We present high-spatial-resolution (less than or similar to 1 .'' 0), multiwavelength observations of UGC 2369S, a nearby luminous infrared galaxy showing three distinct cores separated on kiloparsec scales in near-infrared (NIR) imaging with significant X-ray emission. Utilizing optical/NIR adaptive optics, radio, Chandra X-ray, as well as archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we perform a comprehensive study of active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity, obscuration, and host properties. As one of the clearest cases of a triple-nucleus merger at similar or equal to 3 kpc separations, UGC 2369S is the first to be studied with high-resolution observations at multiple wavelengths. We find that the northern core, having possibly the most massive black hole (BH) in the system (M-BH similar or equal to 10(8)M(circle dot)), is consistent with a heavily obscured AGN. However, its high dust extinction (A(v) > 5), hydrogen column density (N-H greater than or similar to 10(25) cm(-2)), and nondetection of optical coronal lines and coronal X-ray emission leave the identification inconclusive. The other two cores show no evidence for black-hole activity and instead exhibit signatures of tidal disruption. From stellar mass surface density and stellar velocity dispersion maps, we infer that the strongly varying gravitational potential in this three-body system may have cannibalized the stellar bulge of the southwestern core, leaving a metal-enriched remnant. An ongoing survey focusing on similar triple systems could help us understand how they evolve and help benchmark numerical simulations, providing insight into gravitational wave predictions and the formation of the most massive BHs.

The modern generation of wide-field galaxy surveys, such as LSST, Euclid, and Roman, will enable studies of dwarf galaxies (10(6) <= M-*/M-circle dot <= 10(9)) beyond the Local Group (LG) in unprecedented detail. Improved theoretical understanding of this population is necessary to guide these observations, since predictions in this regime are generally limited to specific environments like the LG. We present predictions for the population of dwarf galaxies from the TNG50 run of the IllustrisTNG suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, focusing on the environments within 1 < D/Mpc < 25 of LG analogs at z = 0. In the simulated sample, there are similar to 1000 and similar to 12,000 dwarf galaxies within 10 and 25 Mpc, respectively. We compare our results with the 50 Mpc Galaxy Catalog and estimate that current observations are highly incomplete at low masses: for 10(6) <= M-*/M-circle dot <= 10(7) (-13 less than or similar to M-r less than or similar to -10), we find completeness fractions of similar to 23% within 10 Mpc and similar to 4% within 25 Mpc. The simulated galaxies below the completeness limits of the observations exist in a range of environments, with notable populations of field dwarfs at all distances and satellites around centrals with masses 10(8) less than or similar to M-*/M-circle dot less than or similar to 10(11) within 10(-25) Mpc. We find that there are similar to 8 times more quiescent dwarf galaxies in the TNG50 sample than are currently cataloged. Our results suggest that upcoming observations should uncover a substantial population of dwarf galaxies, and that greater than or similar to 15% of these will be red, currently quenched galaxies in the field.

X-ray variability is a well-established characteristic of active galactic nuclei (AGN), known to correlate inversely with both the supermassive black hole mass and luminosity, although the degree of each remains a topic of debate. The potential of X-ray variability as a proxy for MBH or for intrinsic LX has led to proposals to use AGN as standard candles to test cosmological models. However, the large intrinsic dispersion in these relations has limited their practical applications. In this work, we investigate the dependence of X-ray variability on AGN physical properties using a sample of 134 Seyfert 1 galaxies from the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), which is the largest sample to date, more than three times larger than those used in previous studies. Contrary to earlier findings, we observe that X-ray variability correlates with luminosity just as strongly as with MBH. Furthermore, we still do not find evidence for the expected anti-correlation between variability and Eddington ratio, even when using refined bolometric luminosities from SED fitting to compute the Eddington ratio. From a cosmological perspective, the increased sample size reduces the scatter in the log(L)-log(exvar) relation to 0.63 dex - a significant improvement over previous results, but still too large to serve as competitive standard candles, when compared to SNIa (uncertainties on distances of 5-10

X-ray variability is a well-established characteristic of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) known to correlate inversely with both the supermassive black hole mass (M-BH) and luminosity, although the degree of each remains a topic of debate. The potential of X-ray variability as a proxy for M-BH or for intrinsic L-X has led to proposals to use AGNs as standard candles to test cosmological models. However, the large intrinsic dispersion in these relations has limited their practical applications. In this work, we investigate the dependence of X-ray variability on physical properties of AGNs using a sample of 134 Seyfert 1 galaxies from the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), which is the largest sample to date (it is more than three times larger than samples used in previous studies). Contrary to earlier findings, we observed that X-ray variability correlates with luminosity just as strongly as with M-BH. Furthermore, we still find no evidence of the expected anti-correlation between variability and the Eddington ratio, even when using refined bolometric luminosities from Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting to compute the Eddington ratio. From a cosmological perspective, the increased sample size reduces the scatter in the log L-log sigma(2)(NXS) relation to similar to 0.63 dex - a significant improvement over previous results, but still too large to serve as competitive standard candles, when compared to Supernovae Ia (uncertainties on distances of similar to 5-10%) or the L-X - L-UV relation in quasars (uncertainties of 10-12%). We tested including the width of broad emission lines as additional parameters, but we found that this does not significantly lower the observed dispersion, contrary to previous studies on smaller samples. Finally, we discuss how future X-ray missions such as AXIS and NewAthena will improve this scenario by enabling precise variability measurements for thousands of AGNs up to redshift z similar to 3.

The X-ray emission of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is generally attributed to inverse Compton scattering of accretion-disk photons by hot electrons in a compact corona. In local AGN, directly constraining coronal properties is challenging because the high-energy cutoff often lies beyond the NuSTAR bandpass. High-redshift, luminous quasars enable systematic constraints on the high-energy cutoff, as cosmological redshift shifts the spectal cutoff into the observable hard X-ray band. We present first results from the “Probing the AGN Coronae with High-redshift AGN” (PACHA) project, based on quasi-simultaneous NuSTAR and XMM-Newton observations of 13 radio-quiet AGN at z>1. We constrain the high-energy cutoff and coronal temperature at 90% confidence level for 10 and 9 sources, respectively. The sample exhibits a mean cutoff energy of E_ cut=80.8±8.1 keV and a mean coronal temperature of kT_ e=18.4±1.6 keV, both significantly lower than those measured in local Swift-BAT AGN, while the mean optical depth (τ=4.8±0.3) is significantly higher. The uncertainties are at 1 σ. Combining our high-redshift sample with local AGN, we find a potential anti-correlation between cutoff energy and both X-ray luminosity and black hole mass, with no significant dependence on Eddington ratio. Within a hybrid coronal framework, the inferred temperatures lie well below the pair-production limits for purely thermal coronae, indicating a substantial efficient Compton cooling and/or non-thermal electron component. The detection of low coronal temperatures in high-luminosity AGN is broadly consistent with predictions from recent radiation MHD simulations that consider purely thermal electron populations, implying that non-thermal electrons may not be the primary drivers of the observed coronal properties in these systems.

We present broadband X-ray spectral and timing analysis of the Ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) in IC5052 using simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations from 2022, supplemented by archival 2013 XMM-Newton data. A two-thermal component model, often interpreted as radially-segregated emission from a super-Eddington inner disc and its associated wind, provides a statistically acceptable fit but yields an implausibly high inner disc temperature of k T_in≈ 6.4 keV, inconsistent with even super-Eddington disc models. Including an additional continuum component from either an accretion column or a Comptonizing corona, as motivated by high S/N observations from other ULXs, provides comparable goodness of fit while allowing plausible inner disc temperatures. The accretion column model yields k T_in≈ 1.2 keV with the column contributing F_col≈ 62% of total flux, while the Comptonizing corona model yields k T_in≈ 3.0 keV with a scattered fraction ∼ 1, assuming the hotter disc provides the seed photons. Timing analysis initially challenges both scenarios: the accretion column model places IC5052 ULX where prior results suggest pulsations may be detectable (F_col∼ 62%), yet none were detected, while the corona model appears inconsistent with its lack of observed short-timescale variability. However, incorporating spectral information relaxes these constraints, allowing both models to remain physically plausible for IC5052 ULX. Finally, using improved Chandra astrometry, we identified a candidate optical counterpart consistent with an evolved high mass donor. A discrepancy between the optical extinction and X-ray fitted absorption suggests localised X-ray absorption.

Owens Valley Radio Observatory observations of the supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidate PKS 2131−021 revealed, for the first time, six likely characteristics of the phenomenology exhibited by SMBHBs in blazars, of which the most unexpected and critical is sinusoidal flux density variations. We have now identified a second blazar, PKS J0805−0111, showing similar variations, with a period of 1.422 ± 0.005 yr in the rest frame of the z = 1.388 object. PKS J0805−0111 displays five of the six characteristics observed in PKS 2131−021. To estimate the significance of the sinusoidal variations, we generate 10 ^6 simulated light curves that reproduce the radio variability characteristics of PKS J0805−0111 and show that the global probability that the periodicity we detect is due to the red-noise tail of the power spectral density is p = 6.7 × 10 ^−5 (3.82 σ ). This shows that PKS 2131−021 is not a unique case. The discovery of these two objects in a sample of 1158 blazars allows us to reject, at a p -value ∼0.003, the null hypothesis that the sinusoidal variations in these two blazars are all due to a red-noise process. We estimate that the number of SMBHB candidates among blazars is ∼1 in 100.

Haystack and Owens Valley Radio Observatory observations recently revealed strong, intermittent, sinusoidal total flux-density variations that maintained their coherence between 1975 and 2021 in the blazar PKS 2131−021 ( z = 1.283). This was interpreted as possible evidence of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB). Extended observations through 2023 show a coherence over 47.9 yr, with an observed period P _15 GHz = (1739.8 ± 17.4) days. We reject, with p -value = 2.09 × 10 ^−7 , the hypothesis that the variations are due to random fluctuations in the red noise tail of the power spectral density. There is clearly a physical phenomenon in PKS 2131−021 producing coherent sinusoidal flux-density variations. We find the coherent sinusoidal intensity variations extend from below 2.7 GHz to optical frequencies, from which we derive an observed period P _optical = (1764 ± 36) days. Across this broad frequency range, there is a smoothly varying monotonic phase shift in the sinusoidal variations with frequency. Hints of periodic variations are also observed at γ -ray energies. The importance of well-vetted SMBHB candidates to searches for gravitational waves is pointed out. We estimate the fraction of blazars that are SMBHB candidates to be >1 in 100. Thus, monitoring programs covering tens of thousands of blazars could discover hundreds of SMBHB candidates.

The UltraViolet EXplorer (UVEX) is a wide-field ultraviolet space telescope selected as a NASA Medium-Class Explorer mission for launch in 2030. UVEX will undertake deep, cadenced surveys of the entire sky to probe low mass galaxies and explore the ultraviolet (UV) time-domain sky, and it will carry the first rapidly deployable UV spectroscopic capability for a broad range of science applications. One of UVEX’s prime objectives is to follow up gravitational wave (GW) binary neutron star mergers as targets of opportunity (ToOs), rapidly scanning across their localization regions to search for their kilonova (KN) counterparts. Early-time multiband ultraviolet light curves of KNe are key to explaining the interplay between jet and ejecta in binary neutron star mergers. Owing to high Galactic extinction in the ultraviolet and the variation of GW distance estimates over the sky, the sensitivity to kilonovae can vary significantly across the GW localization and even across the footprint of a single image given UVEX’s large field of view. Good ToO observing strategies to trade off between area and depth are neither simple nor obvious. We present an optimal strategy for GW follow-up with UVEX in which exposure time is adjusted dynamically for each field individually to maximize the overall probability of detection. We model the scheduling problem using the expressive and powerful mathematical framework of mixed integer linear programming (MILP), and employ a state-of-the-art MILP solver to automatically generate observing plan timelines that achieve high probabilities of kilonova detection. We have implemented this strategy in an open-source astronomical scheduling software package called Multi-Mission Multi-Messenger Observation Planning Toolkit, on GitHub at https://github.com/m4opt/m4opt .

We present the third phase of the largest high-frequency, high-resolution imaging survey of 231 nearby, hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs), with a very high 98% ± 1% detection fraction. This survey presents VLA 22 GHz radio observations with 1 ″ spatial resolution covering over 6 orders of magnitude in radio luminosity in nearby AGNs that span ∼4 orders of magnitude in black hole mass and X-ray luminosity. We identify three different radio morphologies: 44% ± 3% (102/231) are compact or unresolved, 46% ± 3% (106/231) show an extended structure (star formation, possible one-sided jets, etc.), and 8% ± 2% (19/231) have a biconical or two-sided jet-like morphology. The remaining 2% ± 1% (4/231) sources are nondetections. The radio-to-X-ray luminosity ratios of the Swift-BAT AGNs in our sample ( L _R / L _14−195keV ∼ 10 ^−5.5 and L _R / L _2−10keV ∼ 10 ^−5 with a scatter of ∼0.5 dex) are similar to that of coronally active stars ( L _R / L _X ∼ 10 ^−5 ). For most targets, extended emission in radio-quiet objects is broadly consistent with the expectation for star formation from previous far-infrared observations once the contribution from the radio core has been subtracted. Our sample represents nearby analogs of distant AGNs at the peak of black hole growth, and thus the high detection fraction in our work has important implications for future high frequency AGN radio surveys with the next generation Very Large Array or Square Kilometre Array, both of which should detect large fractions of more distant AGNs.

Hard X-ray-selected samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) provide one of the cleanest views of supermassive black hole accretion but are biased against objects obscured by Compton-thick gas column densities of N-H > 10(24) cm(-2). To tackle this issue, we present the NuSTAR Local AGN N-H Distribution Survey (NuLANDS)-a legacy sample of 122 nearby (z < 0.044) AGN primarily selected to have warm infrared colors from IRAS between 25 and 60 mu m. We show that optically classified Type 1 and 2 AGN in NuLANDS are indistinguishable in terms of optical [O iii] line flux and mid-to-far-infrared AGN continuum bolometric indicators, as expected from an isotropically selected AGN sample, while Type 2 AGN are deficient in terms of their observed hard X-ray flux. By testing many X-ray spectroscopic models, we show the measured line-of-sight column density varies on average by similar to 1.4 orders of magnitude depending on the obscurer geometry. To circumvent such issues, we propagate the uncertainties per source into the parent column density distribution, finding a directly measured Compton-thick fraction of 35% +/- 9%. By construction, our sample will miss sources affected by severe narrow-line reddening, and thus segregates sources dominated by small-scale nuclear obscuration from large-scale host-galaxy obscuration. This bias implies an even higher intrinsic obscured AGN fraction may be possible, although tests for additional biases arising from our infrared selection find no strong effects on the measured column density distribution. NuLANDS thus holds potential as an optimized sample for future follow-up with current and next-generation instruments aiming to study the local AGN population in an isotropic manner.

IGR J17091−3624 is the only black hole X-ray binary candidate—aside from the well-studied black hole system GRS 1915+105—observed to exhibit a wide range of structured variability patterns in its light curves. In 2025, the source underwent a “failed” outburst: it brightened in the hard state but did not transition to the soft state before returning to quiescence within a few weeks. During this period, IGR J17091−3624 was observed by multiple ground- and space-based facilities. Here, we present results from six pointed NuSTAR observations obtained during the outburst. None of the NuSTAR light curves showed the exotic variability classes typical of the soft state in this source; however, we detected, for the first time, strong dips in the count rate during one epoch, with a total duration of ∼4 ks as seen by NuSTAR. Through spectral and timing analysis of all six epochs, we investigate the hard-state spectral evolution and the nature of the dips. A clear evolution of the coronal properties with luminosity is observed over all six epochs, with clear signatures of relativistic disk reflection that remain largely unchanged across the first five epochs. The first five epochs also show a strong and stable quasiperiodic oscillation feature in the power spectra. The dips observed in Epoch 5 are consistent with partial obscuration by ionized material with a column density N _H ≈ 2.0 × 10 ^23 cm ^−2 . We discuss possible origins for this material and place constraints on the orbital parameters and distance of the system.

Stellar flares are potent drivers of atmospheric evolution on orbiting exoplanets, primarily through extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray irradiation. However, the contribution of hard X-rays (HXR; 3–20 keV), which penetrate deeper into planetary atmospheres, to mass loss and particle acceleration has remained poorly understood. To quantify the HXR share of the total radiative budget, we conducted quasi-simultaneous observations of the active M-dwarf AU Mic using NuSTAR, Swift, and the Einstein Probe. Our analysis detected two major flares, and we performed an empirical check by deriving a quiescent-phase soft X-ray (SXR; 0.3–3 keV) to HXR relation and then applying it to the flares. By combining this with the quiescent coronal SXR–EUV relation conversion of J. Sanz-Forcada et al, we computed the total high-energy flux (EUV + SXR + HXR) and assessed the relative role of HXR in atmospheric escape. We find that HXR accounts for only a few percent of the total radiative energy budget during both quiescent and flaring states. While a high-energy spectral tail is detected in the second flare, time-resolved spectroscopy reveals a dominant chromospheric-evaporation signature, indicating that the flare energetics are primarily thermal.

Green Pea galaxies are a class of compact, low-mass, low-metallicity star-forming galaxies in the relatively local Universe. They are believed to be analogs of high-redshift galaxies that reionized the Universe, and, indeed, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is now uncovering such populations at record redshifts. Intriguingly, JWST finds evidence suggestive of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in many of these distant galaxies, including the elusive Little Red Dots, which broadly lack any detectable X-ray counterparts. Intuitively, one would expect to detect an AGN in their low-redshift analogs with X-rays, yet no study to date has conclusively identified an X-ray AGN within a Green Pea galaxy. Here we present the deepest X-ray campaign of a Green Pea galaxy performed to date, obtained with the goal of discerning the presence of a (potentially low-luminosity) AGN. The target—SDSS J082247.66+224144.0 (hereafter J0822+2241)—was previously found to display a comparable X-ray spectral shape to more local AGN (Γ ∼ 2) and a high luminosity ( L _2−10 keV ∼ 10 ^42 erg s ^−1 ). We show that over 6.2 yr (rest frame) the 2–10 keV luminosity of J0822+2241 is constant, whereas the soft 0.5–2 keV flux has decreased significantly by ∼60%. We discuss possible scenarios to explain the X-ray properties of J0822+2241, finding transient low column density obscuration surrounding an AGN to be the only plausible scenario. J0822+2241 thus provides further evidence that low-luminosity AGN activity could have contributed to the epoch of reionization and that local analogs are useful to derive a complete multiwavelength picture of black hole growth in high-redshift, low-luminosity AGNs.

Ever since the discovery of the first active galactic nuclei (AGN), substantial observational and theoretical effort has been invested into understanding how massive black holes have evolved across cosmic time. Circum-nuclear obscuration is now established as a crucial component, with almost every AGN observed known to display signatures of some level of obscuration in their X-ray spectra. However, despite more than six decades of effort, substantial open questions remain: how does the accretion power impact the structure of the circum-nuclear obscurer? What are the dynamical properties of the obscurer? Can dense circum-nuclear obscuration exist around intrinsically weak AGN? How many intermediate mass black holes occupy the centers of dwarf galaxies? In this paper, we showcase a number of next-generation prospects attainable with the High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P1) to contribute toward solving these questions in the 2030s. The uniquely broad (0.2–80 keV) and strictly simultaneous X-ray passband of HEX-P makes it ideally suited for studying the temporal co-evolution between the central engine and circum-nuclear obscurer. Improved sensitivities and reduced background will enable the development of spectroscopic models complemented by current and future multi-wavelength observations. We show that the angular resolution of HEX-P both below and above 10 keV will enable the discovery and confirmation of accreting massive black holes at both low accretion power and low black hole masses even when concealed by thick obscuration. In combination with other next-generation observations of the dusty hearts of nearby galaxies, HEX-P will be pivotal in paving the way toward a complete picture of black hole growth and galaxy co-evolution.

Luminous accretion disks around black holes are expected to have densities of similar to 1015-1022 cm-3, which are high enough that plasma physics effects become important. Many of these effects have been traditionally neglected in the calculation of atomic parameters, and therefore in photoionization models and ultimately also in X-ray reflection models. In this paper, we describe updates to the atomic rates used by the xstar code, which is in turn part of the xillver disk reflection model. We discuss the effect of adding necessary high-density corrections into the xillver code. Specifically, we find that the change of recombination rates plays an important role, dominating the differences between model versions. With synthetic spectra, we show that, even in a highly ionized state, high-density slabs can produce strong iron (similar to 6.5-9 keV) and oxygen (similar to 0.6-0.8 keV) resonance features. The significant iron emission could address the problem of the supersolar iron abundances found in some sources.

Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) offer a unique opportunity to probe the relationship between supermassive black holes (SMBH) and their host galaxies as well as the role of major mergers in triggering AGN activity. The confirmed dual AGN Mrk 266 has been studied extensively with multiwavelength imaging. Now, high-spatial-resolution IFU spectroscopy of Mrk 266 provides an opportunity to probe the kinematics of both the merger event and AGN feedback. We present for the first time high-spatial-resolution kinematic maps for both nuclei of Mrk 266 obtained with the Keck OSIRIS IFU spectrograph, utilizing adaptive optics to achieve a resolution of 0.31 and 0.20arcsec for the NE and SW nuclei, respectively. Using the MBH-sigma & lowast; relation for mergers, we infer an SMBH mass of approximately 7x10(7)M(circle dot) for the south-western nucleus. Additionally, we report that the molecular gas kinematics of the south-western nucleus are dominated by rotation rather than large-scale chaotic motions. The south-west nucleus also contains both a circumnuclear ring of star formation from which an inflow of molecular gas is likely fuelling the AGN and a compact, AGN-dominated outflow of highly ionized gas with a time-scale of approximately 2 Myr, significantly shorter than the time-scale of the merger. The north-eastern nucleus, on the other hand, exhibits complex kinematics related to the merger, including molecular gas that appears to have decoupled from the rotation of the stars. Our results suggest that while the AGN activity in Mrk 266 was likely triggered during the merger, AGN feeding is currently the result of processes internal to each host galaxy, thus resulting in a strong asymmetry between the two nuclei.

We observed the nearby and relatively understudied ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 4190 ULX-1 jointly with Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and NuSTAR to investigate its broadband spectrum, timing properties, and spectral variation over time. We found NGC 4190 ULX-1 to have a hard spectrum characterized by two thermal components (with temperatures ∼0.25 and ∼1.6 keV) and a high-energy excess typical of the ULX population although the spectrum turns over at an unusually low energy. While no pulsations were detected (with pulsed fraction 3 σ upper limits of 16% for NICER and 35% for NuSTAR), the source shows significant stochastic variability, and the covariance spectrum indicates the presence of a high-energy cutoff power-law component, potentially indicative of an accretion column. Additionally, when fitting archival XMM-Newton data with a similar model, we find that the luminosity–temperature evolution of the hot thermal component follows the behavior of a super-Eddington slim disk though the expected spectral broadening for such a disk is not seen, suggesting that the inner accretion disk may be truncated by a magnetic field. Therefore, despite the lack of detected pulsations, there is tantalizing evidence for NGC 4190 ULX-1 being a candidate neutron star accretor although further broadband observations will be required to confirm this behavior.

We present preliminary results of a Chandra Large Program to monitor the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) populations of three nearby, ULX-rich galaxies over the course of a year, finding the ULX population to show a variety of long-term variability behaviours. Of a sample of 36 ULXs, some show persistent or moderately variable flux, often with a significant relationship between hardness and luminosity, consistent with a supercritically accreting source with varying accretion rates. Six show very high-amplitude variability with no strong relationship between luminosity and hardness, though not all of them show evidence of any long-term periodicity, nor of the bimodal distribution indicative of the propeller effect. We find evidence of additional eclipses for two previously-identified eclipsing ULXs. Additionally, many sources that were previously identified as ULXs in previous studies were not detected at ULX luminosities during our monitoring campaign, indicating a large number of transient ULXs.