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Protoclusters represent sites of accelerated galaxy formation and extreme astrophysical activity characteristic of dense environments. Identifying massive protoclusters and mapping their spatial structures are therefore crucial for understanding how large-scale environment influences galaxy evolution. We combine wide-field Lyαimaging from the One-hundred-deg²DECam Imaging in Narrowbands survey with extensive Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and ancillary spectroscopy across the extended COSMOS and XMM Large Scale Structure (LSS) fields (≈14 deg²) to search for massive protoclusters. We confirm six systems atz ≈ 2.4 and ≈ 3.1, including three newly identified structures and three which overlap with previously known structures and/or systems detected using other tracers. We reconstruct their three-dimensional structures, estimate descendant halo masses, and for one structure atz ≈ 3.12, demonstrate that overlapping narrowband filters (NB497 and N501) provide accurate redshift tomography for emission-line galaxies. One protocluster atz ≈ 2.45 overlaps with one of the LATIS tomographic fields, enabling direct comparison between galaxy and H ioverdensities traced by Lyαforest absorption. Another atz ≈ 3.12 hosts a massive quiescent galaxy (M_* ≈ 1.2 × 10¹¹M_⊙), suggesting that overdense environments may play a role in accelerating galaxy assembly and quenching. Comparing Lyαemission properties across environments, we find that protocluster galaxies exhibit higher median line fluxes and a deficit of faint emitters relative to the field. The effect is strongest when combining 2D and 3D density information, indicating that galaxies in the densest protocluster cores are most affected by environmental processes. This effect is stronger atz ≈ 3.1 than atz ≈ 2.4, suggesting possible redshift evolution. 

Abstract We present a new measurement of the Hubble constant,H₀, following the gravitational-wave event GW170817 and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) observations. A standard siren measurement with a nearby (luminosity distance ∼40 Mpc) event such as GW170817 is typically sensitive to the peculiar motion of the host galaxy owing to local dynamics. Previous measurements from this event have taken advantage of peculiar velocity measurements of nearby galaxies, including a handful of objects in the galaxy group that the host of the event, NGC 4993, has been associated with. Still, the group’s properties and NGC 4993’s membership were debated. We present DESI observations of thousands of galaxies in the vicinity of NGC 4993, resulting in 39 group galaxies and a fivefold increase in galaxies compared to previous observations, with many contributing to a peculiar velocity measurement. Examining the local dynamics, our observations support the presence of a galaxy group of which NGC 4993 is a part with a halo mass of order ∼10¹³M_⊙. Using peculiar velocity measurements from our fundamental plane galaxy observations, we find $H_0=70.9_{-8.5}^{+6.4}$  km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹. In addition, using a peculiar velocity measurement for NGC 4993 from surface brightness fluctuations in Cosmicflows-4, we find $H_0=73.4_{-3.9}^{+3.3}$  km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹. We study the impact of different galaxy selection criteria on the determination of the peculiar velocity and, in turn, on theH₀measurement. Our results demonstrate the value of multiplexed spectroscopic observations for probing the local environments of gravitational-wave events used in standard siren measurements. 

We use galaxy cluster abundance measurements from the South Pole Telescope enhanced by multicomponent matched filter confirmation and complemented with mass information obtained using weak-lensing data from Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES Y3) and targeted Hubble Space Telescope observations for probing deviations from the cold dark matter paradigm. Concretely, we consider a class of dark sector models featuring interactions between dark matter (DM) and a dark radiation (DR) component within the framework of the effective theory of structure formation (ETHOS). We focus on scenarios that lead to power suppression over a wide range of scales, and thus can be tested with data sensitive to large scales, as realized, for example, for DM–DR interactions following from an unbroken non-Abelian $SU\left(N\right)$ gauge theory (interaction rate with power-law index $n=0$ within the ETHOS parametrization). Cluster abundance measurements are mostly sensitive to the amount of DR interacting with DM, parametrized by the ratio of DR temperature to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature, ${\xi }_{\mathrm{DR}}=T_{\mathrm{DR}}/T_{\mathrm{CMB}}$ . We find an upper limit ${\xi }_{\mathrm{DR}}<17\%$ at 95% credibility. When the cluster data are combined with Planck 2018 CMB data along with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements we find ${\xi }_{\mathrm{DR}}<10\%$ , corresponding to a limit on the abundance of interacting DR that is around 3 times tighter than that from CMB + BAO data alone. We also discuss the complementarity of weak lensing informed cluster abundance studies with probes sensitive to smaller scales, explore the impact on our analysis of massive neutrinos, and comment on a slight preference for the presence of a nonzero interacting DR abundance, which enables a physical solution to the $S_8$ tension. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

ABSTRACT Recent cosmological analyses measuring distances of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) have all given similar hints at time-evolving dark energy. To examine whether underestimated SN Ia systematics might be driving these results, Efstathiou (2025) compared overlapping SN events between Pantheon+ and DES-SN5YR (20 per cent SNe are in common), and reported evidence for an $$\sim$$0.04 mag offset between the low- and high-redshift distance measurements of this subsample of events. If this offset is arbitrarily subtracted from the entire DES-SN5YR sample, the preference for evolving dark energy is reduced. In this paper, we show that this offset is mostly due to different corrections for Malmquist bias between the two samples; therefore, an object-to-object comparison can be misleading. Malmquist bias corrections differ between the two analyses for several reasons. First, DES-SN5YR used an improved model of SN Ia luminosity scatter compared to Pantheon+ but the associated scatter-model uncertainties are included in the error budget. Secondly, improvements in host mass estimates in DES-SN5YR also affected SN standardized magnitudes and their bias corrections. Thirdly, and most importantly, the selection functions of the two compilations are significantly different, hence the inferred Malmquist bias corrections. Even if the original scatter model and host properties from Pantheon+ are used instead, the evidence for evolving dark energy from CMB, DESI BAO Year 1 and DES-SN5YR is only reduced from 3.9$$\sigma$$ to 3.3$$\sigma$$, consistent with the error budget. Finally, in this investigation, we identify an underestimated systematic uncertainty related to host galaxy property uncertainties, which could increase the final DES-SN5YR error budget by 3 per cent. In conclusion, we confirm the validity of the published DES-SN5YR results. 

Abstract The properties of Milky Way satellite galaxies have important implications for galaxy formation, reionization, and the fundamental physics of dark matter. However, the population of Milky Way satellites includes the faintest known galaxies, and current observations are incomplete. To understand the impact of observational selection effects on the known satellite population, we perform rigorous, quantitative estimates of the Milky Way satellite galaxy detection efficiency in three wide-field survey datasets: the Dark Energy Survey Year 6, the DECam Local Volume Exploration Data Release 3, and the Pan-STARRS1 Data Release 1. Together, these surveys cover ∼13,600 deg²tog∼ 24.0 and ∼27,700 deg²tog∼ 22.5, spanning ∼91% of the high-Galactic-latitude sky (∣b∣ ≥ 15°). We apply multiple detection algorithms over the combined footprint and recover 49 known satellites above a strict census detection threshold. To characterize the sensitivity of our census, we run our detection algorithms on a large set of simulated galaxies injected into the survey data, which allows us to develop models that predict the detectability of satellites as a function of their properties. We then fit an empirical model to our data and infer the luminosity function, radial distribution, and size–luminosity relation of Milky Way satellite galaxies. Our empirical model predicts a total of $265_{-47}^{+79}$ satellite galaxies with −20 ≤M_V≤ 0, half-light radii of 15 ≤r_1/2, (pc) ≤ 3000, and galactocentric distances of 10 ≤D_GC(kpc) ≤ 300. We also identify a mild anisotropy in the angular distribution of the observed galaxies, at a significance of ∼2σ, which can be attributed to the clustering of satellites associated with the LMC. 

Abstract We present a catalog of 500 galaxy cluster candidates in the SPT-Deep field: a 100 deg²field that combines data from the SPT-3G and SPTpol surveys to reach noise levels of 3.0, 2.2, and 9.0μK-arcmin at 95, 150, and 220 GHz, respectively. Candidates are selected via the thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect with a minimum significance ofξ = 4.0, resulting in a catalog of purity ∼89%. Optical data from the Dark Energy Survey and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope are used to confirm 442 cluster candidates. The clusters span 0.12 < z ≲ 1.8 and 1.0 × 10¹⁴M_⊙/h₇₀ < M_500c < 8.7 × 10¹⁴M_⊙/h₇₀. The sample’s median redshift is 0.74, and the median mass is 1.7 × 10¹⁴M_⊙/h₇₀; these are the lowest median mass and highest median redshift of any SZ-selected sample to date. We assess the effect of infrared emission from cluster member galaxies on cluster selection by performing a joint fit to the infrared dust and tSZ signals by combining measurements from SPT and overlapping submillimeter data from Herschel/SPIRE. We find that at high redshift (z > 1), the tSZ signal is reduced by $17.9_{-3.2}^{+3.8}\%$ ( $3.8_{-0.7}^{+0.9}\%$ ) at 150 GHz (95 GHz) due to dust contamination. We repeat our cluster finding method on dust-nulled SPT maps and find the resulting catalog is consistent with the nominal SPT-Deep catalog, suggesting dust contamination does not significantly impact the SPT-Deep selection function; we attribute this lack of bias to the inclusion of the SPT 220 GHz band. 

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Collaboration has obtained robust measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations in the redshift range $0.1<z<4.2$ , based on the Lyman- $\alpha$ forest and galaxies from data release 2. We combine these measurements with cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope to place our tightest constraints yet on the sum of neutrino masses. Assuming the cosmological $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ model and three degenerate neutrino states, we find $\sum m_{\nu }<0.0642\mathrm{eV}$ (95%) with a marginalized error of $\sigma (\sum m_{\nu })=0.020\mathrm{eV}$ . We also constrain the effective number of neutrino species, finding $N_{\mathrm{eff}}=3.23_{-0.34}^{+0.35}$ (95%), in line with the Standard Model prediction. When accounting for neutrino oscillation constraints, we find a preference for the normal mass ordering and an upper limit on the lightest neutrino mass of $m_l<0.023\mathrm{eV}$ (95%). However, we determine using frequentist and Bayesian methods that our constraints are in tension with the lower limits derived from neutrino oscillations. Correcting for the physical boundary at zero mass, we report a 95% Feldman-Cousins upper limit of $\sum m_{\nu }<0.053\mathrm{eV}$ , breaching the lower limit from neutrino oscillations. Considering a more general Bayesian analysis with an effective cosmological neutrino mass parameter, $\sum m_{\nu ,\mathrm{eff}}$ , that allows for negative energy densities and removes unsatisfactory prior weight effects, we derive constraints that are in $3\sigma$ tension with the same oscillation limit, while the error rises to $\sigma (\sum m_{\nu ,\mathrm{eff}})=0.053\mathrm{eV}$ . In the absence of unknown systematics, this finding could be interpreted as a hint of new physics not necessarily related to neutrinos. The preference of DESI and CMB data for an evolving dark energy model offers one possible solution. In the $w_0{w}_a\mathrm{CDM}$ model, we find $\sum m_{\nu }<0.163\mathrm{eV}$ (95%), relaxing the neutrino tension. These constraints all rely on the effects of neutrinos on the cosmic expansion history. Using full-shape power spectrum measurements of data release 1 galaxies, we place complementary constraints that rely on neutrino free streaming. Our strongest such limit in $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ , using selected CMB priors, is $\sum m_{\nu }<0.193\mathrm{eV}$ (95%). 

ABSTRACT Gravitational lensing magnification of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) allows information to be obtained about the distribution of matter on small scales. In this paper, we derive limits on the fraction $$\alpha$$ of the total matter density in compact objects (which comprise stars, stellar remnants, small stellar groupings, and primordial black holes) of mass M > 0.03 $${\rm M}_{\odot }$$ over cosmological distances. Using 1532 SNe Ia from the Dark Energy Survey Year 5 sample (DES-SN5YR) combined with a Bayesian prior for the absolute magnitude M, we obtain α < 0.12 at the 95 per cent confidence level after marginalization over cosmological parameters, lensing due to large-scale structure, and intrinsic non-Gaussianity. Similar results are obtained using priors from the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, and galaxy weak lensing, indicating our results do not depend on the background cosmology. We argue our constraints are likely to be conservative (in the sense of the values we quote being higher than the truth), but discuss scenarios in which they could be weakened by systematics of the order of $$\Delta \alpha \sim 0.04$$. 

We conduct an extended analysis of dark energy constraints, in support of the findings of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) second data release cosmology key paper, including DESI data, Planck cosmic microwave background observations, and three different supernova compilations. Using a broad range of parametric and nonparametric methods, we explore the dark energy phenomenology and find consistent trends across all approaches, in good agreement with the $w_0{w}_a\mathrm{CDM}$ (cold dark matter) key paper results. Even with the additional flexibility introduced by nonparametric approaches, such as binning and Gaussian processes, we find that extending $\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{CDM}$ to include a two-parameter $w\left(z\right)$ is sufficient to capture the trends present in the data. Finally, we examine three dark energy classes with distinct dynamics, including quintessence scenarios satisfying $w\ge -1$ , to explore what underlying physics can explain such deviations. The current data indicate a clear preference for models that feature a phantom crossing; although alternatives lacking this feature are disfavored, they cannot yet be ruled out. Our analysis confirms that the evidence for dynamical dark energy, particularly at low redshift ( $z\lesssim 0.3$ ), is robust and stable under different modeling choices. 

ABSTRACT Current and future Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) surveys will need to adopt new approaches to classifying SNe and obtaining their redshifts without spectra if they wish to reach their full potential. We present here a novel approach that uses only photometry to identify SNe Ia in the 5-yr Dark Energy Survey (DES) data set using the SuperNNova classifier. Our approach, which does not rely on any information from the SN host-galaxy, recovers SNe Ia that might otherwise be lost due to a lack of an identifiable host. We select $$2{,}298$$ high-quality SNe Ia from the DES 5-yr data set an almost complete sample of detected SNe Ia. More than 700 of these have no spectroscopic host redshift and are potentially new SNIa compared to the DES-SN5YR cosmology analysis. To analyse these SNe Ia, we derive their redshifts and properties using only their light curves with a modified version of the SALT2 light-curve fitter. Compared to other DES SN Ia samples with spectroscopic redshifts, our new sample has in average higher redshift, bluer and broader light curves, and fainter host-galaxies. Future surveys such as LSST will also face an additional challenge, the scarcity of spectroscopic resources for follow-up. When applying our novel method to DES data, we reduce the need for follow-up by a factor of four and three for host-galaxy and live SN, respectively, compared to earlier approaches. Our novel method thus leads to better optimization of spectroscopic resources for follow-up.