arXiv subjects

Jeremy Sakstein

Publications and source records attributed to Jeremy Sakstein.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The location of the upper edge of the pair-instability supernovae black hole mass gap

Gravitational wave observations are beginning to probe the upper edge of the pair-instability supernova (PISN) black hole mass gap, a key prediction of stellar evolution. In this work, we quantify the sensitivity of this boundary to uncertainties in stellar evolution using a suite of simulations that vary inputs including nuclear reaction rates, mixing processes, and stellar winds. We find that the $^{12}{\rm C}(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}{\rm O}$ reaction rate is the dominant source of uncertainty, shifting the upper edge by $\Delta M\sim30\,{\rm M}_\odot$, with the triple-$\alpha$ rate producing a comparable shift of $\sim25\,{\rm M}_\odot$. Notably, $^{16}{\rm O}+^{16}{\rm O}$ reactions shift the upper edge by $\sim15\,{\rm M}_\odot$ while leaving the lower edge unchanged, implying they can widen or narrow the mass gap. Other processes affect the location at the $\lesssim10\,{\rm M}_\odot$ level. In contrast to the lower edge, we find that the upper edge is robust to variations in spatial and temporal resolution, indicating that it is reliably resolved in current simulations. Our results demonstrate that the upper edge carries substantial theoretical uncertainty and, while comparatively less affected by astrophysical contamination than the lower edge, provides a direct probe of the nuclear processes governing pair instability. We discuss the implications for interpreting high-mass black hole detections in gravitational wave data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Precision constraints on stellar physics from main sequence detached eclipsing binaries

We present a Bayesian framework to constrain {mass ($M$), metallicity ($Z$), stellar age ($\tau$), and the convective mixing length parameter ($\alpha_{\rm MLT}$)} in main-sequence (MS) detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). These systems provide precise values of stellar mass and radius, offering stringent tests of stellar evolution models. We combine these with broadband magnitudes in the $B$ and $V$ bands and Gaussian priors on spectroscopic mass and metallicity, and perform Markov Chain Monte Carlo inference using a fast machine-learning surrogate for one-dimensional stellar evolution models computed with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics. To make this approach computationally feasible, we implement an active learning strategy that adaptively selects new stellar models to evaluate, concentrating training data in regions of parameter space where the surrogate is most uncertain. Applying this framework to 38 stars in DEB systems, we recover ages more precise than previous isochrone-based determinations and obtain bounds on $\alpha_{\rm MLT}$ for a subset of lower-mass stars ($M \lesssim 1.5 M_\odot$), where convective envelopes provide sensitivity to the mixing length parameter. For several stars, the inferred $\alpha_{\rm MLT}$ values lie below the Solar-calibrated value, supporting previous indications that a universal mixing length parameter may not adequately describe convection across the main sequence. The active learning methods developed here provide a scalable route to Bayesian inference with stellar evolution models, with clear applications to additional stellar physics parameters and other precisely characterized stellar systems.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

Millicharged Particle Constraints from Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

We investigate the effect of millicharged particles (MCPs) with electric charge $qe\ll e$ and mass $m_\chi$ on the late-stage evolution phases of low-mass stars in globular clusters. We predict the $R_2$ parameter -- the ratio of the number of stars in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase to the number of stars in the horizontal branch (HB) phase -- and compare it against globular cluster data. While the production of MCPs shortens both the HB and AGB lifetimes, a larger reduction in the AGB phase arises from the higher temperatures in the helium-burning shell. We find the strongest bounds in the range $10\,\mathrm{keV}\lesssim m_\chi\lesssim 100\,\mathrm{keV}$, reaching charges as small as $q\simeq 5\times10^{-13}$ and surpassing existing constraints by up to two orders of magnitude.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Unifying Early and Late Dark Energy: Dynamical Requirements and Obstructions

We investigate whether early- and late-time dark energy could arise from a single scalar field. Adopting a bottom-up perspective, we first identify the sequence of dynamical regimes that any unified scenario must traverse to account for both an early dark energy phase relevant for pre-recombination solutions of the Hubble tension and the late-time acceleration of the Universe. We derive the corresponding requirements on the scalar energy density and equation of state. We then adopt a complementary top-down perspective and translate these requirements into constraints on the phase-space structure of minimally coupled scalar fields with tracking-like dynamics. We show that satisfying all requirements necessitates a potential with three distinct slopes, arranged in a steep-steeper-shallow hierarchy. This conclusion remains unchanged in the presence of conformal couplings to dark matter. These results place strong constraints on attempts to construct unified models of early- and late-time dark energy. We discuss implications for model-building.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

The Black Hole Mass Gap as a New Probe of Millicharged Particles

We investigate the impact of millicharged particles (MCPs) on massive stars undergoing pulsational pair-instability supernovae and on the location of the lower edge of the black hole mass gap. We find that energy losses due to MCP emission weaken the pulsations, allowing the star to retain more mass and thereby shifting the lower edge of the mass gap to higher black hole masses. The mass gap is sensitive to a region of MCP parameter space with masses $35\,{\rm keV}\lesssim m_\chi \lesssim 200\,{\rm keV}$ and charges $10^{-10}\lesssim q \lesssim 10^{-9}$, which remains unconstrained by existing astrophysical probes. If confirmed, recent gravitational wave observations placing the lower edge of the mass gap near $45\,{\rm M}_\odot$ would translate directly into bounds on this parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Millicharged Particle Production During Late-Stage Stellar Evolution

Stars are natural sources of feebly interacting particles, including putative particles with mass $m_\chi$ and electric charge $qe$. The emission of such millicharged particles (MCPs) causes an energy loss which can alter stellar evolution. While MCP production rates have been computed for different plasma parameters, they have yet to be derived for the conditions relevant to late stages of stellar evolution, in which the temperature can reach values $T\simeq 10-100\,\rm keV$ while the plasma frequency is $\omega_{\rm pl}\ll T$. In this paper, we compute the MCP energy-loss rates relevant for pre-supernova objects, finding three different regimes in which the dominant processes are respectively plasmon decay ($m_\chi< \omega_{\rm pl}/2$), Compton-like scattering ($m_\chi> \omega_{\rm pl}/2$, $T\lesssim 0.5\,\rm MeV$), and electron-positron annihilation. We obtain semi-analytical fits for the energy-loss rates suitable for implementation in stellar evolution codes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

The Speed of Gravity and the Fate of Dark Energy

On August 17$^{\rm th}$ 2017, observatories worldwide made a landmark detection: gravitational waves and light from a binary neutron star merger. This event revolutionized our understanding of astrophysics, cosmology, and gravitation. In this proceeding of the 2025 International Congress of Basic Science, we describe how it transformed our view of cosmic acceleration (dark energy). The near-simultaneous arrival of light and gravitational waves shows that their speeds agree to within one part in $10^{15}$, excluding large classes of modified gravity theories and interactions between dark energy and matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Dark matter silences Cepheids in the Galactic Center

Upcoming near-infrared facilities (e.g. JWST/NIRCam, ELT/MICADO) will dramatically increase the detectability of galactic center Cepheids despite extreme extinction at optical wavelengths. In this work, we study the impact of dark matter (DM) annihilation on Cepheid stars in the inner parsec of the Milky Way. We show that at captured densities $\rho\sim10^5\,$GeV cm$^{-3}$, blue loop evolution can be suppressed, preventing the formation of low-mass ($3$-$6~{\rm M}_\odot$) short-period ($1$-$6$ days) Cepheids. For even slightly higher DM densities, Cepheids are suppressed across their entire mass range. A dearth of such variables could provide indirect evidence for DM heating. Notably, this effect occurs at lower DM densities than required to impact main-sequence stars. Future surveys will thus offer a novel, complementary probe of DM properties in galactic nuclei.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Can GW231123 have a stellar origin?

The gravitational wave event GW231123 detected by the LIGO interferometers during their fourth observing run features two black holes with source-frame masses of $137^{+23}_{-18} M_\odot$ and $101^{+22}_{-50} M_\odot$ -- in the range of the pair-instability black hole mass gap predicted by standard stellar evolution theory. Both black holes are also inferred to be rapidly spinning ($\chi_1 \simeq 0.9$, $\chi_2 \simeq 0.8$). The primary object in GW231123 is the heaviest stellar mass black hole detected to date, which, together with its extreme rotation, raises questions about its astrophysical origin. Accounting for the unusually large spin of $\sim 0.9$ with hierarchical mergers requires some degree of fine tuning. We investigate whether such a massive, highly spinning object could plausibly form from the collapse of a single rotating massive star. We simulate stars with an initial core mass of $160\,M_\odot$ -- sufficient to produce BH masses at the upper edge of the 90\% credible interval for $m_1$ in GW231123 -- across a range of rotation rates and $^{12}\mathrm{C}(\alpha,\gamma)^{16}\mathrm{O}$ reaction rates. We allow for differential rotation to explore the high-spin regime. In this limit of weak angular momentum transport, we find that: (i) rotation shifts the pair-instability mass gap to higher masses, introducing an important correlation between masses and spins in gravitational wave predictions; and (ii) highly spinning BHs with masses $\gtrsim 150 \rm M_\odot$ can form above the mass gap. Our results suggest that the primary object of GW231123 may be the first directly observed black hole that formed via direct core collapse following the photodisintegration instability.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Slowly Rotating Neutron Stars in Aether Scalar-Tensor Theory

Aether Scalar-Tensor theory is a relativistic alternative gravity model that behaves like cold dark matter on cosmological scales while predicting the MOND force-law in astrophysical systems. The theory correctly predicts the cosmic microwave background and linear matter power spectra, and the mass discrepancies observed across the Universe. We derive and solve the equations governing neutron stars in Aether Scalar Tensor theory at first-order in slow rotation, finding that the theory predicts approximate universal relations between the moment of inertia and the compactness ($I$--$C$ relations) that differ from their general relativity counterparts. These relations may enable tests of Aether Scalar-Tensor theory using X-ray observations of pulsars and gravitational wave observations of binary neutron star mergers.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Cosmology and Astrophysics of CP-Violating Axions

We study the cosmology and astrophysics of axion-like particles (ALPs) with CP-violating Yukawa couplings to nucleons. At finite nucleon density, the ALP's dynamics is governed by an effective potential which is the sum of the bare periodic potential and a linear potential whose strength depends on the nucleon density. We identify a critical nucleon density $\rho_c$ controlling the dynamics. At densities smaller than $\rho_c$ the effective potential is a tilted sinusoidal curve and the field is displaced from its zero-density minimum. At densities larger than $\rho_c$ the minima (and maxima) are absent, and the ALP is destabilized. Astrophysically, this implies that neutron stars can source a radial ALP field, providing a complementary probe to equivalence principle tests. Cosmologically, the ALP may have been destabilized in the early Universe and could have made large field excursions. We discuss model-building applications of our results for such early universe scenarios.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Dark Dwarfs: Dark Matter-Powered Sub-Stellar Objects Awaiting Discovery at the Galactic Center

We investigate the effects of dark matter annihilation on objects with masses close to the sub-stellar limit, finding that the minimum mass for stable hydrogen burning is larger than the $\sim0.075 M_\odot $ value predicted in the Standard Model. Below this limit, cooling brown dwarfs evolve into stable dark matter-powered objects that we name dark dwarfs. The timescale of this transition depends on the ambient dark matter density $\rho_{\rm DM}$ and circular velocity $v_{\rm DM}$ but is independent of the dark matter mass. We predict a population of dark dwarfs close to the galactic center, where the dark matter density is expected to be $\rho_{\rm DM}\gtrsim 10^{3}$ GeV/cm$^3$. At larger galactic radii the dark matter density is too low for these objects to have yet formed within the age of the universe. Dark dwarfs retain their initial lithium-7 in mass ranges where brown/red dwarfs would destroy it, providing a method for detecting them.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Neutron Stars in Aether Scalar-Tensor Theory

Aether Scalar-Tensor theory is a modification of general relativity proposed to explain galactic and cosmological mass discrepancies conventionally attributed to dark matter.~The theory is able to fit the cosmic microwave background and the linear matter power spectrum.~In this work, we derive the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation in this theory and solve it for realistic nuclear equations of state to predict the mass-radius relation of neutron stars.~We find solutions that are compatible with all current observations of neutron stars.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Multi-Generational Black Hole Population Analysis with an Astrophysically Informed Mass Function

We analyze the population statistics of black holes in the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA GWTC-3 catalog using a parametric mass function derived from simulations of massive stars experiencing pulsational pair-instability supernovae (PPISN). Our formalism enables us to separate the black hole mass function into sub-populations corresponding to mergers between objects formed via different astrophysical pathways, allowing us to infer the properties of black holes formed from stellar collapse and black holes formed via prior mergers separately. Applying this formalism, we find that this model fits the data better than the powerlaw+peak model with Bayes factor $ 9.7\pm0.1$. We measure the location of the lower edge of the upper black hole mass gap to be $M_{\rm BHMG}=84.05_{-12.88}^{+17.19}{\rm M}_{\odot}$, providing evidence that the $35{\rm M}_{\odot}$ Gaussian peak detected in the data using other models is not associated with the PPISN pile-up predicted to precede this gap. Incorporating spin, we find that the normalized spins of stellar remnant black holes are close to zero while those of higher generation black holes tend to larger values. All of these results are in accordance with the predictions of stellar structure theory and black hole merger scenarios. Finally, we combine our mass function with the spectral siren method for measuring the Hubble constant to find $H_0=36.19_{-10.91}^{17.50}$ km/s/Mpc and discuss potential explanations of this low value. Our results demonstrate how astrophysically-informed mass functions can facilitate the interpretation of gravitational wave catalog data to provide information about black hole formation and cosmology. Future data releases will improve the precision of our measurements.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

First Constraints on a Pixelated Universe in Light of DESI

Pixelated dark energy is a string theory scenario with a quantum mechanically stable cosmological constant. The number of pixels that make up the universe slowly increases, manifesting as a time-dependent source of dark energy. DESI has recently reported evidence for dynamical dark energy that fits within this framework. In light of this, we perform the first cosmological analysis of the pixelated model. We find that the simplest model where the pixel growth rate is constant is able to accommodate the data, providing a marginally better fit than $\Lambda$CDM; and we show that models where the pixel growth rate is increasing and of order the Hubble constant today could provide better fits. Our analysis helps to clarify the features of UV constructions of dark energy necessary to accommodate the data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

DESI Constraints on Exponential Quintessence

The DESI collaboration have recently analyzed their first year of data, finding a preference for thawing dark energy scenarios when using parameterized equations of state for dark energy. We investigate whether this preference persists when the data is analyzed within the context of a well-studied field theory model of thawing dark energy, exponential quintessence. No preference for this model over $\Lambda$CDM is found, and both models are poorer fits to the data than the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder $w_0$--$w_a$ parameterization. We demonstrate that the worse fit is due to a lack of sharp features in the potential that results in a slowly-evolving dark energy equation of state that does not have enough freedom to simultaneously fit the combination of the supernovae, DESI, and cosmic microwave background data. Our analysis provides guidance for constructing dynamical dark energy models that are able to better accommodate the data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Parameterized Post-Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff Framework for Screened Modified Gravity with an Application to the Secondary Component of GW190814

The secondary component of GW190814 has mass in the range $2.5$--$2.67{\rm M}_\odot$, placing it within the lower mass gap separating neutron stars from black holes. According to the predictions of general relativity and state-of-the-art nuclear equations of state, this object is too heavy to be a neutron star.~In this work, we explore the possibility that this object is a neutron star under the hypothesis that general relativity is modified to include screening mechanisms, and that the neutron star formed in an unscreened environment. We introduce a set of parameterized-post-Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (post-TOV) equations appropriate for screened modified gravity whose free parameters are environment-dependent. We find that it is possible that the GW190814 secondary could be a neutron star that formed in an unscreened environment for a range of reasonable post-TOV parameters.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Prediction of Multiple Features in the Black Hole Mass Function due to Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae

Using high-resolution simulations of black hole formation from the direct collapse of massive stars undergoing pulsational pair-instability supernovae (PPISN), we find a new phenomenon which significantly affects the explosion and leads to two peaks in the resulting black hole mass function (BHMF). Lighter stars experiencing the pair-instability can form a narrow shell in which alpha ladder reactions take place, exacerbating the effect of the PPISN. The shell temperature in higher mass stars ($>62 {\rm M}_\odot $ at the onset of helium burning for population-III stars with metallicity $Z=10^{-5}$) is too low for this to occur. As a result, the spectrum of black holes $M_{\rm BH} (M_i)$ exhibits a shoulder feature whereby a large range of initial masses result in near-identical black hole masses. PPISN therefore predict two peaks in the mass function of astrophysical black holes -- one corresponding to the location of the upper black hole mass gap and a second corresponding to the location of the shoulder. This shoulder effect may explain the peak at $35_{-2.9}^{+1.7}{\rm M}_\odot$ in the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA GWTC-3 catalog of merging binary black holes.

astro-ph.HE↗