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A novel theory was proposed earlier to model systems with thermal gradients, based on the postulate that the spatial and temporal variation in temperature can be recast as a variation in the metric. Combining the variation in the metric due to the thermal variations and gravity, leads to the concept of thermal gravity in a 5-D space-time-temperature setting. When the 5-D Einstein field equations are projected to a 4-D space, they result in additional terms in the field equations. This may lead to unique phenomena such as the spontaneous symmetry breaking of scalar particles in the presence of a strong gravitational field. This theory, originally conceived in a quantum mechanical framework, is now adapted to explain the galaxy rotation curves. A galaxy is not in a state of thermal equilibrium. A parameter called the "degree of thermalization" is introduced to model partially thermalized systems. The generalization of thermal gravity to partially thermalized systems, leads to the theory of many-body gravity. The theory of many-body gravity is now shown to be able to explain the rotation curves of the Milky Way and the M31 (Andromeda) galaxies, to a fair extent. The radial acceleration relation (RAR) for 63 galaxies, with their galactic masses spanning three orders of magnitude, has been replicated. Finally, the wide binary star (WBS) system is touched upon., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. Published in Eur. Phys. J. C. This is the accepted version

Context - Around the year 2000, Triton's south pole experienced an extreme summer solstice that occurs every about 650 years, when the subsolar latitude reached about 50{\deg}. Bracketing this epoch, a few occultations probed Triton's atmosphere in 1989, 1995, 1997, 2008 and 2017. A recent ground-based stellar occultation observed on 6 October 2022 provides a new measurement of Triton's atmospheric pressure which is presented here. Aims- The goal is to constrain the Volatile Transport Models (VTMs) of Triton's atmosphere that is basically in vapor pressure equilibrium with the nitrogen ice at its surface. Methods - Fits to the occultation light curves yield Triton's atmospheric pressure at the reference radius 1400 km, from which the surface pressure is induced. Results - The fits provide a pressure p_1400= 1.211 +/- 0.039 microbar at radius 1400 km (47 km altitude), from which a surface pressure of p_surf= 14.54 +/- 0.47 microbar is induced (1-sigma error bars). To within error bars, this is identical to the pressure derived from the previous occultation of 5 October 2017, p_1400 = 1.18 +/- 0.03 microbar and p_surf= 14.1 +/- 0.4 microbar, respectively. Based on recent models of Triton's volatile cycles, the overall evolution over the last 30 years of the surface pressure is consistent with N2 condensation taking place in the northern hemisphere. However, models typically predict a steady decrease in surface pressure for the period 2005-2060, which is not confirmed by this observation. Complex surface-atmosphere interactions, such as ice albedo runaway and formation of local N2 frosts in the equatorial regions of Triton could explain the relatively constant pressure between 2017 and 2022., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We report the first absolute frequency measurements for the $5s5p^{3}$P$_{0}\to5s6d^{3}$D$_{1}$ transition at 394 nm for all the stable strontium isotopes by utilizing repumping induced spectroscopy in a magneto-optical trap. Absolute transition frequency is measured to be 760524409251(25) kHz for $^{88}$Sr.With reference to $^{88}$Sr, the isotope shifts are measured to be 91052(35), 54600(33), and 51641(28) kHz for $^{84}$Sr, $^{86}$Sr, and $^{87}$Sr, respectively. We calculate the hyperfine constants A and B for the fermionic isotope $^{87}$Sr at kHz level. Furthermore, we perform King plot analysis by combining isotope shifts on the 689-nm transition to our data.

It has been shown previously, that the spatial thermal variation of a thermal medium can be recast as a variation in the Euclidean metric. It is now extended to temporal variations in temperature, for a non-relativistic thermal bath, which remains in local thermal equilibrium. This is achieved by examining the thermal field theory in a five-dimensional space-time-temperature. The bulk thermodynamic quantity, namely the energy density, is calculated for a neutral scalar field with a time-dependent Hamiltonian. Furthermore, the concept of recasting thermal variations as a variation in the metric is extended to thermal systems in a gravitational field. The Einstein field equations, in the 5-D space-time-temperature, is determined. It is shown that the resulting Ricci scalar can lead to spontaneous symmetry breaking, leading to the Higgs mechanism. In essence, the asymmetry in the distribution of temperature in space-time can translate to spontaneous symmetry breaking of particle fields, in a very strong gravitational field., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Published in Classical and Quantum Gravity. This is the accepted version

We present the design and performance of the TANSPEC, a medium-resolution $0.55-2.5~\mu$m cryogenic spectrometer and imager, now in operation at the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), Nainital, India. The TANSPEC provides three modes of operation which include, photometry with broad- and narrow-band filters, spectroscopy with short slits of 20$^{\prime \prime}$ length and different widths (from 0.5$^{\prime \prime}$ to 4.0$^{\prime \prime}$) in cross-dispersed mode at a resolving power R of $\sim$2750, and spectroscopy with long slits of 60$^{\prime \prime}$ length and different widths (from 0.5$^{\prime \prime}$ to 4.0$^{\prime \prime}$) in prism mode at a resolving power R of $\sim$100-350. TANSPEC's imager mode provides a field of view of 60$^{\prime \prime} \times 60^{\prime \prime}$ with a plate scale of 0.245$^{\prime \prime}$/pixel on the 3.6-m DOT. The TANSPEC was successfully commissioned during April-May 2019 and the subsequent characterization and astronomical observations are presented here. The TANSPEC has been made available to the worldwide astronomical community for science observations from October 2020., Comment: 35 pages, Accepted for publication in - Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP)

The Euclidean space, obtained by the analytical continuation of time, to an imaginary time, is used to model thermal systems. In this work, it is taken a step further to systems with spatial thermal variation, by developing an equivalence between the spatial variation of temperature in a thermal bath and the curvature of the Euclidean space. The variation in temperature is recast as a variation in the metric, leading to a curved Euclidean space. The equivalence is substantiated by analyzing the Polyakov loop, the partition function and the periodicity of the correlation function. The bulk thermodynamic properties like the energy, entropy and the Helmholtz free energy are calculated from the partition function, for small metric perturbations, for a neutral scalar field. The Dirac equation for an external Dirac spinor, traversing in a thermal bath with spatial thermal gradients, is solved in the curved Euclidean space. The fundamental behavior exhibited by the Dirac spinor eigenstate, may provide a possible mechanism to validate the theory, at a more basal level, than examining only bulk thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, in order to verify the equivalence at the level of classical mechanics, the geodesic equation is analyzed in a classical backdrop. The mathematical apparatus is borrowed from the physics of quantum theory in a gravity-induced space-time curvature. As spatial thermal variations are obtainable at QCD or QED energies, it may be feasible for the proposed formulation to be validated experimentally., Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A