Search

Fixed target experiments where beam electrons are focused upon a thin target have shown great potential for probing new physics, including the sub-GeV dark matter (DM) paradigm. However, a signal in future experiments such as the light dark matter experiment (LDMX) would require an independent validation to assert its DM origin. To this end, we propose to combine LDMX and next generation DM direct detection (DD) data in a four-step analysis strategy, which we here illustrate with Monte Carlo simulations. In the first step, the hypothetical LDMX signal (i.e. an excess in the final state electron energy and transverse momentum distributions) is $\textit{recorded}$. In the second step, a DM DD experiment operates with increasing exposure to test the DM origin of the LDMX signal. Here, LDMX and DD data are simulated. In the third step, a posterior probability density function (pdf) for the DM model parameters is extracted from the DD data, and used to $\textit{predict}$ the electron recoil energy and transverse momentum distributions at LDMX. In the last step, $\textit{predicted}$ and $\textit{recorded}$ electron recoil energy and transverse momentum distributions are compared in a chi-square test. We present the results of this comparison in terms of a threshold exposure that a DD experiment has to operate with to assert whether $\textit{predicted}$ and $\textit{recorded}$ distributions $\textit{can}$ be statistically dependent. We find that this threshold exposure grows with the DM particle mass, $m_\chi$. It varies from 0.012 kg-year for a DM mass of $m_\chi=4$ MeV to 1 kg-year for $m_\chi=25$ MeV, which is or will soon be within reach.

NVMe SSD hardware has witnessed widespread deployment as commodity and enterprise hardware due to its high performance and rich feature set. Despite the open specifications of various NVMe protocols by the NVMe Express group and NVMe being of software abstractions to program the underlying hardware. The myriad storage I/O paths such as POSIX storage API, ad-hoc OS mechanisms, and userspace I/O libraries have different syntax and semantics that complicate software development and stand in the way of mass adoption and evolution of the NVMe ecosystem. To unify the diverse I/O storage paths, we built xNVMe that exposes a single message-passing API to support both asynchronous and synchronous communication with NVMe devices. xNVMe provides various command sets to support diverse storage I/O paths in different OS (e.g., Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, and MacOS) and userspace libraries (e.g., SPDK) with minimal overhead. xNVMe is an Open Source project and has gained traction amongst various industry stakeholders. In this paper, we elaborate on the lessons that we have learned in the project during its evolution. We also provide some ongoing and future work planned for the project. We hope the database and storage systems community can join in the effort to both extend xNVMe and leverage it as a building block for innovative co-design of storage systems on modern NVMe hardware.

ReScript is a strongly typed language that targets JavaScript, as an alternative to gradually typed languages, such as TypeScript. In this paper, we present a sound type system for data-flow analysis for a subset of the ReScript language, more specifically for a lambda-calculus with mutability and pattern matching. The type system is a local analysis that collects information about variables that are used at each program point as well as alias information., Comment: In Proceedings FROM 2024, arXiv:2410.23020. A full version of this paper is available at arXiv:2408.11954

We present the discovery of TOI-7041 b (TIC 201175570 b), a hot Saturn transiting a red giant star with measurable stellar oscillations. We observe solar-like oscillations in TOI-7041 with a frequency of maximum power of $\nu_{\rm max} = 218.50\pm2.23$ $\mu$Hz and a large frequency separation of $\Delta\nu = 16.5282\pm0.0186$ $\mu$Hz. Our asteroseismic analysis indicates that TOI-7041 has a radius of $4.10 \pm 0.06$(stat) $\pm$ 0.05(sys) $R_\odot$, making it one of the largest stars around which a transiting planet has been discovered with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and the mission's first oscillating red giant with a transiting planet. TOI-7041 b has an orbital period of $9.691 \pm 0.006$ days and a low eccentricity of $e = 0.04 \pm 0.04$. We measure a planet radius of $1.02 \pm 0.03$ $R_J$ with photometry from TESS, and a planet mass of $0.36 \pm 0.16$ $M_J$ ($114 \pm 51$ $M_\oplus$) with ground-based radial velocity measurements. TOI-7041 b appears less inflated than similar systems receiving equivalent incident flux, and its circular orbit indicates that it is not undergoing tidal heating due to circularization. The asteroseismic analysis of the host star provides some of the tightest constraints on stellar properties for a TESS planet host and enables precise characterization of the hot Saturn. This system joins a small number of TESS-discovered exoplanets orbiting stars that exhibit clear stellar oscillations and indicates that extended TESS observations of evolved stars will similarly provide a path to improved exoplanet characterization., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables

Generalizing a theorem of the first two authors and Geelen for planes, we show that, for a real-representable matroid $M$, either the average hyperplane-size in $M$ is at most a constant depending only on its rank, or each hyperplane of $M$ contains one of a set of at most $r(M)-2$ lines. Additionally, in the latter case, the ground set of $M$ has a partition $(E_{1}, E_{2})$, where $E_{1}$ can be covered by few flats of relatively low rank and $|E_{2}|$ is bounded. Finally, we formulate a high-dimensional generalization of a classic problem of Motzkin, Gr\"unbaum, Erd\H{o}s and Purdy on sets of red and blue points in the plane with no monochromatic blue line. We show that the solution to this problem gives a tight upper bound on $|E_{2}|$. We also discuss this high-dimensional problem in its own right, and prove some initial results.

We report on the discovery and spectroscopic confirmation of TOI-2458 b, a transiting mini-Neptune around an F-type star leaving the main-sequence with a mass of $M_\star=1.05 \pm 0.03$ M$_{\odot}$, a radius of $R_\star=1.31 \pm 0.03$ R$_{\odot}$, an effective temperature of $T_{\rm eff}=6005\pm50$ K, and a metallicity of $-0.10\pm0.05$ dex. By combining TESS photometry with high-resolution spectra acquired with the HARPS spectrograph, we found that the transiting planet has an orbital period of $\sim$3.74 days, a mass of $M_p=13.31\pm0.99$ M$_{\oplus}$ and a radius of $R_p=2.83\pm0.20$ R$_{\oplus}$. The host star TOI-2458 shows a short activity cycle of $\sim$54 days revealed in the HARPS S-index and H$\alpha$ times series. We took the opportunity to investigate other F stars showing activity cycle periods comparable to that of TOI-2458 and found that they have shorter rotation periods than would be expected based on the gyrochronology predictions. In addition, we determined TOI-2458's stellar inclination angle to be $i_\star\,=\,10.6_{-10.6}^{+13.3}$ degrees. We discuss that both phenomena (fast stellar rotation and planet orbit inclination) could be explained by in situ formation of a hot Jupiter interior to TOI-2458 b. It is plausible that this hot Jupiter was recently engulfed by the star. Analysis of HARPS spectra has identified the presence of another planet with a period of $P\,=\,16.55\pm0.06$ days and a minimum mass of $M_p \sin i=10.22\pm1.90$ M$_{\oplus}$. Using dynamical stability analysis, we constrained the mass of this planet to the range $M_{c} \simeq (10, 25)$ M$_{\oplus}$., Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Spatial prediction problems often use Gaussian process models, which can be computationally burdensome in high dimensions. Specification of an appropriate covariance function for the model can be challenging when complex non-stationarities exist. Recent work has shown that pre-computed spatial basis functions and a feed-forward neural network can capture complex spatial dependence structures while remaining computationally efficient. This paper builds on this literature by tailoring spatial basis functions for use in convolutional neural networks. Through both simulated and real data, we demonstrate that this approach yields more accurate spatial predictions than existing methods. Uncertainty quantification is also considered.

The TESS mission searches for transiting exoplanets by monitoring the brightness of hundreds of thousands of stars across the entire sky. M-type planet hosts are ideal targets for this mission due to their smaller size and cooler temperatures, which makes it easier to detect smaller planets near or within their habitable zones. Additionally, M~dwarfs have a smaller contrast ratio between the planet and the star, making it easier to measure the planet's properties accurately. Here, we report the validation analysis of 13 TESS exoplanet candidates orbiting around M dwarfs. We studied the nature of these candidates through a multi-colour transit photometry transit analysis using several ground-based instruments (MuSCAT2, MuSCAT3, and LCO-SINISTRO), high-spatial resolution observations, and TESS light curves. We present the validation of five new planetary systems: TOI-1883b, TOI-2274b, TOI2768b, TOI-4438b, and TOI-5319b, along with compelling evidence of a planetary nature for TOIs 2781b and 5486b. We also present an empirical definition for the Neptune desert boundaries. The remaining six systems could not be validated due to large true radius values overlapping with the brown dwarf regime or, alternatively, the presence of chromaticity in the MuSCAT2 light curves.

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) can generate non-spherical, relativistic and optically thick outflows. Simulations show that the radiation we observe is reprocessed by these outflows. According to a unified model suggested by these simulations, the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of TDEs depend strongly on viewing angle: low [high] optical-to-X-ray ratios (OXRs) correspond to face-on [edge-on] orientations. Post-processing with radiative transfer codes have simulated the emergent spectra, but have so far been carried out only in a quasi-1D framework, with three atomic species (H, He and O). Here, we present 2.5D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations which model the emission from a non-spherical outflow, including a more comprehensive set of cosmically abundant species. While the basic trend of OXR increasing with inclination is preserved, the inherently multi-dimensional nature of photon transport through the non-spherical outflow significantly affects the emergent SEDs. Relaxing the quasi-1D approximation allows photons to preferentially escape in (polar) directions of lower optical depth, resulting in a greater variation of bolometric luminosity as a function of inclination. According to our simulations, inclination alone may not fully explain the large dynamic range of observed TDE OXRs. We also find that including metals, other than Oxygen, changes the emergent spectra significantly, resulting in stronger absorption and emission lines in the extreme ultraviolet, as well a greater variation in the OXR as a function of inclination. Whilst our results support previously proposed unified models for TDEs, they also highlight the critical importance of multi-dimensional ionization and radiative transfer., Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures. Submitted to MNRAS

We prove that for a finite set of points $X$ in the projective $n$-space over any field, the Betti number $\beta_{n,n+1}$ of the coordinate ring of $X$ is non-zero if and only if $X$ lies on the union of two planes whose sum of dimension is less than $n$. Our proof is direct and short, and the inductive step rests on a combinatorial statement that works over matroids., Comment: There is a gap in the key statement 3.2 on matroids that we did not yet know how to fix

Transiting giant exoplanets around M-dwarf stars (GEMS) are rare, owing to the low-mass host stars. However, the all-sky coverage of TESS has enabled the detection of an increasingly large number of them to enable statistical surveys like the \textit{Searching for GEMS} survey. As part of this endeavour, we describe the observations of six transiting giant planets, which includes precise mass measurements for two GEMS (K2-419Ab, TOI-6034b) and statistical validation for four systems, which includes validation and mass upper limits for three of them (TOI-5218b, TOI-5616b, TOI-5634Ab), while the fourth one -- TOI-5414b is classified as a `likely planet'. Our observations include radial velocities from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and MAROON-X on Gemini-North, along with photometry and high-contrast imaging from multiple ground-based facilities. In addition to TESS photometry, K2-419Ab was also observed and statistically validated as part of the K2 mission in Campaigns 5 and 18, which provides precise orbital and planetary constraints despite the faint host star and long orbital period of $\sim 20.4$ days. With an equilibrium temperature of only 380 K, K2-419Ab is one of the coolest known well-characterized transiting planets. TOI-6034 has a late F-type companion about 40\arcsec~away, making it the first GEMS host star to have an earlier main-sequence binary companion. These confirmations add to the existing small sample of confirmed transiting GEMS., Comment: Accepted in AJ

The generation of second and third harmonics by an acoustic wave propagating along one dimension in a weakly nonlinear elastic medium that is loaded harmonically in time with frequency $\omega_0$ at a single point in space, is analyzed by successive approximations starting with the linear case. It is noted that nonlinear waves have a speed of propagation that depends on their amplitude. It is also noted that both a free medium as well as a loaded medium generate higher harmonics, but that although the second harmonic of the free medium scales like the square of the linear wave, this is no longer the case when the medium is externally loaded. The shift in speed of propagation due to the nonlinearities is determined imposing that there be no resonant terms in a successive approximation solution scheme to the homogeneous problem. The result is then used to solve the inhomogeneous case also by successive approximations, up to the third order. At second order, the result is a second harmonic wave whose amplitude is modulated by a long wave, whose wavelength is inversely proportional to the shift in the speed of propagation of the linear wave due to nonlinearities. The amplitude of the long modulating wave scales like the amplitude of the linear wave to the four thirds. At short distances from the source a scaling proportional to the amplitude of the linear wave squared is recovered, as is a second harmonic amplitude that grows linearly with distance from the source and depends on the third-order elastic constant only. The third order solution is the sum of four amplitude-modulated waves, two of them oscillate with frequency $\omega_0$ and the other two, third harmonics, with $3\omega_0$. In each pair, one term scales like the amplitude of the linear wave to the five-thirds, and the other to the seven-thirds.

Interest in communication-avoiding orthogonalization schemes for high-performance computing has been growing recently. This manuscript addresses open questions about the numerical stability of various block classical Gram-Schmidt variants that have been proposed in the past few years. An abstract framework is employed, the flexibility of which allows for new rigorous bounds on the loss of orthogonality in these variants. We first analyze a generalization of (reorthogonalized) block classical Gram-Schmidt and show that a "strong" intrablock orthogonalization routine is only needed for the very first block in order to maintain orthogonality on the level of the unit roundoff. Then, using this variant, which has four synchronization points per block column, we remove the synchronization points one at a time and analyze how each alteration affects the stability of the resulting method. Our analysis shows that the variant requiring only one synchronization per block column cannot be guaranteed to be stable in practice, as stability begins to degrade with the first reduction of synchronization points. Our analysis of block methods also provides new theoretical results for the single-column case. In particular, it is proven that DCGS2 from [Bielich, D. et al. Par. Comput. 112 (2022)] and CGS-2 from [\'{S}wirydowicz, K. et al, Num. Lin. Alg. Appl. 28 (2021)] are as stable as Householder QR. Numerical examples from the BlockStab toolbox are included throughout, to help compare variants and illustrate the effects of different choices of intraorthogonalization subroutines.

Multi-messenger observation of binary neutron-star mergers can provide valuable information on the nuclear equation of state (EoS). Here, we investigate to which extent electromagnetic observations of the associated kilonovae allow us to place constraints on the EoS. For this, we use state-of-the-art three-dimensional general-relativistic magneto-hydrodynamics simulations and detailed nucleosynthesis modeling to connect properties of observed light curves to properties of the accretion disk, and hence, the EoS. Using our general approach, we use multi-messenger observations of GW170817/AT2017gfo to study the impact of various sources of uncertainty on inferences of the EoS. We constrain the radius of a $\rm{1.4 M_\odot}$ neutron star to lie within $\rm{10.19\leq R_{1.4}\leq 13.0}$~km and the maximum mass to be $\rm{M_{TOV}\leq 3.06 M_\odot}$., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. Comments welcome!

Hot and warm Jupiters might have undergone the same formation and evolution path, but the two populations exhibit different distributions of orbital parameters, challenging our understanding on their actual origin. The present work, which is the results of our warm Jupiters survey carried out with the CHIRON spectrograph within the KESPRINT collaboration, aims to address this challenge by studying two planets that could help bridge the gap between the two populations. We report the confirmation and mass determination of a hot Jupiter (orbital period shorter than 10 days), TOI-2420\,b, and a warm Jupiter, TOI-2485\,b. We performed a joint analysis using a wide variety of spectral and photometric data in order to characterize these planetary systems. We found that TOI-2420\,b has an orbital period of P$_{\rm b}$=5.8 days, a mass of M$_{\rm b}$=0.9 M$_{\rm J}$ and a radius of R$_{\rm b}$=1.3 R$_{\rm J}$, with a planetary density of 0.477 \gc; while TOI-2485\,b has an orbital period of P$_{\rm b}$=11.2 days, a mass of M$_{\rm b}$=2.4 M$_{\rm J}$ and a radius of R$_{\rm b}$=1.1 R$_{\rm J}$ with density 2.36 \gc. With current parameters, the migration history for TOI-2420\,b and TOI-2485\,b is unclear: the high-eccentricity migration scenarios cannot be ruled out, and TOI-2485\,b's characteristics may rather support this scenario.

We report the discovery of the most eccentric transiting brown dwarf in the brown dwarf desert, TOI02490b. The brown dwarf desert is the lack of brown dwarfs around main sequence stars within $\sim3$~AU and is thought to be caused by differences in formation mechanisms between a star and planet. To date, only $\sim40$ transiting brown dwarfs have been confirmed. \systemt is a $73.6\pm2.4$ \mjupnospace, $1.00\pm0.02$ \rjup brown dwarf orbiting a $1.004_{-0.022}^{+0.031}$ \msunnospace, $1.105_{-0.012}^{+0.012}$ \rsun sun-like star on a 60.33~d orbit with an eccentricity of $0.77989\pm0.00049$. The discovery was detected within \tess sectors 5 (30 minute cadence) and 32 (2 minute and 20 second cadence). It was then confirmed with 31 radial velocity measurements with \feros by the WINE collaboration and photometric observations with the Next Generation Transit Survey. Stellar modelling of the host star estimates an age of $\sim8$~Gyr, which is supported by estimations from kinematics likely placing the object within the thin disc. However, this is not consistent with model brown dwarf isochrones for the system age suggesting an inflated radius. Only one other transiting brown dwarf with an eccentricity higher than 0.6 is currently known in the brown dwarf desert. Demographic studies of brown dwarfs have suggested such high eccentricity is indicative of stellar formation mechanisms., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 18 pages, 14 figures

TOI-6255~b (GJ 4256) is an Earth-sized planet (1.079$\pm0.065$ $R_\oplus$) with an orbital period of only 5.7 hours. With the newly commissioned Keck Planet Finder (KPF) and CARMENES spectrographs, we determined the planet's mass to be 1.44$\pm$0.14 $M_{\oplus}$. The planet is just outside the Roche limit, with $P_{\rm orb}/P_{\rm Roche}$ = 1.13 $\pm0.10$. The strong tidal force likely deforms the planet into a triaxial ellipsoid with a long axis that is $\sim$10\% longer than the short axis. Assuming a reduced stellar tidal quality factor $Q_\star^\prime \approx10^7$, we predict that tidal orbital decay will cause TOI-6255 to reach the Roche limit in roughly 400 Myr. Such tidal disruptions may produce the possible signatures of planet engulfment that have been on stars with anomalously high refractory elemental abundances compared to its conatal binary companion. TOI-6255 b is also a favorable target for searching for star-planet magnetic interactions, which might cause interior melting and hasten orbital decay. TOI-6255 b is a top target (Emission Spectroscopy Metric of about 24) for phase curve observations with the James Webb Space Telescope., Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, accepted to AAS Journals. The first RV mass measurement from the Keck Planet Finder

We report the spectroscopic confirmation and fundamental properties of TOI-757 b, a mini-Neptune on a 17.5-day orbit transiting a bright star ($V = 9.7$ mag) discovered by the TESS mission. We acquired high-precision radial velocity measurements with the HARPS, ESPRESSO, and PFS spectrographs to confirm the planet detection and determine its mass. We also acquired space-borne transit photometry with the CHEOPS space telescope to place stronger constraints on the planet radius, supported with ground-based LCOGT photometry. WASP and KELT photometry were used to help constrain the stellar rotation period. We also determined the fundamental parameters of the host star. We find that TOI-757 b has a radius of $R_{\mathrm{p}} = 2.5 \pm 0.1 R_{\oplus}$ and a mass of $M_{\mathrm{p}} = 10.5^{+2.2}_{-2.1} M_{\oplus}$, implying a bulk density of $\rho_{\text{p}} = 3.6 \pm 0.8$ g cm$^{-3}$. Our internal composition modeling was unable to constrain the composition of TOI-757 b, highlighting the importance of atmospheric observations for the system. We also find the planet to be highly eccentric with $e$ = 0.39$^{+0.08}_{-0.07}$, making it one of the very few highly eccentric planets among precisely characterized mini-Neptunes. Based on comparisons to other similar eccentric systems, we find a likely scenario for TOI-757 b's formation to be high eccentricity migration due to a distant outer companion. We additionally propose the possibility of a more intrinsic explanation for the high eccentricity due to star-star interactions during the earlier epoch of the Galactic disk formation, given the low metallicity and older age of TOI-757., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 26 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables

General-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) systems are built on massive swathes of public web data, assembled into corpora such as C4, RefinedWeb, and Dolma. To our knowledge, we conduct the first, large-scale, longitudinal audit of the consent protocols for the web domains underlying AI training corpora. Our audit of 14,000 web domains provides an expansive view of crawlable web data and how codified data use preferences are changing over time. We observe a proliferation of AI-specific clauses to limit use, acute differences in restrictions on AI developers, as well as general inconsistencies between websites' expressed intentions in their Terms of Service and their robots.txt. We diagnose these as symptoms of ineffective web protocols, not designed to cope with the widespread re-purposing of the internet for AI. Our longitudinal analyses show that in a single year (2023-2024) there has been a rapid crescendo of data restrictions from web sources, rendering ~5%+ of all tokens in C4, or 28%+ of the most actively maintained, critical sources in C4, fully restricted from use. For Terms of Service crawling restrictions, a full 45% of C4 is now restricted. If respected or enforced, these restrictions are rapidly biasing the diversity, freshness, and scaling laws for general-purpose AI systems. We hope to illustrate the emerging crises in data consent, for both developers and creators. The foreclosure of much of the open web will impact not only commercial AI, but also non-commercial AI and academic research., Comment: 41 pages (13 main), 5 figures, 9 tables

It has been recently discovered that a few super-Eddington sources undergoing black hole super-Eddington accretion exhibit X-ray reflection signatures. In such new systems, one expects that the coronal X-ray emissions are mainly reflected by optically thick super-Eddington winds instead of thin disks. In this paper, we conduct a series of general relativistic ray-tracing and Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations to model the X-ray reflection signatures, especially the characteristic Fe K$\alpha$ line, produced from super-Eddington accretion flows. In particular, we allow the photons emitted by a lamppost corona to be reflected multiple times in a cone-like funnel surrounded by fast winds. We find that the Fe K$\alpha$ line profile most sensitively depends on the wind kinematics, while its exact shape also depends on the funnel open angle and corona height. Furthermore, very interestingly, we find that the Fe K$\alpha$ line can have a prominent double-peak profile in certain parameter spaces even with a face-on orientation. Moreover, we compare the Fe K$\alpha$ line profiles produced from super-Eddington and thin disks and show that such lines can provide important insights into the understanding of black hole systems undergoing super-Eddington accretion., Comment: 23 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Comments are welcome

Determining the chronology of ancient handwritten manuscripts is essential for reconstructing the evolution of ideas. For the Dead Sea Scrolls, this is particularly important. However, there is an almost complete lack of date-bearing manuscripts evenly distributed across the timeline and written in similar scripts available for palaeographic comparison. Here, we present Enoch, a state-of-the-art AI-based date-prediction model, trained on the basis of new radiocarbon-dated samples of the scrolls. Enoch uses established handwriting-style descriptors and applies Bayesian ridge regression. The challenge of this study is that the number of radiocarbon-dated manuscripts is small, while current machine learning requires an abundance of training data. We show that by using combined angular and allographic writing style feature vectors and applying Bayesian ridge regression, Enoch could predict the radiocarbon-based dates from style, supported by leave-one-out validation, with varied MAEs of 27.9 to 30.7 years relative to the radiocarbon dating. Enoch was then used to estimate the dates of 135 unseen manuscripts, revealing that 79 per cent of the samples were considered 'realistic' upon palaeographic post-hoc evaluation. We present a new chronology of the scrolls. The radiocarbon ranges and Enoch's style-based predictions are often older than the traditionally assumed palaeographic estimates. In the range of 300-50 BCE, Enoch's date prediction provides an improved granularity. The study is in line with current developments in multimodal machine-learning techniques, and the methods can be used for date prediction in other partially-dated manuscript collections. This research shows how Enoch's quantitative, probability-based approach can be a tool for palaeographers and historians, re-dating ancient Jewish key texts and contributing to current debates on Jewish and Christian origins., Comment: 16 pages of main article, 103 pages of supplementary materials; the first version of this article is originally prepared in July 2023 after the completion of all the experiments

Squeezed states are essential for continuous variable (CV) quantum information processing, with wide-ranging applications in computing, sensing and communications. Integrated photonic circuits provide a scalable, convenient platform for building large CV circuits. Thin-film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) is particularly promising due to its low propagation loss, efficient parametric down conversion, and fast electro-optical modulation. In this work, we demonstrate a squeezed light source on an integrated TFLN platform, achieving a measured shot noise reduction of 0.46 dB using modal phase matching and grating couplers with an efficiency of up to -2.2 dB. The achieved squeezing is comparable to what has been observed using more complex circuitry based on periodic poling. The simpler design allows for compact, efficient and reproducible sources of squeezed light., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures

As large language models (LLMs) continue to advance, evaluating their comprehensive capabilities becomes significant for their application in various fields. This research study comprehensively evaluates the language, vision, speech, and multimodal capabilities of GPT-4o. The study employs standardized exam questions, reasoning tasks, and translation assessments to assess the model's language capability. Additionally, GPT-4o's vision and speech capabilities are tested through image classification and object recognition tasks, as well as accent classification. The multimodal evaluation assesses the model's performance in integrating visual and linguistic data. Our findings reveal that GPT-4o demonstrates high accuracy and efficiency across multiple domains in language and reasoning capabilities, excelling in tasks that require few-shot learning. GPT-4o also provides notable improvements in multimodal tasks compared to its predecessors. However, the model shows variability and faces limitations in handling complex and ambiguous inputs, particularly in audio and vision capabilities. This paper highlights the need for more comprehensive benchmarks and robust evaluation frameworks, encompassing qualitative assessments involving human judgment as well as error analysis. Future work should focus on expanding datasets, investigating prompt-based assessment, and enhancing few-shot learning techniques to test the model's practical applicability and performance in real-world scenarios.

We report the discovery of two transiting planets detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), TOI-2374 b and TOI-3071 b, orbiting a K5V and an F8V star, respectively, with periods of 4.31 and 1.27 days, respectively. We confirm and characterize these two planets with a variety of ground-based and follow-up observations, including photometry, precise radial velocity monitoring and high-resolution imaging. The planetary and orbital parameters were derived from a joint analysis of the radial velocities and photometric data. We found that the two planets have masses of $(57 \pm 4)$ $M_\oplus$ or $(0.18 \pm 0.01)$ $M_J$, and $(68 \pm 4)$ $M_\oplus$ or $(0.21 \pm 0.01)$ $M_J$, respectively, and they have radii of $(6.8 \pm 0.3)$ $R_\oplus$ or $(0.61 \pm 0.03)$ $R_J$ and $(7.2 \pm 0.5)$ $R_\oplus$ or $(0.64 \pm 0.05)$ $R_J$, respectively. These parameters correspond to sub-Saturns within the Neptunian desert, both planets being hot and highly irradiated, with $T_{\rm eq} \approx 745$ $K$ and $T_{\rm eq} \approx 1812$ $K$, respectively, assuming a Bond albedo of 0.5. TOI-3071 b has the hottest equilibrium temperature of all known planets with masses between $10$ and $300$ $M_\oplus$ and radii less than $1.5$ $R_J$. By applying gas giant evolution models we found that both planets, especially TOI-3071 b, are very metal-rich. This challenges standard formation models which generally predict lower heavy-element masses for planets with similar characteristics. We studied the evolution of the planets' atmospheres under photoevaporation and concluded that both are stable against evaporation due to their large masses and likely high metallicities in their gaseous envelopes., Comment: 24 pages, 22 figures, 10 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Since 2018, the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT has been hunting for planets in the Southern skies via the RV method. One of its goals is to follow up candidate planets from transit surveys such as the TESS mission, particularly small planets. We analyzed photometry from TESS and ground-based facilities, high-resolution imaging, and RVs from ESPRESSO, HARPS, and HIRES, to confirm and characterize three new planets: TOI-260 b, transiting a late K-dwarf, and TOI-286 b and c, orbiting an early K-dwarf. We also update parameters for the known super-Earth TOI-134 b , hosted by an M-dwarf. TOI-260 b has a $13.475853^{+0.000013}_{-0.000011}$ d period, $4.23 \pm1.60 \mathrm{M_\oplus}$ mass and $1.71\pm0.08\mathrm{R_\oplus}$ radius. For TOI-286 b we find a $4.5117244^{+0.0000031}_{-0.0000027}$ d period, $4.53\pm0.78\mathrm{M_\oplus}$ mass and $1.42\pm0.10\mathrm{R_\oplus}$ radius; for TOI-286 c, a $39.361826^{+0.000070}_{-0.000081}$ d period, $3.72\pm2.22\mathrm{M_\oplus}$ mass and $1.88\pm 0.12\mathrm{R_\oplus}$ radius. For TOI-134 b we obtain a $1.40152604^{+0.00000074}_{-0.00000082}$ d period, $4.07\pm0.45\mathrm{M_\oplus}$ mass, and $1.63\pm0.14\mathrm{R_\oplus}$ radius. Circular models are preferred for all, although for TOI-260 b the eccentricity is not well-constrained. We compute bulk densities and place the planets in the context of composition models. TOI-260 b lies within the radius valley, and is most likely a rocky planet. However, the uncertainty on the eccentricity and thus on the mass renders its composition hard to determine. TOI-286 b and c span the radius valley, with TOI-286 b lying below it and having a likely rocky composition, while TOI-286 c is within the valley, close to the upper border, and probably has a significant water fraction. With our updated parameters for TOI-134 b, we obtain a lower density than previous findings, giving a rocky or Earth-like composition., Comment: 61 pages (of which pp. 24-61 are appendices), 20 figures (main text). Accepted for publication in A&A

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT, have significantly impacted academic writing and publishing through their ability to generate content at levels comparable to or surpassing human writers. Through a review of recent interdisciplinary literature, this paper examines ethical considerations surrounding the integration of AI into academia, focusing on the potential for this technology to be used for scholarly misconduct and necessary oversight when using it for writing, editing, and reviewing of scholarly papers. The findings highlight the need for collaborative approaches to AI usage among publishers, editors, reviewers, and authors to ensure that this technology is used ethically and productively.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is ESA's M3 mission designed to detect and characterise extrasolar planets and perform asteroseismic monitoring of a large number of stars. PLATO will detect small planets (down to <2 R_(Earth)) around bright stars (<11 mag), including terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. With the complement of radial velocity observations from the ground, planets will be characterised for their radius, mass, and age with high accuracy (5 %, 10 %, 10 % for an Earth-Sun combination respectively). PLATO will provide us with a large-scale catalogue of well-characterised small planets up to intermediate orbital periods, relevant for a meaningful comparison to planet formation theories and to better understand planet evolution. It will make possible comparative exoplanetology to place our Solar System planets in a broader context. In parallel, PLATO will study (host) stars using asteroseismology, allowing us to determine the stellar properties with high accuracy, substantially enhancing our knowledge of stellar structure and evolution. The payload instrument consists of 26 cameras with 12cm aperture each. For at least four years, the mission will perform high-precision photometric measurements. Here we review the science objectives, present PLATO's target samples and fields, provide an overview of expected core science performance as well as a description of the instrument and the mission profile at the beginning of the serial production of the flight cameras. PLATO is scheduled for a launch date end 2026. This overview therefore provides a summary of the mission to the community in preparation of the upcoming operational phases.

Brillouin-based optomechanical systems with high-frequency acoustic modes provide a promising platform for implementing quantum-information processing and wavelength conversion applications, and for probing macroscopic quantum effects. Achieving strong coupling through electrostrictive Brillouin interaction is essential for coupling the massive mechanical mode to an optical field, thereby controlling and characterizing the mechanical state. However, achieving strong coupling at room temperature has proven challenging due to fast mechanical decay rates, which increase the pumping power required to surpass the coupling threshold. Here, we report an optomechanical system with independent control over pumping power and frequency detuning to achieve and characterize the strong-coupling regime of a bulk acoustic-wave resonator. Through spectral analysis of the cavity reflectivity, we identify clear signatures of strong coupling, i.e., normal-mode splitting and an avoided crossing in the detuned spectra, while estimating the mechanical linewidth $\Gamma_m/2\pi~=~7.13MHz$ and the single-photon coupling rate $g_0/2\pi~=~7.76Hz$ of our system. Our results provide valuable insights into the performances of room-temperature macroscopic mechanical systems and their applications in hybrid quantum devices., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

The KEYSTONE project aims to enhance our understanding of solar-like oscillators by delivering a catalogue of global asteroseismic parameters (${\Delta\nu}$ and ${\nu_{\rm max}}$) for 173 stars, comprising mainly dwarfs and subgiants, observed by the K2 mission in its short-cadence mode during campaigns 6-19. We derive atmospheric parameters and luminosities using spectroscopic data from TRES, astrometric data from $\textit{Gaia}$, and the infrared flux method (IRFM) for a comprehensive stellar characterisation. Asteroseismic parameters are robustly extracted using three independent methods, complemented by an iterative refinement of the spectroscopic analyses using seismic ${\log g}$ values to enhance parameter accuracy. Our analysis identifies new detections of solar-like oscillations in 159 stars, providing an important complement to already published results from previous campaigns. The catalogue provides homogeneously derived atmospheric parameters and luminosities for the majority of the sample. Comparison between spectroscopic ${T_{\rm eff}}$ and those obtained from the IRFM demonstrates excellent agreement. The iterative approach to spectroscopic analysis significantly enhances the accuracy of the stellar properties derived., Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered hundreds of new worlds, with TESS planet candidates now outnumbering the total number of confirmed planets from $\textit{Kepler}$. Owing to differences in survey design, TESS continues to provide planets that are better suited for subsequent follow-up studies, including mass measurement through radial velocity (RV) observations, compared to Kepler targets. In this work, we present the TESS-Keck Survey's (TKS) Mass Catalog: a uniform analysis of all TKS RV survey data which has resulted in mass constraints for 126 planets and candidate signals. This includes 58 mass measurements that have reached $\geq5\sigma$ precision. We confirm or validate 32 new planets from the TESS mission either by significant mass measurement (15) or statistical validation (17), and we find no evidence of likely false positives among our entire sample. This work also serves as a data release for all previously unpublished TKS survey data, including 9,204 RV measurements and associated activity indicators over our three year survey. We took the opportunity to assess the performance of our survey, and found that we achieved many of our goals including measuring the mass of 38 small ($<4R_{\oplus}$) planets, nearly achieving the TESS mission's basic science requirement. In addition, we evaluated the performance of the Automated Planet Finder (APF) as survey support and observed meaningful constraints on system parameters due to its more uniform phase coverage. Finally, we compared our measured masses to those predicted by commonly used mass-radius relations and investigated evidence of systematic bias., Comment: 51 pages (22 of text), 24 figures

Sub-Neptunes with $2-3R_\oplus$ are intermediate in size between rocky planets and Neptune-sized planets. The orbital properties and bulk compositions of transiting sub-Neptunes provide clues to the formation and evolution of close-in small planets. In this paper, we present the discovery and follow-up of four sub-Neptunes orbiting M dwarfs (TOI-782, TOI-1448, TOI-2120, and TOI-2406), three of which were newly validated by ground-based follow-up observations and statistical analyses. TOI-782 b, TOI-1448 b, TOI-2120 b, and TOI-2406 b have radii of $R_\mathrm{p} = 2.740^{+0.082}_{-0.079}\,R_\oplus$, $2.769^{+0.073}_{-0.068}\,R_\oplus$, $2.120\pm0.067\,R_\oplus$, and $2.830^{+0.068}_{-0.066}\,R_\oplus$ and orbital periods of $P = 8.02$, $8.11$, $5.80$, and $3.08$\,days, respectively. Doppler monitoring with Subaru/InfraRed Doppler instrument led to 2$\sigma$ upper limits on the masses of $<19.1\ M_\oplus$, $<19.5\ M_\oplus$, $<6.8\ M_\oplus$, and $<15.6\ M_\oplus$ for TOI-782 b, TOI-1448 b, TOI-2120 b, and TOI-2406 b, respectively. The mass-radius relationship of these four sub-Neptunes testifies to the existence of volatile material in their interiors. These four sub-Neptunes, which are located above the so-called ``radius valley'', are likely to retain a significant atmosphere and/or an icy mantle on the core, such as a water world. We find that at least three of the four sub-Neptunes (TOI-782 b, TOI-2120 b, and TOI-2406 b) orbiting M dwarfs older than 1 Gyr, are likely to have eccentricities of $e \sim 0.2-0.3$. The fact that tidal circularization of their orbits is not achieved over 1 Gyr suggests inefficient tidal dissipation in their interiors., Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ, 32 pages, 17 figures, 6 tables

Certified randomness guaranteed to be unpredictable by adversaries is central to information security. The fundamental randomness inherent in quantum physics makes certification possible from devices that are only weakly characterised, i.e. requiring little trust in their implementation. It was recently shown that the amount of certifiable randomness can be greatly improved using the so-called Entropy Accumulation Theorem generalised to prepare-and-measure settings. Furthermore, this approach allows a finite-size analysis which avoids assuming that all rounds are independent and identically distributed. Here, we demonstrate this improvement in semi-device-independent randomness certification from untrusted measurements., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, comments are welcome

Block classical Gram-Schmidt (BCGS) is commonly used for orthogonalizing a set of vectors $X$ in distributed computing environments due to its favorable communication properties relative to other orthogonalization approaches, such as modified Gram-Schmidt or Householder. However, it is known that BCGS (as well as recently developed low-synchronization variants of BCGS) can suffer from a significant loss of orthogonality in finite-precision arithmetic, which can contribute to instability and inaccurate solutions in downstream applications such as $s$-step Krylov subspace methods. A common solution to improve the orthogonality among the vectors is reorthogonalization. Focusing on the "Pythagorean" variant of BCGS, introduced in [E. Carson, K. Lund, & M. Rozlo\v{z}n\'{i}k. SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 42(3), pp. 1365--1380, 2021], which guarantees an $O(\varepsilon)\kappa^2(X)$ bound on the loss of orthogonality as long as $O(\varepsilon)\kappa^2(X)<1$, where $\varepsilon$ denotes the unit roundoff, we introduce and analyze two reorthogonalized Pythagorean BCGS variants. These variants feature favorable communication properties, with asymptotically two synchronization points per block column, as well as an improved $O(\varepsilon)$ bound on the loss of orthogonality. Our bounds are derived in a general fashion to additionally allow for the analysis of mixed-precision variants. We verify our theoretical results with a panel of test matrices and experiments from a new version of the \texttt{BlockStab} toolbox.

Beta-delayed proton and gamma emission in the decay of $^{21}$Mg has been measured at ISOLDE, CERN with the ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS) set-up. The existing decay scheme is updated, in particular what concerns proton transitions to excited states in $^{20}$Ne. Signatures of interference in several parts of the spectrum are used to settle spin and parity assignments to highly excited states in $^{21}$Na. The previously reported $\beta$p$\alpha$ branch is confirmed. A half-life of 120.5(4) ms is extracted for $^{21}$Mg. The revised decay scheme is employed to test mirror symmetry in the decay and to extract the beta strength distribution of $^{21}$Mg that is compared with theory., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. This version includes the same content as the published, open-access version. In this version, details about the conditions during the experiment have been expanded (section 2), scattered claims and comments have been clarified and columns containing particle (lab) energies have been added to tables 1 and 2

We explore the possibility of detecting very faint, very close-in stellar companions using large aperture ground-based telescopes and the technique of optical speckle imaging. We examine the state of high angular resolution speckle imaging and contrast levels being achieved using current speckle cameras on the Gemini 8-m telescope. We then explore the use of the modern image reconstruction technique - Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution (MFBD) - applied to speckle imaging from the Gemini 8-m telescope. We show that MFBD allows us to measure the flux ratio of the imaged stars to high accuracy and the reconstructed images yield higher precision astrometry. Both of these advances provide a large refinement in the derived astrophysical parameters compared with current Fourier techniques. MFBD image reconstructions reach contrast levels of $\sim$5$\times$10$^{-3}$, near the diffraction limit, to $\sim$10$^{-4}$ about 1.0 arcsec away. At these deep contrast levels with angular limits starting near the 8-m diffraction limit ($\sim$20 mas), most stellar companions to a solar-like stars can be imaged in the optical to near-IR bandpass (320-1000 nm)., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

Coherent manipulation of quantum states of light is key to photonic quantum information processing. In this Letter, we show that a passive two-level nonlinearity suffices to implement non-Gaussian quantum operations on propagating field modes. In particular, the collective light-matter interaction can efficiently extract a single photon from a multi-photon input wave packet to an orthogonal temporal mode. We accurately describe the single-photon subtraction process by elements of an intuitive quantum-trajectory model. By employing this process, quantum information protocols gain orders of magnitude improved efficiency over heralded schemes with linear optics. The reverse process can be used to add photons one-by-one to a single wave-packet mode and compose arbitrarily large Fock states with a finite total success probability $>96.7\%$., Comment: 6+6 pages, 5+4 figures

We present a formalization of higher-order logic in the Isabelle proof assistant, building directly on the foundational framework Isabelle/Pure and developed to be as small and readable as possible. It should therefore serve as a good introduction for someone looking into learning about higher-order logic and proof assistants, without having to study the much more complex Isabelle/HOL with heavier automation. To showcase our development and approach we explain a sample proof, describe the axioms and rules of our higher-order logic, and discuss our experience with teaching the subject in a classroom setting., Comment: In Proceedings ThEdu'23, arXiv:2404.03709

The simulation of heavy element nucleosynthesis requires input from yet-to-be-measured nuclear properties. The uncertainty in the values of these off-stability nuclear properties propagates to uncertainties in the predictions of elemental and isotopic abundances. However, for any given astrophysical explosion, there are many different trajectories, i.e. temperature and density histories, experienced by outflowing material and thus different nuclear properties can come into play. We consider combined nucleosynthesis results from 460,000 trajectories from a neutron star-black hole accretion disk and the find spread in elemental predictions due solely to unknown nuclear properties to be a factor of a few. We analyze this relative spread in model predictions due to nuclear variations and conclude that the uncertainties can be attributed to a combination of properties in a given region of the abundance pattern. We calculate a cross-correlation between mass changes and abundance changes to show how variations among the properties of participating nuclei may be explored. Our results provide further impetus for measurements of multiple quantities on individual short-lived neutron-rich isotopes at modern experimental facilities., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures; comments welcome

The number of planets in the solar system over the last three centuries has, perhaps surprisingly, been less of a fixed value than one would think it should be. In this paper, we look at the specific case of Vulcan, which was both a planet before Pluto was a planet and discarded from being a planet before Pluto was downgraded. We examine the historical context that led to its discovery in the 19th century, the decades of observations that were taken of it, and its eventual fall from glory. By applying a more modern understanding of astrophysics, we provide multiple mechanisms that may have changed the orbit of Vulcan sufficiently that it would have been outside the footprint of early 20th century searches for it. Finally, we discuss how the April 8, 2024 eclipse provides a renewed opportunity to rediscover this lost planet after more than a century of having been overlooked., Comment: 11 pages, submitted to Acta Prima Aprilia