $H_0$ by about 50\% relative to that from the joint SNe+BAO+CMB sample; nevertheless, the SNe+BAO+CMB sample demonstrates better performance on limiting other parameters. Furthermore, the Bayesian evidence is applied to compare the dynamical models with the $Λ$CDM model. The Bayesian evidences computed from the SNe+BAO+CMB sample reveal that the $Λ$CDM model is the most supported one; moreover, the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model is more competitive than the $ξ$-index model. △ Less

Submitted 14 April, 2022; v1 submitted 18 January, 2022; originally announced January 2022.

Comments: 12 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal - Plus (EPJ Plus). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2107.08916; The manuscript arXiv:2107.08916 will not be submitted to or published in any journal

Journal ref: The European Physical Journal Plus, 2022, 137, 509

A Catalog of LAMOST Variable Sources Based on Time-domain Photometry of ZTF

Authors: Tingting Xu, Chao Liu, Feng Wang, Weirong Huang, Hui Deng, Ying Mei, Zhong Cao

Abstract: The identification and analysis of different variable sources is a hot issue in astrophysical research. The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) spectroscopic survey has accumulated massive spectral data but contains no information about variable sources. Although a few related studies present variable source catalogs for the LAMOST, the studies still have a few defic… ▽ More The identification and analysis of different variable sources is a hot issue in astrophysical research. The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) spectroscopic survey has accumulated massive spectral data but contains no information about variable sources. Although a few related studies present variable source catalogs for the LAMOST, the studies still have a few deficiencies regarding the type and number of variable sources identified. In this study, we presented a statistical modeling approach to identify variable source candidates. We first crossed the Kepler, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) catalogs to obtain light curves data of variable and non-variable sources. The data are then modeled statistically using commonly used variability parameters, respectively. And then, an optimal variable source identification model is determined using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve and four credible evaluation indices such as precision, accuracy, recall, and F1score. Based on this identification model, a catalog of LAMOST variable sources (including 631,769 variable source candidates with a probability greater than 95% and so on) is obtained. To validate the correctness of the catalog, we performed a two-by-two cross-comparison with the GAIA catalog and other published variable source catalogs. We achieved the correct rate ranging from 50% to 100%. Among the 123,756 sources cross-matched, our variable source catalog identifies 85,669 with a correct rate of 69%, which indicates that the variable source catalog presented in this study is credible. △ Less

Submitted 28 November, 2021; originally announced November 2021.

Comments: 19 pages, 12 figures, Accepted by APJs

Detailed models of interacting short-period massive binary stars

Authors: K. Sen, N. Langer, P. Marchant, A. Menon, S. E. de Mink, A. Schootemeijer, C. Schürmann, L. Mahy, B. Hastings, K. Nathaniel, H. Sana, C. Wang, X. T. Xu

Abstract: About a quarter of massive binary stars undergo mass transfer while both stars burn hydrogen at their cores, first on the thermal and then on the nuclear timescale. The nuclear timescale mass transfer leads to observable counterparts: the semi-detached so-called massive Algol binaries. However, comprehensive model predictions for these systems are sparse. We study them using a large grid of ~10,00… ▽ More About a quarter of massive binary stars undergo mass transfer while both stars burn hydrogen at their cores, first on the thermal and then on the nuclear timescale. The nuclear timescale mass transfer leads to observable counterparts: the semi-detached so-called massive Algol binaries. However, comprehensive model predictions for these systems are sparse. We study them using a large grid of ~10,000 detailed binary evolution models calculated with the stellar evolution code MESA, covering initial donor masses between 10-40 M$_{\odot}$ and initial orbital periods above 1.4 d, at a metallicity suitable for the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Our models imply ~30, or ~3% of the ~1,000 core hydrogen burning O-star binaries in the LMC to be currently in the semi-detached phase. Our donor models are up to 25-times more luminous than single stars of identical mass and effective temperature, which agrees with the observed Algols. A comparison of our models with the observed orbital periods and mass ratios implies rather conservative mass transfer in some systems, while very inefficient one in others. This is generally well reproduced by our spin-dependent mass transfer algorithm, except for the lowest considered masses. The observations reflect the slow increase of the surface nitrogen enrichment of the donors during the semi-detached phase all the way to CNO equilibrium. We also investigate the properties of our models after core hydrogen depletion of the donor star, when these models correspond to Wolf-Rayet/helium+OB star binaries. A dedicated spectroscopic survey of massive Algol systems may allow to derive the dependence of the efficiency of thermal timescale mass transfer on the binary parameters, as well as the efficiency of semiconvective mixing in the stellar interior. This would be a crucial step towards reliable binary models up to the formation of supernovae and compact objects. △ Less

Submitted 9 December, 2021; v1 submitted 5 November, 2021; originally announced November 2021.

Comments: Accepted for publication in A&A (December 6, 2021)

Journal ref: A&A 659, A98 (2022)

Comparing the scalar-field dark energy models with recent observations

Authors: Tengpeng Xu, Yun Chen, Lixin Xu, Shuo Cao

Abstract: We investigate the general properties of a class of scalar-field dark energy models (i.e., $φ$CDM models) which behave like cosmological trackers at early times. Particularly, we choose three $φ$CDM models with typical potentials, i.e., $V(φ)\propto φ^{-α}$ (inverse power-law (IPL) model), $V(φ)\propto \coth^αφ$ (L-model) and $V(φ)\propto \cosh(αφ)$ (Oscillatory tracker model), where the latter tw… ▽ More We investigate the general properties of a class of scalar-field dark energy models (i.e., $φ$CDM models) which behave like cosmological trackers at early times. Particularly, we choose three $φ$CDM models with typical potentials, i.e., $V(φ)\propto φ^{-α}$ (inverse power-law (IPL) model), $V(φ)\propto \coth^αφ$ (L-model) and $V(φ)\propto \cosh(αφ)$ (Oscillatory tracker model), where the latter two models are based on the $α$-attractors originated from the study of inflation. These models, which reduce to the $Λ$CDM model with $α\to 0$, are studied and compared with the recent observations, including the Pantheon sample of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurements extracted from 6dFGS, BOSS and eBOSS, as well as the temperature and polarization anisotropy power spectra data of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) from Planck 2018 results. The observational constraints from the combining sample (SNe Ia + BAO + CMB) indicate that none of the three $φ$CDM models exclude the $Λ$CDM model at $68.3\%$ confidence level. We find that the CMB anisotropy data have obvious advantages in constraining the dark energy models compared with other cosmological probes, which is particularly evident in the L-model. Furthermore, we apply the Bayesian evidence to compare the $φ$CDM models and the $Λ$CDM model with the analysis of the combining sample. The concordance $Λ$CDM model is still the most supported one. In addition, among the three $φ$CDM models, the IPL model is the most competitive one, while the L-model/Oscillatory tacker model is moderately/strongly disfavored. △ Less

Submitted 18 April, 2022; v1 submitted 6 September, 2021; originally announced September 2021.

Comments: 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in Physics of the Dark Universe (PDU)

Journal ref: Physics of the Dark Universe, 2022, 36, 101023

Diagnosing the cosmic coincidence problem and its evolution with recent observations

Authors: Jie Zheng, Yun Chen, Tengpeng Xu, Zong-Hong Zhu

Abstract: In the framework of a phenomenological cosmological model with the assumption of $ρ_{X} \propto ρ_{m} a^ξ$ ($ρ_{X}$ and $ρ_{m} $ are the energy densities of dark energy and matter, respectively.), we intend to diagnose the cosmic coincidence problem by using the recent samples of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and cosmic microwave background (CMB). $ξ$ is a key para… ▽ More In the framework of a phenomenological cosmological model with the assumption of $ρ_{X} \propto ρ_{m} a^ξ$ ($ρ_{X}$ and $ρ_{m} $ are the energy densities of dark energy and matter, respectively.), we intend to diagnose the cosmic coincidence problem by using the recent samples of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and cosmic microwave background (CMB). $ξ$ is a key parameter to characterize the severity of the coincidence problem, wherein $ξ=3$ and $0$ correspond to the $Λ$CDM scenario and the self-similar solution without the coincidence problem, respectively. The case of $ξ= Constant$ has been investigated in the previous studies, while we further consider the case of $ξ(z) = ξ_{0} + ξ_{z}*\frac{z}{1+z}$ to explore the possible evolution. A joint analysis of the Pantheon SNe Ia sample with the recent BAO and CMB data figures out that $ξ=3.28\pm0.15$ in the case of $ξ= Constant$ at $68\%$ confidence level (CL), in addition, $ξ_{0} = 2.78_{-1.01}^{+0.28}$ and $ξ_{z} = 0.93_{-0.91}^{+1.56}$ in the case of $ξ(z)$ at $68\%$ CL. It implies that the temporal evolution of the scaling parameter $ξ$ is accepted by the joint sample at $68\%$ CL; however, the joint sample also cannot distinguish whether the scaling parameter $ξ$ is variable or not at 95\% CL. Moreover, the $Λ$CDM scenario is accepted by the joint sample at $95\%$ CL in both cases, and the coincidence problem still exists. In addition, we apply the Bayesian evidence to compare the models with the analysis of the joint sample, it turns out that the $Λ$CDM scenario is most supported by the joint sample; furthermore, the joint sample prefers the scenario with a constant $ξ$ to the one with a variable $ξ(z)$. △ Less

Submitted 27 September, 2021; v1 submitted 19 July, 2021; originally announced July 2021.

Comments: 7 pages, 2 figure, 3 tables

Measurement of the cosmic ray helium energy spectrum from 70 GeV to 80 TeV with the DAMPE space mission

Authors: F. Alemanno, Q. An, P. Azzarello, F. C. T. Barbato, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, M. S. Cai, E. Catanzani, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, J. L. Chen, Z. F. Chen, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, Y. X. Cui, H. T. Dai, A. D'Amone, A. De Benedittis, I. De Mitri, F. de Palma, M. Deliyergiyev, M. Di Santo, T. K. Dong, Z. X. Dong, G. Donvito , et al. (120 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray helium nuclei from 70 GeV to 80 TeV using 4.5 years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is reported in this work. A hardening of the spectrum is observed at an energy of about 1.3 TeV, similar to previous observations. In addition, a spectral softening at about 34 TeV is revealed for the first time with large statistics… ▽ More The measurement of the energy spectrum of cosmic ray helium nuclei from 70 GeV to 80 TeV using 4.5 years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is reported in this work. A hardening of the spectrum is observed at an energy of about 1.3 TeV, similar to previous observations. In addition, a spectral softening at about 34 TeV is revealed for the first time with large statistics and well controlled systematic uncertainties, with an overall significance of $4.3σ$. The DAMPE spectral measurements of both cosmic protons and helium nuclei suggest a particle charge dependent softening energy, although with current uncertainties a dependence on the number of nucleons cannot be ruled out. △ Less

Submitted 21 May, 2021; v1 submitted 19 May, 2021; originally announced May 2021.

Comments: 11 pages, 13 figures, published in Phys. Rev. Lett. Add one more digit for first three columns in Table S2

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 201102 (2021)

Meta-Learning for One-Class Classification with Few Examples using Order-Equivariant Network

Authors: Ademola Oladosu, Tony Xu, Philip Ekfeldt, Brian A. Kelly, Miles Cranmer, Shirley Ho, Adrian M. Price-Whelan, Gabriella Contardo

Abstract: This paper presents a meta-learning framework for few-shots One-Class Classification (OCC) at test-time, a setting where labeled examples are only available for the positive class, and no supervision is given for the negative example. We consider that we have a set of `one-class classification' objective-tasks with only a small set of positive examples available for each task, and a set of trainin… ▽ More This paper presents a meta-learning framework for few-shots One-Class Classification (OCC) at test-time, a setting where labeled examples are only available for the positive class, and no supervision is given for the negative example. We consider that we have a set of `one-class classification' objective-tasks with only a small set of positive examples available for each task, and a set of training tasks with full supervision (i.e. highly imbalanced classification). We propose an approach using order-equivariant networks to learn a 'meta' binary-classifier. The model will take as input an example to classify from a given task, as well as the corresponding supervised set of positive examples for this OCC task. Thus, the output of the model will be 'conditioned' on the available positive example of a given task, allowing to predict on new tasks and new examples without labeled negative examples. In this paper, we are motivated by an astronomy application. Our goal is to identify if stars belong to a specific stellar group (the 'one-class' for a given task), called \textit{stellar streams}, where each stellar stream is a different OCC-task. We show that our method transfers well on unseen (test) synthetic streams, and outperforms the baselines even though it is not retrained and accesses a much smaller part of the data per task to predict (only positive supervision). We see however that it doesn't transfer as well on the real stream GD-1. This could come from intrinsic differences from the synthetic and real stream, highlighting the need for consistency in the 'nature' of the task for this method. However, light fine-tuning improve performances and outperform our baselines. Our experiments show encouraging results to further explore meta-learning methods for OCC tasks. △ Less

Submitted 21 May, 2021; v1 submitted 8 July, 2020; originally announced July 2020.

Search For Electron-Antineutrinos Associated With Gravitational-Wave Events GW150914, GW151012, GW151226, GW170104, GW170608, GW170814, and GW170817 at Daya Bay

Authors: F. P. An, A. B. Balantekin, H. R. Band, M. Bishai, S. Blyth, G. F. Cao, J. Cao, J. F. Chang, Y. Chang, H. S. Chen, S. M. Chen, Y. Chen, Y. X. Chen, J. Cheng, Z. K. Cheng, J. J. Cherwinka, M. C. Chu, J. P. Cummings, O. Dalager, F. S. Deng, Y. Y. Ding, M. V. Diwan, T. Dohnal, J. Dove, M. Dvorak , et al. (161 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Providing a possible connection between neutrino emission and gravitational-wave (GW) bursts is important to our understanding of the physical processes that occur when black holes or neutron stars merge. In the Daya Bay experiment, using data collected from December 2011 to August 2017, a search has been performed for electron-antineutrino signals coinciding with detected GW events, including GW1… ▽ More Providing a possible connection between neutrino emission and gravitational-wave (GW) bursts is important to our understanding of the physical processes that occur when black holes or neutron stars merge. In the Daya Bay experiment, using data collected from December 2011 to August 2017, a search has been performed for electron-antineutrino signals coinciding with detected GW events, including GW150914, GW151012, GW151226, GW170104, GW170608, GW170814, and GW170817. We used three time windows of $\mathrm{\pm 10~s}$, $\mathrm{\pm 500~s}$, and $\mathrm{\pm 1000~s}$ relative to the occurrence of the GW events, and a neutrino energy range of 1.8 to 100 MeV to search for correlated neutrino candidates. The detected electron-antineutrino candidates are consistent with the expected background rates for all the three time windows. Assuming monochromatic spectra, we found upper limits (90% confidence level) on electron-antineutrino fluence of $(1.13~-~2.44) \times 10^{11}~\rm{cm^{-2}}$ at 5 MeV to $8.0 \times 10^{7}~\rm{cm^{-2}}$ at 100 MeV for the three time windows. Under the assumption of a Fermi-Dirac spectrum, the upper limits were found to be $(5.4~-~7.0)\times 10^{9}~\rm{cm^{-2}}$ for the three time windows. △ Less

Submitted 14 September, 2020; v1 submitted 27 June, 2020; originally announced June 2020.

Comments: 16 pages, 12 figures, 9 tables

Unveiling the secrets of the mid-infrared Moon

Authors: Yunzhao Wu, Qi Jin, Cui Li, Tianyi Xu, Wenwen Qi, Wei Tan, Xiaoman Li, Zhicheng Shi, Hongyan He, Shuwu Dai, Guo Li, Fengjing Liu, Jingqiao Wang, Xiaoyan Wang, Yu Lu, Wei Cai, Qi Wang, Lingjie Meng

Abstract: The Moon's optical characteristics in visible and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) have long been observed with our eyes or with instruments. What the mid-infrared (MIR) Moon looks like is still a mystery. For the first time we present detailed appearance of the MIR Moon observed by a high-resolution geostationary satellite and reveal the essence behind its appearance. The appearance of the MIR Moo… ▽ More The Moon's optical characteristics in visible and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) have long been observed with our eyes or with instruments. What the mid-infrared (MIR) Moon looks like is still a mystery. For the first time we present detailed appearance of the MIR Moon observed by a high-resolution geostationary satellite and reveal the essence behind its appearance. The appearance of the MIR Moon is opposite to its normal visible appearance. In addition the MIR Moon shows limb darkening. Both the absolute and the relative brightness distribution of the MIR lunar disk changes with the solar incidence angle. The signatures of the MIR Moon are controlled by both the reflection and emission of the lunar surface. We also show first-ever brightness temperature maps of the lunar disk without needing a mosaic, which better show the temperature variation across the lunar disk. They reveal that the relationship between brightness temperature and solar incidence angle i is cos1/bi, and the power parameter is smaller than the Lambertian temperature model of cos1/4i observed for lunar orbit-based measurements. The slower decrease of the brightness temperature when moving away from the sub-solar point than the Lambertian model is due to topographic effects. The brightness temperature is dominated by albedo and the solar incidence angle and influenced by the topography. Our results indicate that the Moon in the MIR exhibits many interesting phenomena which were previously unknown, and contains abundant information about lunar reflection and thermal emission for future study. △ Less

Submitted 21 March, 2020; originally announced March 2020.

The Warm Dark Matter Doorframe for Light Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiments

Authors: Ran Huo, Tao Xu

Abstract: If dark matter has even been in sufficient thermal contact with the visible sector and sufficiently light ($m_χ\lesssim\mathcal{O}(10)~\text{keV}$), the thermal motion inherited from the visible sector will cause significant free streaming effect which is subject to the structure formation constraint, similar to the benchmark thermal warm dark matter model. Here we identify the interaction respons… ▽ More If dark matter has even been in sufficient thermal contact with the visible sector and sufficiently light ($m_χ\lesssim\mathcal{O}(10)~\text{keV}$), the thermal motion inherited from the visible sector will cause significant free streaming effect which is subject to the structure formation constraint, similar to the benchmark thermal warm dark matter model. Here we identify the interaction responsible for such thermal contact to be the interaction probed by the deep underground dark matter direct detection experiments. With the kinetic decoupling technique on the $m_χ$ vs. $σ$ plot we determine the bound shape in detail, and find that recasting the current Lyman-$α$ bound gives a constraint of $m_χ\gtrsim73~\text{keV}$, and it gets relaxed to $m_χ\gtrsim35~\text{keV}$ for a smaller cross section of $σ<10^{-46}~\text{cm}^2$ with some model dependence. That can be taken as a generic ``no go'' constraint for light dark matter direct detection experiments, and the known caveats are if dark matter is axion-like with an early Bose-Einstein condensation form, or if there is Brownian motion protection of the free streaming. △ Less

Submitted 1 October, 2019; originally announced October 2019.

Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures

Measurement of the cosmic-ray proton spectrum from 40 GeV to 100 TeV with the DAMPE satellite

Authors: Q. An, R. Asfandiyarov, P. Azzarello, P. Bernardini, X. J. Bi, M. S. Cai, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, H. F. Chen, J. L. Chen, W. Chen, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, H. T. Dai, A. D'Amone, A. De Benedittis, I. De Mitri, M. Di Santo, M. Ding, T. K. Dong, Y. F. Dong, Z. X. Dong, G. Donvito, D. Droz, J. L. Duan , et al. (129 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with two and a half years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This i… ▽ More The precise measurement of the spectrum of protons, the most abundant component of the cosmic radiation, is necessary to understand the source and acceleration of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. This work reports the measurement of the cosmic ray proton fluxes with kinetic energies from 40 GeV to 100 TeV, with two and a half years of data recorded by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). This is the first time an experiment directly measures the cosmic ray protons up to ~100 TeV with a high statistics. The measured spectrum confirms the spectral hardening found by previous experiments and reveals a softening at ~13.6 TeV, with the spectral index changing from ~2.60 to ~2.85. Our result suggests the existence of a new spectral feature of cosmic rays at energies lower than the so-called knee, and sheds new light on the origin of Galactic cosmic rays. △ Less

Submitted 30 September, 2019; v1 submitted 27 September, 2019; originally announced September 2019.

Comments: 37 pages, 5 figures, published in Science Advances

Journal ref: Science Advances, Vol. 5, no. 9, eaax3793 (2019)

The on-orbit calibration of DArk Matter Particle Explorer

Authors: G. Ambrosi, Q. An, R. Asfandiyarov, P. Azzarello, P. Bernardini, M. S. Cai, M. Caragiulo, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, H. F. Chen, J. L. Chen, W. Chen, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, H. T. Dai, A. D'Amone, A. De Benedittis, I. De Mitri, M. Ding, M. Di Santo, J. N. Dong, T. K. Dong, Y. F. Dong, Z. X. Dong, D. Droz , et al. (133 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), a satellite-based cosmic ray and gamma-ray detector, was launched on December 17, 2015, and began its on-orbit operation on December 24, 2015. In this work we document the on-orbit calibration procedures used by DAMPE and report the calibration results of the Plastic Scintillator strip Detector (PSD), the Silicon-Tungsten tracKer-converter (STK), the BGO… ▽ More The DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), a satellite-based cosmic ray and gamma-ray detector, was launched on December 17, 2015, and began its on-orbit operation on December 24, 2015. In this work we document the on-orbit calibration procedures used by DAMPE and report the calibration results of the Plastic Scintillator strip Detector (PSD), the Silicon-Tungsten tracKer-converter (STK), the BGO imaging calorimeter (BGO), and the Neutron Detector (NUD). The results are obtained using Galactic cosmic rays, bright known GeV gamma-ray sources, and charge injection into the front-end electronics of each sub-detector. The determination of the boundary of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), the measurement of the live time, and the alignments of the detectors are also introduced. The calibration results demonstrate the stability of the detectors in almost two years of the on-orbit operation. △ Less

Submitted 3 July, 2019; originally announced July 2019.

Journal ref: Astroparticle Physics, Volume 106, p. 18-34 (2019)

Testing the speed of light over cosmological distances: the combination of strongly lensed and unlensed supernova Ia

Authors: Shuo Cao, Jingzhao Qi, Marek Biesiada, Xiaogang Zheng, Tengpeng Xu, Zong-Hong Zhu

Abstract: Probing the speed of light is as an important test of General Relativity but the measurements of $c$ using objects in the distant universe have been almost completely unexplored. In this letter, we propose an idea to use the multiple measurements of galactic-scale strong gravitational lensing systems with type Ia supernova acting as background sources to estimate the speed of light. This provides… ▽ More Probing the speed of light is as an important test of General Relativity but the measurements of $c$ using objects in the distant universe have been almost completely unexplored. In this letter, we propose an idea to use the multiple measurements of galactic-scale strong gravitational lensing systems with type Ia supernova acting as background sources to estimate the speed of light. This provides an original method to measure the speed of light using objects located at different redshifts which emitted their light in a distant past. Moreover, we predict that strongly lensed SNe Ia observed by the LSST would produce robust constraints on $Δc/c$ at the level of $10^{-3}$. We also discuss whether the future surveys such as LSST may succeed in detecting any hypothetical variation of $c$ predicted by theories in which fundamental constants have dynamical nature. △ Less

Submitted 2 October, 2018; originally announced October 2018.

Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

What is parameterized $Om(z)$ diagnostics telling us in light of recent observations?

Authors: Jing-Zhao Qi, Shuo Cao, Marek Biesiada, Tengpeng Xu, Yan Wu, Sixuan Zhang, Zong-Hong Zhu

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a new parametrization of $Om(z)$ diagnostics and show how the most recent and significantly improved observations concerning the $H(z)$ and SN Ia measurements can be used to probe the consistency or tension between $Λ$CDM model and observations. Our results demonstrates that $H_0$ plays a very important role in the consistency test of $Λ$CDM with the $H(z)$ data. Adopting… ▽ More In this paper, we propose a new parametrization of $Om(z)$ diagnostics and show how the most recent and significantly improved observations concerning the $H(z)$ and SN Ia measurements can be used to probe the consistency or tension between $Λ$CDM model and observations. Our results demonstrates that $H_0$ plays a very important role in the consistency test of $Λ$CDM with the $H(z)$ data. Adopting the Hubble constant priors from \textit{Planck} 2013 and Riess (2016), one finds a considerable tension between the current $H(z)$ data and $Λ$CDM model and confirms the conclusions obtained previously by the others. However, with the Hubble constant prior taken from WMAP9, the discrepancy between $H(z)$ data and $Λ$CDM disappears, i.e., the current $H(z)$ observations still support the cosmological constant scenario. This conclusion is also supported by the results derived from the JLA SNe Ia sample. The best-fit Hubble constant from the combination of $H(z)$+JLA ($H_0=68.81^{+1.50}_{-1.49}$ km/s/Mpc) is well consistent with the results derived both by Planck 2013 and WMAP9, which is significantly different from the recent local measurement by Riess (2016). △ Less

Submitted 11 March, 2018; originally announced March 2018.

Comments: 14 pages, 6 figures, to be published in RAA

Direct detection of a break in the teraelectronvolt cosmic-ray spectrum of electrons and positrons

Authors: G. Ambrosi, Q. An, R. Asfandiyarov, P. Azzarello, P. Bernardini, B. Bertucci, M. S. Cai, J. Chang, D. Y. Chen, H. F. Chen, J. L. Chen, W. Chen, M. Y. Cui, T. S. Cui, A. D'Amone, A. De Benedittis, I. De Mitri, M. Di Santo, J. N. Dong, T. K. Dong, Y. F. Dong, Z. X. Dong, G. Donvito, D. Droz, K. K. Duan , et al. (133 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: High energy cosmic ray electrons plus positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide an ideal probe of Galactic high-energy processes and may enable the observation of phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay. The CRE spectrum has been directly measured up to $\sim 2$ TeV in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments, and indirectly up to… ▽ More High energy cosmic ray electrons plus positrons (CREs), which lose energy quickly during their propagation, provide an ideal probe of Galactic high-energy processes and may enable the observation of phenomena such as dark-matter particle annihilation or decay. The CRE spectrum has been directly measured up to $\sim 2$ TeV in previous balloon- or space-borne experiments, and indirectly up to $\sim 5$ TeV by ground-based Cherenkov $γ$-ray telescope arrays. Evidence for a spectral break in the TeV energy range has been provided by indirect measurements of H.E.S.S., although the results were qualified by sizeable systematic uncertainties. Here we report a direct measurement of CREs in the energy range $25~{\rm GeV}-4.6~{\rm TeV}$ by the DArk Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) with unprecedentedly high energy resolution and low background. The majority of the spectrum can be properly fitted by a smoothly broken power-law model rather than a single power-law model. The direct detection of a spectral break at $E \sim0.9$ TeV confirms the evidence found by H.E.S.S., clarifies the behavior of the CRE spectrum at energies above 1 TeV and sheds light on the physical origin of the sub-TeV CREs. △ Less

Submitted 29 November, 2017; originally announced November 2017.

Comments: 18 pages, 6 figures, Nature in press, doi:10.1038/nature24475

Journal ref: Nature, 552, 63-66 (2017)