Clay weekly context brief for the Astro category (ISO week 2026-W32).

Clay tracks publications from the Astro feed list. Below are recent items from this category, each with its source and a short description of what the publication covers when one is available in the source feed.

Recent publications:
1. Gravitational Waves as a Source of Large-Scale White Noise: New Constraints
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27338
   A stochastic gravitational wave (GW) background sources a shear in the flow of cosmic fluid which, through non-linear mode coupling, generates large-scale white noise (LSWN) in the kurvature density field.
2. High-Resolution Dayside Spectroscopy of the Ultra-Hot Jupiter WASP-178b with GHOST/Gemini South
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27363
   We present high-resolution dayside spectroscopy of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-178b obtained with the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) at the Gemini South Observatory.
3. Relativistic effects of PSR~J1856--0039 double neutron star system in a 2.36-hour compact orbit
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27333
   Compact double neutron star (DNS) systems are unique laboratories for testing gravitational theories and studying DNS mergers.
4. Assessing the Impact of Instrumental Requirements on the Scientific Performance of the Einstein Telescope
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27311
   We investigate the relationship between instrumental requirements and the scientific performance of the Einstein Telescope (ET), a third-generation (3G) gravitational-wave (GW) observatory.
5. Deciphering the explosion mechanism of Type-Ia SNe using their remnants I: general properties and a case study on Tycho's SNR
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.10752
   Type-Ia supernovae (SNe), or runaway thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs (WDs), play a critical role in the chemical evolution of galaxies, and are important cosmological distance indicators due to their 'standardizable' lightcurves.
6. Vigorous turbulence driven by quasar-mode feedback in a cluster core
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24911
   Quasars are among the most luminous objects.
7. DESI DR2 Results IV: Alcock-Paczy\'nski Measurements from the Lyman Alpha Forest and Cosmological Constraints
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27410
   We present Alcock-Paczy\'nski (AP) measurements from the full shape of Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) forest correlation functions measured from the second data release (DR2) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).
8. Neptune's Inner Moons and Rings Are Exposed Icy Body Interiors
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27481
   Neptune's single large moon, Triton, is accompanied by a set of dusty rings and small moons whose composition and origin are uncertain.
9. Exploring cosmic magnetism with gamma-ray burst afterglow emission
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27336
   The nature and origin of magnetic fields on cosmological scales are still unclear.
10. The Calibration System of the iLocater Spectrograph
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27330
   iLocater is a new near-infrared, extreme precision radial velocity (EPRV) instrument delivered to the Large Binocular Telescope in the summer of 2026.
11. A conserved thermo-mechanic invariant in extended fluid description of collisionless plasmas
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.20002
   We investigate linear perturbations of an incompressible, weakly collisional, anisotropic plasma in the low frequency limit using an extended 16-moment fluid description that retains parallel and perpendicular heat fluxes.
12. Observational Evidence for Anisotropic Metal Excess around Galaxies
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24929
   The exchange of matter and energy between galaxies and their surroundings drives the cosmic baryon cycle, yet mapping metal transport remains an observational challenge.
13. Validation of the DESI DR2 Ly$\alpha$ forest full-shape analysis
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27411
   We present the validation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Data Release 2 (DR2) Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) forest full-shape analysis.
14. Stellar Activity, Exoplanet, Habitability, Planetary Atmospheres
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27531
   This chapter will review the deep connection of planetary habitability and stellar irradiation.
15. Binary neutron star populations across cosmic time: the impact of binary stellar evolution uncertainties
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27391
   We investigate the impact of uncertainties in binary stellar evolution on the formation efficiency and cosmological merger rate of BNS systems.
16. Laboratory characterization of iLocater
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27356
   iLocater is a diffraction-limited, fiber-fed spectrograph designed for the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), which targets high-precision radial velocity measurements in the near-infrared.
17. Thermally inflated accretors in post-mass transfer binaries: Abell 35 and its class revisited
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23756
   A small but growing class of binaries containing hot ($T_{\rm eff}\sim10^5\ {\rm K}$) white dwarfs (WDs) and rapidly rotating, apparently subgiant companions -- including the prototype, Abell 35 -- show companions that are too large and luminous to be ordinary main-sequence stars yet too numerous to be explained as finely tuned near-twin binaries.
18. S301 and friends: Measuring the spin of Sgr A*
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24931
   The discovery of S301 (GRAVITY Collaboration et al., 2026) with pericenter distance rp= 280rg and eccentricity e=0.9825, opens the prospect of measuring the spin parameter of Sgr A* through Lense--Thirring (LT) nodal precession.
19. CoLoRe-2LPT: Lyman-$\alpha$ mock catalogues for the validation of DESI cosmological analyses
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27412
   The Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) forest has become a crucial probe for studying the large-scale structure of the universe at high redshift ($z > 2$), providing powerful constraints on Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) and the full-shape (FS) clustering of matter.
20. Setting the Stage: The Early History of the Solar System
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27543
   This article reviews the early history of our solar system from an astrobiological perspective and presents evidence from meteorites and astronomical observations.
21. Radio Follow-Up of Einstein Probe Fast X-Ray Transients
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27439
   Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are brief, luminous bursts of soft X-ray emission whose physical origins remain uncertain.
22. Tiny Observatory for Telescope Optimization (TOTO): testing algorithms for autonomous on-orbit alignment for space-based telescope systems
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27457
   The Tiny Observatory for Telescope Optimization (TOTO) is an optical testbed designed to evaluate the efficacy of autonomously driven alignment algorithms for space-based telescope systems.
23. The Second Quadratic Invariant of Astrophysical Gyrokinetics
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27981
   We show that gyrokinetics in a spatially uniform equilibrium (or `astrophysical gyrokinetics') possesses a previously unknown quadratic invariant, which we call the gyrokinetic helicity.
24. Using Scattered Near-Infrared Light to Map Water Ice in Prestellar Cores with SPHEREx
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24934
   We present the first coreshine-derived, spatially-resolved maps of the 3 $\mu$m H$_2$O ice absorption feature in four prestellar cores, using SPHEREx spectra.
25. Lyman-$\alpha$ forest holography: 3D predictions from 1D measurements
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27413
   Cosmological analyses of Lyman-$\alpha$ forest clustering rely on either one-dimensional correlations along individual sightlines or three-dimensional correlations between different sightlines.
26. Rotation and Mutual Eclipse Events Season in the Kuiper Belt: (524366) 2001 XR$_{254}$
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27589
   (524366) 2001 XR$_{254}$ is a dynamically Cold Classical Kuiper Belt Object that is a nearly equal-sized wide binary whose upcoming mutual events season makes it a particularly valuable target for physical characterization.
27. On the triple nature of the PSR J0435+3233 system
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27462
   Context.
28. Testing of machine learning wavefront sensing algorithms on the Tiny Observatory for Telescope Optimization (TOTO) testbed
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27458
   Phase retrieval techniques are utilized to correct low order wavefront aberrations originating from misalignments of the optical system in space based telescope concepts.
29. First Experimental Bounds on Transverse Plasmon Solar Axions with ANAIS-112
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.27346
   Solar axion-like particles (ALPs) can be resonantly produced through the conversion of transverse plasmons in the magnetic field of the solar interior, introducing a production mechanism complementary to the conventional Primakoff process.

Sources in this brief: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics); astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics); astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies); astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena); astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics); astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics).
Selected 29 of 322 available items for this weekly brief.