Daily Papers

Deep wide spectral line surveys with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will expand the cosmic frontiers of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies. However, at cosmologically significant redshifts (z gtrsim 0.5), detections will typically be spatially unresolved and limited to the highest mass systems. Gravitational lensing could potentially alleviate these limitations, enabling lower mass systems to be studied at higher redshift and spatially resolved dynamical studies of some HI discs. Additionally, lensed HI systems would select foreground dark matter haloes using a different, more extended baryonic tracer compared to other lens surveys. This may result in a wider selected range of foreground dark matter halo properties, such as the concentration parameter. This paper uses the distortion of the observed HI mass function (HIMF) produced by strong gravitational lensing to find a flux density criterion for selecting lensed HI sources in future SKA-Mid spectral line surveys. This selection approach could yield lensed HI source densities in the range of sim 0.1--10 galaxies per square degree out to a redshift of z simeq 3 covered by SKA-MID Band 1. Although the sample sizes are modest, even with the proposed SKA-Mid surveys, the selection approach is straightforward and should have a 50% efficiency without any additional information, such as low-impact-factor or lower-redshift massive galaxies. The efficiency of selecting high-redshift, neutral-hydrogen-rich, lensed galaxies should then be greatly enhanced by using SKA-MID data in concert with the Vera C. Rubin Large Survey of Space and Time.

We reassess the realistic discovery reach of Solar-System experiments for dark energy (DE) and dark matter (DM), making explicit the bridge from cosmology-level linear responses to local, screened residuals. In scalar-tensor frameworks with a universal conformal coupling A(phi) and chameleon/Vainshtein screening, we map cosmological responses {mu(z,k),Sigma(z,k)} inferred by DESI and Euclid to thin-shell or Vainshtein residuals in deep Solar potentials Phi_N. We emphasize a two-branch strategy. In a detection-first branch, a verified local anomaly -- an Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) violation, a Shapiro-delay signal with |gamma-1|simfewtimes 10^{-6}, an AU-scale Yukawa tail, or a ultralight DM (ULDM) line in clocks/atom interferometers in space (AIS) -- triggers a joint refit of cosmology and Solar-System data under a common microphysical parameterization {V(phi),A(phi)}. In a guardrail branch, Solar-System tests enforce constraints (EEP; PPN parameters gamma,beta; and dot G/G) and close unscreened or weakly screened corners indicated by cosmology. We forecast, per conjunction, |gamma-1|lesssim (2-5)times 10^{-6} (Ka-/X-band or optical Shapiro), eta_{EEP}sim (1--10)times 10^{-17} (drag-free AIS), |dot G/G|sim(3-5)times10^{-15},yr^{-1} (sub-mm-class LLR), a uniform ~2x tightening of AU-scale Yukawa/DM-density bounds, and (3-10)times improved ULDM-coupling reach from clocks. For a conformal benchmark, mu_{ lin,0}=0.10 implies chisimeq mu_{lin,0/2} and a Sun thin shell Delta R/Rlesssim (1/3chi)|gamma-1|/2=2.4times 10^{-3} at |gamma-1|=5times 10^{-6}; Vainshtein screening at 1 AU yields |gamma-1|lesssim 10^{-11}, naturally below near-term reach. We recommend a cost-effective guardrail+discovery portfolio with explicit triggers for escalation to dedicated missions.

The decay of metastable 'false vacuum' states via bubble nucleation plays a crucial role in many cosmological scenarios. Cold-atom analog experiments will soon provide the first empirical probes of this process, with potentially far-reaching implications for early-Universe cosmology and high-energy physics. However, an inevitable difference between these analog systems and the early Universe is that the former have a boundary. We show, using a combination of Euclidean calculations and real-time lattice simulations, that these boundaries generically cause rapid bubble nucleation on the edge of the experiment, obscuring the bulk nucleation that is relevant for cosmology. We demonstrate that implementing a high-density 'trench' region at the boundary completely eliminates this problem, and recovers the desired cosmological behavior. Our findings are relevant for ongoing efforts to probe vacuum decay in the laboratory, providing a practical solution to a key experimental obstacle.

The James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) discovery of an unexpectedly high abundance of UV-bright galaxies at redshifts z > 10 poses a significant challenge to the standard LambdaCDM cosmology. This work tests whether this tension can be resolved solely by modifying the cosmological background, without invoking significant evolution in the astrophysical properties of early galaxies. We investigate an alternative framework featuring the presence of an anti-de Sitter vacuum in the dark energy sector, a model that naturally arises in quantum gravity models like string theory and can enhance early structure formation. Using a self-consistent semi-analytical model that couples galaxy evolution with reionization, we confront this scenario with a wide range of observations. We first show that while a model tailored to fit the high-z UV luminosity functions (UVLFs) shows promise, it is in strong tension with well-established cosmological constraints from the CMB and other low-redshift probes. Conversely, models within this framework that are consistent with these constraints provide only a modest boost to structure formation and fail to reproduce the observed JWST galaxy abundances at z > 10. While these models remain consistent with the cosmic reionization history, our primary result is that this class of cosmological modifications is insufficient on its own to explain the galaxy excess. Our study underscores the critical importance of holistic testing for any beyond-LambdaCDM proposal; apparent success in one observational regime does not guarantee overall viability. By demonstrating the limitations of a purely cosmological solution, our results strengthen the case that evolving astrophysical properties are a necessary ingredient for solving the challenge of early galaxy formation.

Cosmological simulations provide a wealth of data in the form of point clouds and directed trees. A crucial goal is to extract insights from this data that shed light on the nature and composition of the Universe. In this paper we introduce CosmoBench, a benchmark dataset curated from state-of-the-art cosmological simulations whose runs required more than 41 million core-hours and generated over two petabytes of data. CosmoBench is the largest dataset of its kind: it contains 34 thousand point clouds from simulations of dark matter halos and galaxies at three different length scales, as well as 25 thousand directed trees that record the formation history of halos on two different time scales. The data in CosmoBench can be used for multiple tasks -- to predict cosmological parameters from point clouds and merger trees, to predict the velocities of individual halos and galaxies from their collective positions, and to reconstruct merger trees on finer time scales from those on coarser time scales. We provide several baselines on these tasks, some based on established approaches from cosmological modeling and others rooted in machine learning. For the latter, we study different approaches -- from simple linear models that are minimally constrained by symmetries to much larger and more computationally-demanding models in deep learning, such as graph neural networks. We find that least-squares fits with a handful of invariant features sometimes outperform deep architectures with many more parameters and far longer training times. Still there remains tremendous potential to improve these baselines by combining machine learning and cosmology to fully exploit the data. CosmoBench sets the stage for bridging cosmology and geometric deep learning at scale. We invite the community to push the frontier of scientific discovery by engaging with this dataset, available at https://cosmobench.streamlit.app

In this study, we introduce "CosmoAgent," an innovative artificial intelligence framework utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) to simulate complex interactions between human and extraterrestrial civilizations, with a special emphasis on Stephen Hawking's cautionary advice about not sending radio signals haphazardly into the universe. The goal is to assess the feasibility of peaceful coexistence while considering potential risks that could threaten well-intentioned civilizations. Employing mathematical models and state transition matrices, our approach quantitatively evaluates the development trajectories of civilizations, offering insights into future decision-making at critical points of growth and saturation. Furthermore, the paper acknowledges the vast diversity in potential living conditions across the universe, which could foster unique cosmologies, ethical codes, and worldviews among various civilizations. Recognizing the Earth-centric bias inherent in current LLM designs, we propose the novel concept of using LLMs with diverse ethical paradigms and simulating interactions between entities with distinct moral principles. This innovative research provides a new way to understand complex inter-civilizational dynamics, expanding our perspective while pioneering novel strategies for conflict resolution, crucial for preventing interstellar conflicts. We have also released the code and datasets to enable further academic investigation into this interesting area of research. The code is available at https://github.com/agiresearch/AlienAgent.

We present a comprehensive study of the Muonic Portal to Vector Dark Matter (MPVDM), a minimal yet phenomenologically rich extension of the Standard Model featuring a new SU(2)_D gauge symmetry and vector-like muons. In this framework the dark sector interacts with the Standard Model only through these heavy leptons, linking dark matter and the muon sector. The MPVDM can simultaneously explain the observed relic abundance and the muon anomalous magnetic moment a_mu under both the "tension" and "compatibility" scenarios motivated by recent (g-2)_mu results. A key finding is a generic off-resonance velocity suppression mechanism that allows light (<1 GeV) vector dark matter to evade CMB limits near 2*m_DM ~ m_H_D. Unlike scenarios based on ultra narrow Breit-Wigner resonances and early kinetic decoupling, the suppression follows from the temperature evolution of the annihilation cross section in a moderately detuned near resonant regime, where being 10-20 percent below resonance gives the required CMB era suppression without fine tuning. A five dimensional parameter scan shows that the tension scenario requires sub GeV dark matter with g_D ~ 1e-3 and TeV scale vector like muons, while the compatibility scenario admits a broad mass range up to multi TeV. Recasting ATLAS and CMS searches for mu+ mu- + E_T^miss sets a lower bound of about 850 GeV on vector like muons. The MPVDM thus offers a unified, predictive, and experimentally accessible framework linking dark matter and muon physics across cosmological and collider frontiers.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spectroscopically confirmed galaxies up to zsim14, 300 Myr after the Big Bang, and several candidates have been discovered at zsim15-25, with one candidate as high as zsim30, only 100 Myr after the Big Bang. Such objects are unexpected, since theoretical studies have not predicted the existence of detectable galaxies at zsim30. While any zsim30 candidates may be contaminants at lower redshifts, we explore whether such extreme redshift sources could be consistent with hyper-energetic transient events linked to the formation of the first, metal-free, stars. Specifically, we consider pair-instability supernovae (PISNe), a predicted class of extreme thermonuclear explosions that leave no remnant behind. Using cosmological simulations, we investigate an overdense cosmic region, where star formation and subsequent PISNe occur at zsim30-40, even within standard cosmology. Assessing the likelihood of such a region, the corresponding number of PISNe at zgtrsim20, and their observed flux, we find that JWST has a non-negligible chance to detect a PISN event at extremely high redshifts. If a transient event were confirmed at zsim30, this would provide a direct glimpse into the epoch of first star formation, dramatically extending the empirical reach of astronomy.

Gaussian analysis of new, high-angular-resolution interstellar 21-cm neutral hydrogen emission profile structure more clearly reveals the presence of the previously reported signature of the critical ionization velocity ({\it CIV}) of Helium (34 km s^{-1}). The present analysis includes 1496 component line widths for 178 neutral hydrogen profiles in two areas of sky at galactic latitudes around -50^circ, well away from the galactic plane. The new data considered here allow the interstellar abundance of Helium to be calculated, and the derived value of 0.095 pm 0.020 compares extremely well with the value of 0.085 for the cosmic abundance based on solar data. Although the precise mechanisms that give rise to the {\it CIV} effect in interstellar space are not yet understood, our results may provide additional motivation for further theoretical study of how the mechanism operates.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to transform many areas of astronomy, one of the most exciting is the expansion of the redshift frontier to z>10. In its first year alone JWST should discover hundreds of galaxies, dwarfing the handful currently known. To prepare for these powerful observational constraints, we use the First Light And Reionisation Epoch (FLARES) simulations to predict the physical and observational properties of the z>10 population of galaxies accessible to JWST. This is the first time such predictions have been made using a hydrodynamical model validated at low redshift. Our predictions at z=10 are broadly in agreement with current observational constraints on the far-UV luminosity function and UV continuum slope beta, though the observational uncertainties are large. We note tension with recent constraints zsim 13 from Harikane et al. 2022 - compared to these constraints, FLARES predicts objects with the same space density should have an order of magnitude lower luminosity, though this is mitigated slightly if dust attenuation is negligible in these systems. Our predictions suggest that in JWST's first cycle alone, around 600 galaxies should be identified at z>10, with the first small samples available at z>13.

We present the results of HI spectral stacking analysis of Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations targeting the COSMOS field. The GMRT data cube contains 474 field galaxies with redshifts known from the zCOSMOS-bright 10k catalogue. Spectra for the galaxies are co-added and the stacked spectrum allows us to make a sim 3σ measurement of the average HI mass. Using this average HI mass along with the integral optical B-band luminosity of the galaxies and the luminosity density of the COSMOS field, a volume normalisation is applied to obtain the cosmic HI mass density (Ω_{rm HI}). We find a cosmic HI mass density of Ω_{rm HI} = (0.42 pm 0.16) times 10^{-3} at z sim 0.37, which is the highest-redshift measurement of Ω_{rm HI} ever made using HI spectral stacking. The value we obtained for Ω_{rm HI} at z sim 0.37 is consistent with that measured from large blind 21-cm surveys at z = 0 as well as measurements from other HI stacking experiments at lower redshifts. Our measurement in conjunction with earlier measurements indicates that there has been no significant evolution of HI gas abundance over the last 4 Gyr. A weighted mean of Ω_{rm HI} from all 21-cm measurements at redshifts z lesssim 0.4 gives Ω_{rm HI} = (0.35 pm 0.01) times 10^{-3}. The Ω_{rm HI} measured (from HI 21-cm emission measurements) at z lesssim 0.4 is however approximately half that measured from Damped Lyman-α Absorption (DLA) systems at z gtrsim 2. Deeper surveys with existing and upcoming instruments will be critical to understand the evolution of Ω_{rm HI} in the redshift range intermediate between z sim 0.4 and the range probed by DLA observations.

We present the measurements and cosmological implications of the galaxy two-point clustering using over 4.7 million unique galaxy and quasar redshifts in the range 0.1<z<2.1 divided into six redshift bins over a sim 7,500 square degree footprint, from the first year of observations with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI Data Release 1). By fitting the full power spectrum, we extend previous DESI DR1 baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements to include redshift-space distortions and signals from the matter-radiation equality scale. For the first time, this Full-Shape analysis is blinded at the catalogue-level to avoid confirmation bias and the systematic errors are accounted for at the two-point clustering level, which automatically propagates them into any cosmological parameter. When analysing the data in terms of compressed model-agnostic variables, we obtain a combined precision of 4.7\% on the amplitude of the redshift space distortion signal reaching similar precision with just one year of DESI data than with 20 years of observation from previous generation surveys. We analyse the data to directly constrain the cosmological parameters within the LambdaCDM model using perturbation theory and combine this information with the reconstructed DESI DR1 galaxy BAO. Using a Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Gaussian prior on the baryon density parameter, and a Gaussian prior on the spectral index, we constrain the matter density is Omega_m=0.296pm 0.010 and the Hubble constant H_0=(68.63 pm 0.79)[{rm km, s^{-1}Mpc^{-1}}]. Additionally, we measure the amplitude of clustering sigma_8=0.841 pm 0.034. The DESI DR1 results are in agreement with the LambdaCDM model based on general relativity with parameters consistent with those from Planck. The cosmological interpretation of these results in combination with external datasets are presented in a companion paper.

Using a set of LambdaCDM simulations of cosmic structure formation, we study the evolving connectivity and changing topological structure of the cosmic web using state-of-the-art tools of multiscale topological data analysis (TDA). We follow the development of the cosmic web topology in terms of the evolution of Betti number curves and feature persistence diagrams of the three (topological) classes of structural features: matter concentrations, filaments and tunnels, and voids. The Betti curves specify the prominence of features as a function of density level, and their evolution with cosmic epoch reflects the changing network connections between these structural features. The persistence diagrams quantify the longevity and stability of topological features. In this study we establish, for the first time, the link between persistence diagrams, the features they show, and the gravitationally driven cosmic structure formation process. By following the diagrams' development over cosmic time, the link between the multiscale topology of the cosmic web and the hierarchical buildup of cosmic structure is established. The sharp apexes in the diagrams are intimately related to key transitions in the structure formation process. The apex in the matter concentration diagrams coincides with the density level at which, typically, they detach from the Hubble expansion and begin to collapse. At that level many individual islands merge to form the network of the cosmic web and a large number of filaments and tunnels emerge to establish its connecting bridges. The location trends of the apex possess a self-similar character that can be related to the cosmic web's hierarchical buildup. We find that persistence diagrams provide a significantly higher and more profound level of information on the structure formation process than more global summary statistics like Euler characteristic or Betti numbers.