Clay weekly context brief for the Astro category (ISO week 2026-W42).

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. Galaxy Clustering Can Reveal Host-Galaxy Properties of Binary Black Hole Mergers
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11045
   Galaxy clustering encodes information about the host galaxies of binary black hole (BBH) mergers even when individual hosts remain unidentified, because the distribution of neighboring galaxies depends statistically on the host-galaxy population.
2. Systematic non-compliance of satellite megaconstellations with IAU brightness limits
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10834
   Satellite megaconstellations in low Earth orbit interfere with ground-based optical astronomy, but the scale of that interference has been hard to measure.
3. A Multi-dimensional Analysis of the Open Clusters NGC 2423 and NGC 2482 with Gaia DR3
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10683
   We present a homogeneous photometric, astrometric, and kinematic study of the Hyades-like open clusters NGC 2423 and NGC 2482 based on Gaia DR3 data.
4. Wind-Fed Magnetic Flux and the Emergence of X-ray Coronae in Active Galactic Nuclei
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10681
   We propose a scenario for the onset of radiatively efficient Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in which circumnuclear stellar and supernova-driven winds supply mass and partially ordered magnetic flux to a compact disk reservoir around a supermassive black hole.
5. DeepDISC on LSST Data Preview 1: Scene-Level Detection, Deblending, and Star/Galaxy Classification in the ECDFS and EDFS Fields
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10986
   We present the first application of DeepDISC, a scene-level deep-learning framework, to real LSST data, using the Data Preview 1 (DP1) coadded images of the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South and the Euclid Deep Field-South fields.
6. Population II Post-AGB Stars. I. Methodology, Initial Results, and the First Luminosity Function
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10739
   Post-asymptotic giant branch (PAGB) stars share many advantages with the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) for Population II distance measurements, including minimal internal reddening, easy identification, a solid theoretical foundation, and an expected weak metallicity dependence.
7. Debiasing Local Cluster Infall Reveals $\boldsymbol{H_0}$: Application to the Virgo Cluster
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10779
   Galaxy recession velocities are commonly used to measure the Hubble constant, $H_0$, with peculiar velocities treated as random noise.
8. Stochastic Snowball States in Planetary Climate
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10922
   Motivated by the recent finding of Ji and Abbot (2025) that at moderate eccentricity (0.2--0.3) the planetary Snowball bistability vanishes, we have introduced stochasticity of the orbital eccentricity into a simplified version of the energy balance model of Eisenman and Wettlaufer (2009) to study a general Earth-like planet.
9. Cosmic Duets II. Growth and accretion in Gaia Multi-Peak dual AGN at Cosmic Noon
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10687
   We present the first statistical characterization of the physical properties of Cosmic Duets: dual AGN in the redshift range 0.5 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 3.0 with projected separations of 1-7 kpc, corresponding to systems in which both AGN are expected to reside within the same merger remnant.
10. Neutrino flavor conversion alters the lepton-emission self-sustained asymmetry in core-collapse supernovae
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10685
   We solve the neutrino equations of motion in a half annulus, accounting for two spatial dimensions.
11. radio-astro-tools: linking radio astronomical data to the astronomical Python ecosystem
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11429
   We present the radio-astro-tools code suite, which consists of several Python packages that enable analysis of radio data, especially interferometric spectral cubes, in the context of the Astropy software ecosystem.
12. Understanding how Coronal Heating and Magnetic Field Scaling Affect Global Properties of the Low and Middle Corona
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10910
   The magnetic field of the Sun is a key driver of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration.
13. Primordial black holes
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10750
   Primordial black holes, whose formation in the early Universe was first hypothesized by Ya.B.~Zel'dovich and I.D.~Novikov in 1966 (the text of this pioneering article is provided in Appendix II to this review), have attracted increasing attention in recent years.
14. Gravitational Microlensing
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11637
   Gravitational microlensing is a unique planet-detection method that does not rely on detecting light from the host star or planet.
15. A "universal" supernova efficiency to drive the HI turbulence in nearby star-forming galaxies
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10698
   The origin of cold gas turbulence in galaxies has long been debated.
16. Discovery of a Nearby Ultra-fast Magnetic White Dwarf Propeller: Common Pathways to Magnetic Cataclysmic Variables
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10689
   The fastest spinning white dwarfs (WDs), which approach break-up speeds, are found in close binary systems.
17. Pseudo Closed-Loop Bootstrapping for Reinforcement Learning Based AO Control
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11463
   High contrast imaging with ground-based telescopes requires extremely precise wavefront control.
18. Direct Numerical Comparison of Data Driving Strategies for Solar Flux Emergence in Magnetohydrodynamics: B-driving vs E-driving
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11182
   Data driving is an important technique for modelling realistic magnetic field and plasma evolution in regions of the solar atmosphere where direct observations are either absent or insufficient.
19. Feedback-Conditional 3D Reconstruction of Cosmic Baryons with Flow Matching
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10741
   The complex relationship between galaxies and diffuse gas at large scales depends strongly on astrophysical feedback and cosmology.
20. Size, Shape, and Geometric Albedo of Dwarf Planet Quaoar's Largest Satellite Weywot
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11988
   The small satellites of dwarf-planet size worlds in trans-Neptunian space are thought to be produced through giant impacts, and are typically observed to have bright water-ice-dominated surfaces.
21. Prevalence of radio Active Galactic Nuclei in galaxy groups since z=3.5 in the COSMOS-Web field
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10719
   Radio active galactic nuclei (AGN) are key tracers of kinetic feedback from supermassive black holes.
22. Accreting Neutron Stars in Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10691
   Neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (NS LMXBs) are systems in which a neutron star accretes matter from a Roche-lobe-filling companion via an accretion disc, releasing gravitational energy with an efficiency of order 10-20% of the rest-mass energy.
23. A Coherent Harmonic Summing Pulsar Search Code
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11749
   Pulsars have narrow pulses, so their signals spread over many harmonics in a Fourier transform.
24. Oxygen isotopic ratio in open cluster RGB stars: A new method for accurate mass and age estimations
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11404
   Determining precise and homogeneous absolute ages of open clusters (OCs) remains a challenge in stellar astrophysics, mainly due to parameter degeneracies in photometric methods and line-of-sight extinctions.
25. Primordial black holes as a natural consequence of scale-invariance
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10677
   We show that a scale-invariant $U(1)$ gauge theory can naturally realize large curvature perturbations around the end of thermal inflation, seeding the formation of primordial black holes (PBHs).
26. Gen-EBM: an energy balance model for terrestrial planets. Climate multistability from snowball to post-runaway greenhouse climates
   Source: astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12267
   Climate multistability and tipping points are fundamental properties of planetary climates that depend sensitively on climate feedbacks.
27. NGC 4936: abundant multi-phase medium in the central weak X-ray cool core and optically dark H I clouds in the group
   Source: astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10721
   We present a multiwavelength analysis of NGC 4936, the central galaxy of a weak cool-core group hosting an unusually large cold/warm gas reservoir.
28. Descalarization bursts from Galactic supramassive neutron stars: a kHz continuous-wave target
   Source: astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10728
   In massive scalar-tensor gravity, a scalarized neutron star must shed its scalar hair as it collapses into a black hole.
29. On-chip filled array hyperspectral kinetic inductance detectors (FHYKID) for line intensity mapping
   Source: astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12051
   The next generation Line Intensity Mapping (LIM) experiments will require very high throughput instrumentation, and as a consequence high pixel counts focal planes.
30. Probing Massive Star Formation with Intrinsic Multiplicity Constraints from TESS Eclipsing Binaries
   Source: astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11762
   Massive stars play a central role in stellar and galactic evolution as progenitors of supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, and gravitational wave sources.
31. Pinpointing the cosmic web between massive galaxy clusters I. The incidence of HI and OVI as WHIM tracers
   Source: astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
   Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.11203
   At redshift z 40 km/s) and OVI absorbers.

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 31 of 373 available items for this weekly brief.