Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía

Abstract Young and massive stellar clusters are a potential source of galactic cosmic rays due to at least two acceleration mechanisms. Collective stellar winds from massive stars form a wind-blown bubble with a termination shock at which particle acceleration to PeV energies may be achieved. Furthermore, shock acceleration may occur at supernova remnants (SNRs) expanding inside the bubble. We apply a model of cosmic-ray acceleration at both the collective wind termination shock and SNR shocks to the catalog of known stellar clusters derived from the Gaia DR2. Predictions for the secondary fluxes of γ -ray and neutrino emission are derived based on hadro-nuclear interactions with the surrounding medium. We compare our modeling under baseline and optimistic scenarios to available data, finding consistent results. An anticipated flux range is provided for a shortlist of the most promising stellar clusters. Approximately 10 clusters may be detectable with future facilities, and one to three could be currently operating as PeVatrons. Among these, data from three γ -ray detected clusters can be consistently described by our model. Several further as-yet-undetected stellar clusters offer promising targets for future γ -ray observations, although the flux range allowed by our model can be broad (≳ factor 10). The large angular size of the wind-blown bubble may pose a challenge, leading to low surface brightness emission, thus exacerbating the problem of source confusion. Nevertheless, we discuss how further work will help to constrain stellar clusters as PeVatron candidates.

Abstract We report a multi-epoch V-band campaign (2021–2023) with uniform processing and a common 550 km normalisation across Starlink generations. Median magnitudes (68% confidence intervals; N in brackets) are: v1.0: 5.365,[5.084,5.553] (34), Gen-2: 6.012,[5.801,6.173] (6), v1.5: 6.106,[6.065,6.154] (164), VisorSat: 6.618,[6.403,6.804] (54), DarkSat: 8.431,[5.916,10.947] (2). This yields the ordering v1.0 < Gen-2 ≲ v1.5 < VisorSat ≪ DarkSat, i.e. mitigation-era designs are typically fainter than the original v1.0. The Gen-2–v1.5 difference is small (0.094,mag) and Gen-2 has limited coverage (N = 6), so the trend is not strictly monotonic. We use an open, Python-based processing pipeline built on astropy for standard image calibration (bias, dark and flat-field correction), astrometric and photometric calibration against Gaia DR3, and derivation of the viewing geometry (solar phase angle, range, elongation and airmass). Satellite tracks are identified from TLE-based ephemerides, matched to the detections, and then used to measure a brightness value for each track in a reproducible way. At a common height, the medians are 5.37 (v1.0), 6.01 (Gen-2), 6.11 (v1.5), 6.62 (VisorSat) and 8.43 (DarkSat; N = 2), which are ∼0.4–1.6 mag brighter (numerically smaller) than the target of V ≈ 7. Thus, mitigation shows clear progress but does not yet meet the IAU CPS/SATCON goal of V ≥ 7 at ∼550 km. These benchmarks can guide future satellite designs, survey planning and avoidance strategies, with the main uncertainties arising from the very small samples for DarkSat and Gen-2.

In the context of future Venusian missions, it is crucial to improve our understanding of Venus upper atmosphere through 3D modelling, notably for spacecraft orbit computation. This study compares three General Circulation Models (GCMs) of the Venusian atmosphere up to the exosphere: The Venus Planetary Climate Model (Venus PCM; Lebonnois et al., 2010; Martinez et al. 2024), the Venus Thermospheric Global Model (VTGCM; Brecht et al., 2021) and the Tohoku University GCM (TUGCM; Hoshino et al., 2013), focusing on their nominal simulations (e.g. composition, thermal & dynamic structures and heating/cooling rates).Similarities and discrepancies among them are deeply discussed in Martinez et al. (2026), together with data-models comparison. Despite similar large-scale features, significant differences are identified among the models (see Figure 1). All three GCMs reproduce a warm dayside thermosphere and a cold nightside cryosphere, driven by a balance between solar extreme ultraviolet heating, near-infrared heating, radiative cooling by CO2 at 15-μm, thermal conduction, and dynamical effects. However, the magnitude and vertical distribution of temperatures differ substantially, particularly in the upper thermosphere. Comparisons with Pioneer Venus, Venus Express, and Magellan observations reveal that the nominal simulations systematically overestimate daytime exospheric temperatures. This bias is consistently linked to an underestimation of atomic oxygen densities, which reduces radiative cooling efficiency at high altitudes. Figure 1: Diurnal structure of the temperatures for equatorial latitude (30°S–30°N) for Venus PCM, VTGCM and TUGCM at high solar activity (leftside) and at low solar activity (rightside). The approximate altitude of each model for each solar period is marked in white for pressure levels of 10, 1, 0.1, 10−2, 10−3, 10−4 and 10−5 Pa.Based on the findings of the article, a list of recommendations is proposed aiming at improving the modelling of Venus’ upper atmosphere, among them: 1. Standardize the EUV-UV solar spectrum input. 2. Update the near-infrared heating scheme with Venus Express-Era data. 3. Reassess Radiative cooling schemes. 4. Investigate the underestimated atomic Oxygen abundance.

Following the increase of greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric models predict a strengthening of the middle atmospheric Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC). Changes in the BDC, inferred from age of air (AoA) trends, can influence UTLS exchange processes, including stratosphere–troposphere transport of ozone. While models predict an acceleration of the BDC (i.e. a decrease of AoA), in-situ balloon observations suggest the opposite, although not significantly, given the limited number of observations and the substantial uncertainties (Garny et al., 2024a). Additionally, meteorological reanalyses disagree on the sign and magnitude of AoA trends, despite providing an optimized estimate of atmospheric circulation constrained by observations.The Changing Atmosphere Infrared Tomography explorer (CAIRT) was proposed for ESA’s Earth Explorer 11 to address these inconsistencies. CAIRT was foreseen to achieve a precision of 0.5 years on the age of air, a requirement to assess long-term trends. This contribution aims to evaluate the capability of CAIRT to achieve this precision. Synthetic CAIRT profiles of six long-lived species (SF6, CH4, N2O, CFC11, CFC12 and HCFC22) are simulated by the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical ObsErvations (BASCOE) chemistry transport model, considering CAIRT’s expected measurement errors and spatial resolution. CAIRT AoA observations, derived from the six long-lived species using the method of Voet et al. (2025), are compared to clock tracer AoA, simulated by the BASCOE model, to evaluate the agreement. The analysis is repeated three times by driving the model with the meteorological reanalyses MERRA2, ERA5, and JRA-3Q, respectively, to check if CAIRT precision would be sufficient to evaluate meteorological reanalyses.

The martian atmosphere is sensitive to disturbances in interplanetary space due to the absence of a strong planetary magnetic field. Solar energetic particle (SEP) events comprise high-energy, electrically-charged sub-atomic particles and are produced during solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Previous work has shown that SEPs result in diffuse aurorae, disruption of radio propagation, the dispersion of atmospheric compounds, and the ionisation of atmospheric layers. In this study, we explore the relationship between SEP events and lower-atmospheric heating at Mars. Five SEP events with durations of four days or longer were identified in the years 2020-2021. Measurements from the Mars Atmosphere And Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission and the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft are compared to atmospheric temperature profiles derived from the Mars Climate Database. Specifically, Mars’ lower-atmospheric temperature profiles before, during and after the SEP events are analysed. No strong evidence is found that indicates SEP events lead to the heating of Mars’ atmosphere. However, in the one case, a SEP event occurred concurrently with an expanding global dust storm. In this case, a clear heating effect is observed, but further research is required to attribute atmospheric temperature variations as a result of the global dust storms and SEP events where the two occur simultaneously.

Abstract We report the detection of methanol (CH 3 OH) toward interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using the Atacama Compact Array of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) on UT 2025 August 28, September 18 and 22, and October 1 and of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) on September 12 and 15. These observations spanned pre-perihelion heliocentric distances ( r H ) of 2.6–1.7 au. The molecules showed outgassing patterns distinct from one another, with HCN production being depleted in the sunward hemisphere of the coma, whereas CH 3 OH was enhanced in that direction. Statistical analysis of molecular scale lengths in 3I/ATLAS indicated that CH 3 OH included production from coma sources at L p &gt; 258 km at 99% confidence. However, low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) on long baselines, which sample emission on small spatial scales closest to the nucleus, prevented definitively ruling out CH 3 OH as purely a parent species. In contrast, HCN production was indistinguishable from direct nucleus sublimation. The CH 3 OH production rate increased sharply from August through October, including an uptick near the inner edge of the H 2 O sublimation zone at r H = 2 au. Compared to comets measured to date at radio wavelengths, the derived CH 3 OH/HCN ratios in 3I/ATLAS of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>12</mml:mn> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>34</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>30</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>7</mml:mn> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>9</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>14</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>11</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> on September 12 and 15, respectively, are among the most enriched values measured in any comet, surpassed only by anomalous solar system comet C/2016 R2 (Pan-STARRS).

Abstract We present new detections of mesoscale stationary features, which are interpreted as gravity waves, on the dayside clouds of Venus. These come from an analysis of images from two instruments onboard different spacecrafts: Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer—Mapper (VIRTIS‐M) on Venus Express (VEx) and IR2 on Akatsuki. For VIRTIS‐M we selected the period from the first extension of the mission (roughly from August 2007 to May 2009). The wavelength range selected was based on best viewing conditions to characterize waves, centered at 600 nm. For IR2 we surveyed the entire available data at 2.02 μm targeting the dayside hemisphere. Basic morphological properties of the detected features were retrieved, namely their horizontal wavelength, packet sizes and orientations. Our measurements show that the horizontal wavelengths of these features are between 100 and 500 km, their widths between 500 and 3,000 km, and mostly oriented so that the crests align with the local meridian. We also retrieve the background wind in the vicinity of the detected structures to then calculate the vertical wavelength. The inclusion of the vertical wind shear of the zonal wind at the altitudes where these waves are observed proved significant in these calculations. For the features from Akatsuki data, we find values in good agreement with previous works however, for VIRTIS‐M their dimensions appear slightly reduced. This works aims to expand the current knowledge of the distribution of stationary waves with further applications to understand dynamical connections between the surface and the cloud layer in Venus' atmosphere.

In this work, we consider a simple bistable motif constituted by a self-enhancing Transcription Factor (TF) and its mRNA with non-instantaneous dynamics. In particular, we mainly numerically investigated the impact of bounded stochastic perturbations of Sine-Wiener type affecting the degradation rate/binding rate constant of the TF on the phase-like transitions of the system. We show that the intrinsic exponential delay in the TF positive feedback, due to the presence of a mRNA with slow dynamics, deeply affects the above-mentioned transitions for long but finite times. We also show that, in the case of more complex delays in the feedback and/or in the translation process, the impact of the extrinsic stochasticity is further amplified. We also briefly investigate the power-law behavior (PLB) of the averaged energy spectrum of the TF by showing that, in some cases, the PLB is simply due to the filtering nature of the motif. A similar analysis can also be applied to biological models having a qualitatively similar structure, such as the well-known Capasso and Paveri-Fontana model of cholera spreading.

Abstract This is the second part of an investigation of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere using solar occultation observations by the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) spectrometer on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Following the analysis of six Earth years of NOMAD observations performed in the first part, a cross‐validation between NOMAD and ACS results is presented, showing global as well as profile‐by‐profile comparisons. The results reveal an overall good agreement between different teams and instruments, taking into account the different retrieval methodologies. In order to compare with model predictions, we perform an exhaustive analysis of the water vapor simulated by Mars Planetary Climate Model (MPCM). It shows that the MPCM reproduces most of the water vapor climatological features observed in the atmosphere. However, several discrepancies between model and observations are noticed. Some of these are possibly related to the vertical distribution of dust and its effect on the global circulation and on the water vapor vertical transport. Other data‐model differences found at 60 km seem to be related to discrepancies on the water ice cloud formation in the MPCM. We include a cluster analysis of Martian water vapor vertical profiles for the first time. This technique applied to MPCM and NOMAD water vapor retrievals reveal distinct groups of profiles being representative of specific seasons and latitudinal regions, similarly distributed in both model and observations. Moreover, it allows us to provide a simplified water vapor climatology, useful to detect out‐of‐season events and biases in the retrieval processes.