Ashraf A. Shaker | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Hidden Connections: Tracing the BCG Stellar Mass-Halo Mass Relation in the SDSS-GalWCat19 Cluster Catalog

The stellar-to-halo mass (SMHM) relation of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) provides key insight into the connection between BCG growth and the assembly of their host halos. We analyze this relation using the spectroscopic SDSS GalWCat19 cluster catalog, selecting 996 systems with log(M200) >= 13.6, log(Mstar) >= 10.5, and 0.02 <= z <= 0.125 to limit evolutionary effects and ensure stellar-mass completeness. We fit lognormal scaling relations with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework that accounts for measurement uncertainties and intrinsic scatter. For the fiducial SMHM relation, = alpha + beta log(M200/Mpiv) with log(Mpiv) = 14.2, we find a shallow slope beta = 0.17 +/- 0.03, normalization alpha = 11.04 +/- 0.01, and intrinsic scatter sigma_int = 0.19 +/- 0.01 dex. Recasting the relation in normalized form reduces the scatter to 0.16 +/- 0.01 dex, while including the magnitude gap M14 further reduces it to 0.14 +/- 0.01 dex. Variations in richness, redshift, and mass thresholds produce systematic shifts that are small compared to the statistical uncertainties, indicating that our inferred relations are robust to plausible selection choices. The reduced scatter when including M14 supports a picture in which BCG stellar mass reflects both halo mass and halo assembly history.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Nustar observation of the binary system 4U 0114+65

The high mass X-ray binary system 4U 0114+65 was observed by Nustar in October 2019, and by XMM-Newton in August 2015. Here we performed spectral and timing analysis of the Nustar observation, and carry out timing analysis on the XMM-Newton data. We measured the spin period of the neutron star from both observations and found a spin-up rate $\dot{p} = 1.54 \pm 0.38 \times 10^{-6} s s^{-1}$. During the Nustar observation two flares occured, one occured shortly after the start of the observation and the other near the end separated by a long period of low/quiescent- state. The large and sudden flares mostly resulted from accretion of Corotating Interaction Region (CIR) material. A common spectral model to HMXBs, powerlaw with high energy cutoff and absorption at low energy, gave a good fit to both flaring and quiescent states. A flourescent iron line was not required in fitting any of the states. On the other hand, very tentative evidence of Cyclotron Resonant Scattering Feature (CRSF) at $\sim$ 17 keV was found during fitting using cyclabs model, however fitting improvement was not significant enough to confirm its detection, plus a very narrow width (< 1 keV) was obtained for the line and its first harmonic. Visual inspection of the spectra showed a deficiency of emission near the expected first and second harmonic. Another important feature visually noticed in the spectra is the presence of hard tail above 50 keV. This could be explained by the shocked material bounding the CIR.

astro-ph.HE↗