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1. Importance nested sampling with normalising flows

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-2153/acd5aa  

   Williams, Michael J. ; Veitch, John ; Messenger, Chris ( July 2023 , Machine Learning: Science and Technology)

   We present an improved version of the nested sampling algorithmnessaiin which the core algorithm is modified to use importance weights. In the modified algorithm, samples are drawn from a mixture of normalising flows and the requirement for samples to be independently and identically distributed (i.i.d.) according to the prior is relaxed. Furthermore, it allows for samples to be added in any order, independently of a likelihood constraint, and for the evidence to be updated with batches of samples. We call the modified algorithmi-nessai. We first validatei-nessaiusing analytic likelihoods with known Bayesian evidences and show that the evidence estimates are unbiased in up to 32 dimensions. We comparei-nessaito standardnessaifor the analytic likelihoods and the Rosenbrock likelihood, the results show thati-nessaiis consistent withnessaiwhilst producing more precise evidence estimates. We then testi-nessaion 64 simulated gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole coalescence and show that it produces unbiased estimates of the parameters. We compare our results to those obtained using standardnessaianddynestyand find thati-nessairequires 2.68 and 13.3 times fewer likelihood evaluations to converge, respectively. We also testi-nessaiof an 80 s simulated binary neutron star signal using a reduced-order-quadrature basis and find that, on average, it converges in 24 min, whilst only requiring$1.01\times {10}^6$likelihood evaluations compared to$1.42\times {10}^6$fornessaiand$4.30\times {10}^7$fordynesty. These results demonstrate thati-nessaiis consistent withnessaianddynestywhilst also being more efficient.

    

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2. Short GRB Host Galaxies. II. A Legacy Sample of Redshifts, Stellar Population Properties, and Implications for Their Neutron Star Merger Origins

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac91d1  

   Nugent, Anya E. ; Fong, Wen-Fai ; Dong 董, Yuxin 雨欣 ; Leja, Joel ; Berger, Edo ; Zevin, Michael ; Chornock, Ryan ; Cobb, Bethany E. ; Kelley, Luke Zoltan ; Kilpatrick, Charles D. ; et al ( November 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We present the stellar population properties of 69 short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies, representing the largest uniformly modeled sample to date. Using theProspectorstellar population inference code, we jointly fit photometry and/or spectroscopy of each host galaxy. We find a population median redshift of$z={0.64}_{-0.32}^{+0.83}$(68% confidence), including nine photometric redshifts atz≳ 1. We further find a median mass-weighted age oft_m=${0.8}_{-0.53}^{+2.71}$Gyr, stellar mass of log(M_*/M_⊙) =${9.69}_{-0.65}^{+0.75}$, star formation rate of SFR =${1.44}_{-1.35}^{+9.37}$M_⊙yr⁻¹, stellar metallicity of log(Z_*/Z_⊙) =$-{0.38}_{-0.42}^{+0.44}$, and dust attenuation of$A_V={0.43}_{-0.36}^{+0.85}$mag (68% confidence). Overall, the majority of short GRB hosts are star-forming (≈84%), with small fractions that are either transitioning (≈6%) or quiescent (≈10%); however, we observe a much larger fraction (≈40%) of quiescent and transitioning hosts atz≲ 0.25, commensurate with galaxy evolution. We find that short GRB hosts populate the star-forming main sequence of normal field galaxies, but do not include as many high-mass galaxies as the general galaxy population, implying that their binary neutron star (BNS) merger progenitors are dependent on a combination of host star formation and stellar mass. The distribution of ages and redshifts implies a broad delay-time distribution, with a fast-merging channel atz> 1 and a decreased neutron star binary formation efficiency from high to low redshifts. If short GRB hosts are representative of BNS merger hosts within the horizon of current gravitational wave detectors, these results can inform future searches for electromagnetic counterparts. All of the data and modeling products are available on the Broadband Repository for Investigating Gamma-ray burst Host Traits website.

    

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3. Constraining Cosmological Parameters Using the Cluster Mass–Richness Relation

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace773  

   Abdullah, Mohamed H. ; Wilson, Gillian ; Klypin, Anatoly ; Ishiyama, Tomoaki ( September 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   The cluster mass–richness relation (MRR) is an observationally efficient and potentially powerful cosmological tool for constraining the matter density Ω_mand the amplitude of fluctuationsσ₈using the cluster abundance technique. We derive the MRR relation usingGalWCat19, a publicly available galaxy cluster catalog we created from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-DR13 spectroscopic data set. In the MRR, cluster mass scales with richness as$\log M_{200}=\alpha +\beta \log N_{200}$. We find that the MRR we derive is consistent with both the IllustrisTNG and mini-Uchuu cosmological numerical simulations, with a slope ofβ≈ 1. We use the MRR we derived to estimate cluster masses from theGalWCat19catalog, which we then use to set constraints on Ω_mandσ₈. Utilizing the all-member MRR, we obtain constraints of Ω_m=${0.31}_{-0.03}^{+0.04}$andσ₈=${0.82}_{-0.04}^{+0.05}$, and utilizing the red member MRR only, we obtain Ω_m=${0.31}_{-0.03}^{+0.04}$andσ₈=${0.81}_{-0.04}^{+0.05}$. Our constraints on Ω_mandσ₈are consistent and very competitive with the Planck 2018 results.

    

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4. Do black holes remember what they are made of?

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/ad56ed  

   Bandyopadhyay, Harshraj ; Radice, David ; Prakash, Aviral ; Dhani, Arnab ; Logoteta, Domenico ; Perego, Albino ; Kashyap, Rahul ( June 2024 , Classical and Quantum Gravity)

   We study the ringdown signal of black holes formed in prompt-collapse binary neutron star mergers. We analyze data from 47 numerical relativity simulations. We show that the$(\ell =2,m=2)$and$(\ell =2,m=1)$multipoles of the gravitational wave signal are well fitted by decaying damped exponentials, as predicted by black-hole perturbation theory. We show that the ratio of the amplitude in the two modes depends on the progenitor binary mass ratioqand reduced tidal parameter$\tilde{\mathrm{\Lambda }}$. Unfortunately, the numerical uncertainty in our data is too large to fully quantify this dependency. If confirmed, these results will enable novel tests of general relativity in the presence of matter with next-generation gravitational-wave observatories.

    

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5. The Stellar Mass–Black Hole Mass Relation at z ∼ 2 down to BH∼107M⊙ Determined by HETDEX

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acc2c2  

   Zhang, Yechi ; Ouchi, Masami ; Gebhardt, Karl ; Liu, Chenxu ; Harikane, Yuichi ; Cooper, Erin_Mentuch ; Davis, Dustin ; Farrow, Daniel_J ; Gawiser, Eric ; Hill, Gary_J ; et al ( May 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We investigate the stellar mass–black hole mass (${\mathit{}}_{*}–{\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$) relation with type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) down to${\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}={10}^7{M}_{\odot }$, corresponding to a ≃ −21 absolute magnitude in rest-frame ultraviolet, atz= 2–2.5. Exploiting the deep and large-area spectroscopic survey of the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), we identify 66 type 1 AGNs with${\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$ranging from 10⁷–10¹⁰M_⊙that are measured with single-epoch virial method using Civemission lines detected in the HETDEX spectra.${\mathit{}}_{*}$of the host galaxies are estimated from optical to near-infrared photometric data taken with Spitzer, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, and ground-based 4–8 m class telescopes byCIGALEspectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. We further assess the validity of SED fitting in two cases by host-nuclear decomposition performed through surface brightness profile fitting on spatially resolved host galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope/NIRCam CEERS data. We obtain the${\mathit{}}_{*}–{\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$relation covering the unexplored low-mass ranges of${\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}\sim {10}^7–{10}^8{M}_{\odot }$, and conduct forward modeling to fully account for the selection biases and observational uncertainties. The intrinsic${\mathit{}}_{*}–{\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$relation atz∼ 2 has a moderate positive offset of 0.52 ± 0.14 dex from the local relation, suggestive of more efficient black hole growth at higher redshift even in the low-mass regime of${\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}\sim {10}^7–{10}^8{M}_{\odot }$. Our${\mathit{}}_{*}–{\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$relation is inconsistent with the${\mathit{}}_{\mathrm{BH}}$suppression at the low-${\mathit{}}_{*}$regime predicted by recent hydrodynamic simulations at a 98% confidence level, suggesting that feedback in the low-mass systems may be weaker than those produced in hydrodynamic simulations.

    

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