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1. Search for Neutrino Emission from Hard X-Ray AGN with IceCube

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ada94b  

   Abbasi, R; Ackermann, M; Adams, J; Agarwalla, S K; Aguilar, J A; Ahlers, M; Alameddine, JM; Amin, N M; Andeen, K; Argüelles, C; et al (March 2025, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are promising candidate sources of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, since they provide environments rich in matter and photon targets where cosmic-ray interactions may lead to the production of gamma rays and neutrinos. We searched for high-energy neutrino emission from AGN using the Swift-BAT Spectroscopic Survey catalog of hard X-ray sources and 12 yr of IceCube muon track data. First, upon performing a stacked search, no significant emission was found. Second, we searched for neutrinos from a list of 43 candidate sources and found an excess from the direction of two sources, the Seyfert galaxies NGC 1068 and NGC 4151. We observed NGC 1068 at flux ${\varphi }_{{\nu }_{\mu }+{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }}$= $4.02_{-1.52}^{+1.58}\times 10^{-11}$TeV⁻¹cm⁻²s⁻¹normalized at 1 TeV, with a power-law spectral indexγ= 3.10 ${}_{-0.22}^{+0.26}$, consistent with previous IceCube results. The observation of a neutrino excess from the direction of NGC 4151 is at a posttrial significance of 2.9σ. If interpreted as an astrophysical signal, the excess observed from NGC 4151 corresponds to a flux ${\varphi }_{{\nu }_{\mu }+{\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }}$= $1.51_{-0.81}^{+0.99}\times 10^{-11}$TeV⁻¹cm⁻²s⁻¹normalized at 1 TeV andγ= 2.83 ${}_{-0.28}^{+0.35}$. 

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2. Detection of Molecular Clouds in the PeVatron Candidate Source LHAASO J0341+5258 by the Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb7df  

   Tsuji, Naomi; Takekawa, Shunya; Mori, Kaya; Mitchell, Alison; Zhang, Shuo; Bangale, Priyadarshini; DiKerby, Stephen; Ergin, Tülün; Woo, Jooyun; Safi-Harb, Samar; et al (April 2025, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We report a new CO observation survey of LHAASO J0341+5258, using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. LHAASO J0341+5258 is one of the unidentified ultra-high-energy (UHE;E> 100 TeV) gamma-ray sources detected by LHAASO. Our CO observations were conducted in 2024 February and March, with a total observation time of 36 hr, covering the LHAASO source (∼0 $\stackrel{\text{°}}{.}$3–0 $\stackrel{\text{°}}{.}$5 in radius) and its surrounding area (1° × 1 $\stackrel{\text{°}}{.}$5). Within the LHAASO source extent, we identified five compact (<2 pc) molecular clouds at nearby distances (<1–4 kpc). These clouds can serve as proton–proton collision targets, producing hadronic gamma rays via neutral pion decays. Based on the hydrogen densities (700–5000 cm⁻³) estimated from our CO observations and archived Hidata from the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory survey, we derive the total proton energy ofW_p(E> 1 TeV) ∼ 10⁴⁵erg to account for the gamma-ray flux. One of the molecular clouds appears to be likely associated with an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star with an extended CO tail, which may indicate some particle acceleration activities. However, the estimated maximum particle energy below 100 TeV makes the AGB-like star unlikely to be a PeVatron site. We conclude that the UHE emission observed in LHAASO J0341+5258 could be due to hadronic interactions between the newly discovered molecular clouds and TeV–PeV protons originating from a distant SNR or due to leptonic emission from a pulsar wind nebula candidate, which is reported in our companion X-ray observation paper. 

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3. A case study of SMEFT $$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ effects in diboson processes: pp → W±(ℓ±ν)γ

   https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2024)223  

   Martin, Adam (May 2024, Journal of High Energy Physics)

   A<sc>bstract</sc> In this paper we explorepp→W^±(ℓ^±ν)γto$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^4\right)$in the SMEFT expansion. Calculations to this order are necessary to properly capture SMEFT contributions that grow with energy, as the interference between energy-enhanced SMEFT effects at$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^2\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^2\right)$and the Standard Model is suppressed. We find that there are several dimension eight operators that interfere with the Standard Model and lead to the same energy growth, ~$$ \mathcal{O}\left({E}^4/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(E^4/{\Lambda }^4\right)$, as dimension six squared. While energy-enhanced SMEFT contributions are a main focus, our calculation includes the complete set of$$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{\Lambda}^4\right) $$ $O\left(1/{\Lambda }^4\right)$SMEFT effects consistent with U(3)⁵flavor symmetry. Additionally, we include the decay of theW^±→ ℓ^±ν, making the calculation actually$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {\ell}^{\pm}\nu \gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to {\ell }^{\pm }\mathrm{\nu \gamma }$. As such, we are able to study the impact of non-resonant SMEFT operators, such as$$ \left({L}^{\dagger }{\overline{\sigma}}^{\mu }{\tau}^IL\right)\left({Q}^{\dagger }{\overline{\sigma}}^{\nu }{\tau}^IQ\right) $$ $\left(L^{†}{\overline{\sigma }}^{\mu }{\tau }^{I}L\right)\left(Q^{†}{\overline{\sigma }}^{\nu }{\tau }^{I}Q\right)$B_μν, which contribute to$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {\ell}^{\pm}\nu \gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to {\ell }^{\pm }\mathrm{\nu \gamma }$directly and not to$$ \overline{q}{q}^{\prime}\to {W}^{\pm}\gamma $$ $\overline{q}{q}^{\prime }\to W^{\pm }\gamma$. We show several distributions to illustrate the shape differences of the different contributions. 

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4. Observation of momentum-dependent charge density wave gap in a layered antiferromagnet GdTe3

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44851-8  

   Regmi, Sabin; Bin Elius, Iftakhar; Sakhya, Anup Pradhan; Jeff, Dylan; Sprague, Milo; Mondal, Mazharul Islam; Jarrett, Damani; Valadez, Nathan; Agosto, Alexis; Romanova, Tetiana; et al (December 2023, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Charge density wave (CDW) ordering has been an important topic of study for a long time owing to its connection with other exotic phases such as superconductivity and magnetism. The$$R{\textrm{Te}}_{3}$$ $R{\text{Te}}_3$(R= rare-earth elements) family of materials provides a fertile ground to study the dynamics of CDW in van der Waals layered materials, and the presence of magnetism in these materials allows to explore the interplay among CDW and long range magnetic ordering. Here, we have carried out a high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of a CDW material$${\textrm{Gd}}{\textrm{Te}}_{3}$$ $\text{Gd}{\text{Te}}_3$, which is antiferromagnetic below$$\sim \mathrm {12~K}$$ $\sim 12K$, along with thermodynamic, electrical transport, magnetic, and Raman measurements. Our ARPES data show a two-fold symmetric Fermi surface with both gapped and ungapped regions indicative of the partial nesting. The gap is momentum dependent, maximum along$${\overline{\Gamma }}-\mathrm{\overline{Z}}$$ $\overline{\Gamma }-\overline{Z}$and gradually decreases going towards$${\overline{\Gamma }}-\mathrm{\overline{X}}$$ $\overline{\Gamma }-\overline{X}$. Our study provides a platform to study the dynamics of CDW and its interaction with other physical orders in two- and three-dimensions. 

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5. Doomed Worlds. I. No New Evidence for Orbital Decay in a Long-term Survey of 43 Ultrahot Jupiters

   https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad3e80  

   Adams, Elisabeth R; Jackson, Brian; Sickafoose, Amanda A; Morgenthaler, Jeffrey P; Worters, Hannah; Stubbers, Hailey; Carlson, Dallon; Bhure, Sakhee; Dekeyser, Stijn; Huang, Chelsea X; et al (July 2024, The Planetary Science Journal)

   Abstract Ultrahot Jupiters (UHJs) are likely doomed by tidal forces to undergo orbital decay and eventual disruption by their stars, but the timescale over which this process unfolds is unknown. We present results from a long-term project to monitor UHJ transits. We recovered WASP-12 b’s orbital decay rate of $\dot{P}=-29.8\pm 1.6$ms yr⁻¹, in agreement with prior work. Five other systems initially had promising nonlinear transit ephemerides. However, a closer examination of two—WASP-19 b and CoRoT-2 b, both with prior tentative detections—revealed several independent errors with the literature timing data; after correction, neither planet shows signs of orbital decay. Meanwhile, a potential decreasing period for TrES-1 b, $\dot{P}=-16\pm 5$ms yr⁻¹, corresponds to a tidal quality factor $Q_{\star }^{\prime }=160$and likely does not result from orbital decay if driven by dissipation within the host star. Nominal period increases in two systems, WASP-121 b and WASP-46 b, rest on a small handful of points. Only 1/43 planets (WASP-12 b) in our sample is experiencing detectable orbital decay. For nearly half (20/42), we can rule out $\dot{P}$as high as observed for WASP-12 b. Thus, while many UHJs could still be experiencing rapid decay that we cannot yet detect, a sizable subpopulation of UHJs are decaying at least an order of magnitude more slowly than WASP-12 b. Our reanalysis of Kepler-1658 b with no new data finds that it remains a promising orbital decay candidate. Finally, we recommend that the scientific community take steps to avoid spurious detections through better management of the multi-decade-spanning data sets needed to search for and study planetary orbital decay. 

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