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Lauro Moscardini

Publications and source records attributed to Lauro Moscardini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

EMBER: A Little Red Dot Candidate at $z_{\rm spec}=10.36$ in the Seed Black Hole Era

Little red dots (LRDs) are a newly discovered population that may trace rapidly growing black holes (BHs) and provide a link between seed BHs and luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, no LRD had previously been spectroscopically confirmed at $z>10$, leaving this earliest phase observationally unexplored. Using JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy from the EMBER program, we measure a spectroscopic redshift of $z_{\rm spec}=10.361^{+0.003}_{-0.002}$ for \target, the highest-redshift LRD candidate known to date. The redshift is constrained by a prominent Ly$α$ break and multiple tentative emission lines, including C\,{\sc iv}\,$λ\lambda1549,1551$ and [O\,{\sc iii}]\,$\lambda4363$ detected at $S/N=3.9$ and $3.6$, respectively. Its extreme NIRCam-MIRI color of $m_{\rm F444W}-m_{\rm F770W}=1.82\pm0.1$, characteristic V-shaped continuum with a turnover near the Balmer limit, and continuum slopes of $β_{\rm UV}=-2.26^{+0.11}_{-0.11}$ and $β_{\rm opt}=1.17^{+0.74}_{-0.70}$ all support its LRD nature. A possible iron complex at $λ_{\rm rest}\sim0.24$--$0.25\,{\rm μm}$ and a possibly high $\log\left([{\rm O\,III]\,\lambda4363/\rm Hγ}\right)=0.17^{+0.24}_{-0.22}$ further support an AGN-like interpretation, as seen in previously known LRDs. Tentative detection of Ly$α$ emission may indicate enhanced Ly$α$ transmission at $z\sim10$. Our findings extend the observational frontier of BH growth into the seed-BH formation era, and upcoming MIRI spectroscopy will further establish the physical nature of the source.

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Consistency test of the large-scale structure with Bernardeau-Nishimichi-Taruya transform of the KiDS-Legacy survey

We perform the first $k$-cut cosmic shear analysis of the KiDS-Legacy survey. This method uses the Bernardeau-Nishimichi-Taruya (BNT) transform to construct weak-lensing kernels that are more localised than conventional ones, and remove information from selected physical scales while retaining the constraining power of the targeted range. Removing the scale of $k \geq 0.33~\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ from the KiDS-Legacy pseudo-$C_\ell$ data vector, and using a covariance matrix whose Gaussian component is computed from the theoretical data vector, we find $S_8 = 0.798_{-0.045}^{+0.045}$. This agrees with both the fiducial KiDS-Legacy bandpower result and our no-$k$-cut pseudo-$C_\ell$ posterior to within $0.1σ$, indicating no significant bias from nonlinear astrophysical feedback at the precision of KiDS-Legacy. We also study the case in which the Gaussian covariance is computed from the observed data vector. In this setup, the same scale cut of $k < 0.33~\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ gives a much lower $S_8=0.717_{-0.046}^{+0.047}$. Further $k$-cut tests reveal a mild scale-dependent trend, with larger physical scales preferring lower $S_8$ values and a maximum low- versus high-$k$ deviation of $1.80σ$. Mock tests show that this behaviour is not produced by the covariance prescription or data vector alone, but may arise from their interplay. These results show that BNT $k$-cuts provide both a mitigation strategy for nonlinear systematics and a diagnostic of weak-lensing inference pipelines.

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AMICO galaxy clusters in KiDS-1000: Cosmological constraints from the two-point correlation function

In this paper we study the clustering properties of an optically identified photometric galaxy cluster catalogue from KiDS-1000. The sample was identified by the AMICO algorithm and consists of 9049 clusters with $S/N\geq3.5$, in the redshift range $0.1\leq z<0.8$, spread over an effective area of 838.78 deg$^2$. Clusters are selected according to their observed intrinsic richness, with thresholds of $λ^*{obs}\geq 20,25,30$ within $0.10\leq z<0.30$, $0.30\leq z<0.45$ and $0.45\leq z<0.80$, respectively. We measure the multipoles of the two-point correlation function over different ranges of scales from 5 $h^{-1}$ Mpc to 150 $h^{-1}$ Mpc. We model the clustering signal in the context of the $Λ$CDM cosmology, accounting for the main observational effects, such RSDs and photo-$z$ uncertainties. The effective bias of the cluster sample is estimated via a mass-richness scaling relation. For the MCMC analysis, we adopt Gaussian priors on the parameters of the mass-richness scaling relation, and broad, uniform priors to derive cosmological constraints on the cold matter density parameter, the power spectrum amplitude and the structure growth parameter, $S_8\equivσ_8 \sqrt{Ω{m}/0.3}$. Specifically, we find $Ω_{m}=0.24^{+0.02}{-0.02}$ and $σ_8=0.86^{+0.13}{-0.10}$ representing an improvement in precision over both the 2D and 3D AMICO clustering analyses performed on the previous KiDS data release. Moreover, we obtain $S_8=0.77^{+0.10}_{-0.08}$ in $1σ$ agreement with the AMICO KiDS-1000 number counts constraints estimated from the same catalogue, as well as with some results from external early- and late-Universe data sets. Our work strengthens the potential of cluster clustering as a complementary and competitive probe, to be included and further developed with the final KiDS-Legacy data release, and in other future Stage-IV photometric redshift surveys.

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Do Submillimeter Galaxies Trace Megaparsec Large-scale Structures? -- An Overdensity Analysis of 449 Submillimeter Galaxies in COSMOS

We present an environmental analysis and overdensity catalog for a large sample of submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS field in order to understand whether SMGs are signposts of megaparsec-scale overdensity structures. We apply the Poisson Probability Method (PPM) protocluster finder to characterize the significance ($σ$) and overdensity value ($δ$) of any overdense structures surrounding specific 'beacon' galaxies. These beacons include 449 SMGs from A3COSMOS (including 168 with spectroscopic redshifts, 52 of which have CO or [CII] 158$μ$m line detections), as well as a control sample of over 5000 main-sequence star-forming galaxies (SFGs) selected from the 40-band photometric-redshift catalog in COSMOS2025. We successfully reproduce 15 known protoclusters and clusters in COSMOS (including Hyperion large-scale structure, CL J1001+0220 at z~2.5, and AzTEC-3 protocluster at z~5.3), and report 26 new PPM-based high-overdensity ($δ$ $\geq$ 5), high-significance ($σ$ $\geq$ 5), robust candidates. We measure an overdensity fraction of 11.5-71.2% (1.3-61.0%) in the CO/[CII] 52 SMG (full 449 SMG) sample with different criterion categories, confirming that SMGs are signposts of overdensities compared to the control SFG sample. We also notice that the fraction is lower than 100%, indicating that not all SMGs are associated with overdensities. We thus inspect the JWST morphology and argue that the triggering of starburst in SMGs must have non-environmental mechanisms, for instance, merger and violent disk instability. Finally, we further conduct a spatial distribution analysis, finding that the location of SMGs in overdensities has a redshift evolution, with SMGs being more concentrated in the inner regions of overdensities at higher redshift.

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X-ray Characterization of Galaxy Groups and Hickson Groups in COSMOS-Web to z~3.8 I. X-ray Luminosity Function Evolution

Galaxy groups are the dominant halo environment in the Universe and a sensitive laboratory for feedback and gas-cycling physics, yet a uniform, intermediate-redshift X-ray characterization of the group population has been limited by the availability of deep, wide-area imaging. We present a uniform X-ray characterization of the COSMOS-Web galaxy group population: 1,678 groups (CW-All) identified with the AMICO algorithm applied to the JWST-selected COSMOS-Web photometric catalog ($0.08 \lesssim z \lesssim 3.7$), and a parallel sample of 993 Hickson compact groups (CW-HCG; $0.08 \lesssim z \lesssim 3.82$) over $0.45~\mathrm{deg}^2$. We apply a uniform aperture-photometry X-ray pipeline to the combined Chandra and XMM-Newton COSMOS mosaic, measuring fluxes, luminosities, temperatures, and halo masses and radii for every group, together with detections, upper limits, and quality flags. We detect X-ray emission from 499 CW-All groups (29.7\%) and 332 CW-HCG groups (33.4\%) at SNR~$\geq 2.0$, and present the X-ray luminosity function in four redshift bins. The characteristic luminosity $L^\star$ rises monotonically by $\sim$1.9--2.1~dex from the lowest to highest redshift bin in both catalogs, a trend that persists under two independent cross-check binning schemes and is not explained by mass or richness selection of the detected population. A targeted search for diffuse X-ray emission from the AmicOne protocluster candidate at $2.50 \lesssim z < 3.09$ finds no statistically significant signal at the current depth. We publicly release the X-ray measurements and derived properties for both catalogs.

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KiDS-DR5: Exploring dust transport in dark matter halos of galaxies

We analyse a well-defined sample of galaxies from the final data release of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-DR5), selected using magnitude, photometric redshift, and stellar mass cuts, to measure their mean halo mass and circumgalactic dust content as a function of stellar mass. Our goal is to provide empirical constraints on dust transport mechanisms, such as stellar- and AGN-driven outflows, operating in galaxy halos. We develop and validate a new measurement and modelling framework using the MICE2 simulation, incorporating a realistic circumgalactic dust extinction scenario. Using this framework, we jointly model multiband ($ugriZYJHK_{\rm s}$) magnitude shifts and galaxy--galaxy lensing signals to infer the mean halo mass and dust mass of lens galaxies at $z_{\rm B} < 0.4$, analysed in five stellar-mass bins in KiDS-DR5. The modelling jointly describes the halo mass distribution and dust extinction, including dust associated with neighbouring halos. We demonstrate that the inclusion of a satellite fraction and dust extinction from neighbouring halos is required by the data. We find a linear relation between stellar mass and dust mass, consistent with previous observational studies, but flatter than predictions from the semi-analytic model \textsc{Dusty-SAGE}. This difference may indicate that current implementations of dust-related feedback in galaxy formation models require further refinement.

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Galaxy and Halo Assembly Bias in Alternative Dark Matter Models

The clustering of dark matter halos depends not only on halo mass but also on secondary halo properties, a phenomenon known as halo assembly bias. Coupled with variations in halo occupation, this dependence impacts galaxy clustering, an effect termed galaxy assembly bias. While previous studies have found only weak cosmological dependence of assembly bias within the $Λ$CDM framework, its sensitivity to the underlying dark matter physics remains largely unexplored. We use the matched dark-matter-only and hydrodynamical simulations from the AIDA-TNG suite to measure assembly bias across four dark matter models: cold dark matter, warm dark matter, and self-interacting dark matter with constant cross-sections and velocity-dependent cross-sections. We find that at z = 0, halo assembly bias is nearly identical across the four models for concentration-selected halos, as is the concentration dependence of the halo occupation distribution. The resulting galaxy assembly bias signals likewise show only weak model dependence. For stellar-mass-selected galaxy samples with $n = 0.0586 h^{3} Mpc^{-3}$ at z = 0, the velocity-dependent self-interacting dark matter scenario exhibits the largest deviation from the fiducial cold dark matter model: its assembly bias contribution to galaxy clustering is enhanced by up to $\sim 6\%$, corresponding to a $\sim 3\%$ difference in the assembly bias amplitude. Although statistically distinguishable, this difference is small and unlikely to be detected in current analyses. The weak model dependence persists across different galaxy number densities and redshifts. Overall, within the TNG galaxy-formation framework, these results indicate that assembly bias is largely insensitive to the dark matter models explored here, providing a robust baseline for future studies of the galaxy-halo connection in alternative dark matter scenarios.

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Gas distributions inside and around haloes in the alternative dark matter simulations AIDA-TNG

The nature of Dark Matter (DM) is one of the greatest mysteries of modern astrophysics. While the standard Cold DM (CDM) model successfully explains observations on most astrophysical scales, DM particles have not yet been detected, leaving room for a plethora of different models. In order to identify their observable signatures, we use the AIDA-TNG cosmological simulation suite to predict the distributions of gas and neutral hydrogen (HI) in the CDM, Self-Interacting DM (SIDM), velocity-dependent SIDM (vSIDM), and Warm DM (WDM) models. We find that the DM models investigated have very limited impact on the median gas and HI profiles of haloes. Nevertheless, for the most massive haloes ($M_{\rm vir}\sim10^{14}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$), we find that DM self-interactions can reduce the central potential, thereby lowering gravitational heating and the central gas temperature. We find that, in all models, the halo-to-halo variation in the HI profiles is explained by AGN feedback, and that the specific characteristics of the DM model are largely subdominant. Nevertheless, we detect some systematic difference in the case of SIDM, with more HI surviving close to the centre with respect to other models. We provide fitting functions for the gas and HI profiles. We investigate the galaxy-Ly$α$ cross-correlation function (\galacc) for different halo masses, redshifts and observational strategies. We find that at $z=0$ vSIDM can be distinguished from CDM in haloes with $10^{12}\lesssim M_{\rm vir}\lesssim10^{13}\,{\rm M}_\odot$, while SIDM1 can be distinguished from CDM in haloes with $M_{\rm vir}\gtrsim10^{13}\,{\rm M}_\odot$. We estimate that statistically-robust detection requires sampling $\sim160$ haloes with $\sim20$ sightlines each, a task that can be achieved with current and future facilities like WEAVE, 4MOST, PFS, ELT and WST.

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Galaxy clusters in the VIDEO fields: detection and characterisation in the context of MOONRISE

We analyse the cluster content of the $\sim 4.5 \text{ deg}^{2}$ XMM-LSS and CDFS VIDEO fields which are expected to be partially covered by the upcoming MOONRISE survey. Using AMICO and WaZP photometric redshift-based cluster finders, we construct a sample of $519$ cluster candidates detected by both finders in the redshift range $z = 0.1-3$, including $74$ detections at $z > 1.5$. For all detections, we identify the Brightest Central Galaxy (BCG) and compute a list of probabilistic cluster memberships. Our photometric redshift measurements of the clusters agree well with spectroscopic redshifts from the literature, when available. From ancillary spectroscopic data, we assign $z_\text{spec}$ measurements to $116$ cluster candidates based on their spectroscopic members and to $204$ based on their likely BCGs. We also show that candidates containing Radio-Loud members are efficiently recovered using the prior-based cluster finder PPM. We perform a preliminary analysis of the galaxy content of these candidates, focusing on the Red-Sequence components of their apparent Colour-Magnitude Diagram. By comparing with models of galaxy evolution, we show that this population is consistent with a model of passive evolution with a formation at high redshift, and is already in place at $z = 1.5-2.0$. Finally, our cluster sample is used to evaluate how these clusters would be detected and characterised, according to various MOONRISE strategies. We show that cluster spectroscopic confirmation and characterisation could be efficiently achieved up to $z\sim1.7$ even with the shallowest survey strategy. This open unprecedented insight into the physical properties of high-redshift galaxy clusters and into galaxy formation in dense environments.

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Dust in the Average Galaxy: Attenuation, Emission, and Opacity from $0<z<7$

We present constraints on the dust emission and attenuation properties of galaxies across 0 10^{10.5}M_\odot$. We derive empirical relationships for the effective attenuation, dust temperature, fraction of star formation that is unobscured, and dust-to-stellar mass ratio as functions of redshift and stellar mass. We separate the first order effect of star/dust geometry from dust grain properties by combining constraints on the IR SED, UV SED, and dust mass surface density. Importantly, we measure over an order of magnitude decrease in $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$--the ratio of dust mass absorption coefficients in the UV at 1600Å and FIR at 500$μ$m--from z~0 to z~7. A depressed $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$ is consistent with a deficit of small dust grains, possibly attributable to the intense radiation fields of high-$z$ star formation; indeed, we find a redshift-invariant inverse relationship between $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$ and $Σ_{SFR}$. Most evolution in the dust-to-stellar ratio is at $z<1$, the product of mild downward evolution in the dust-to-gas ratio combined with steep evolution in the gas-to-stellar ratio. The significant evolution and dynamic range of $κ_{UV}/κ_{FIR}$ and prevailing disconnect between the UV/optical and FIR regimes emphasize that direct dust constraints are irreplaceable for the majority of star-forming galaxies at z<7, not just the most extreme star-formers.

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COSMOS-Web: does halo mass alone shape the clustering of star-forming and quiescent galaxies?

While stellar mass correlates strongly with halo mass, it remains unclear whether halo mass alone governs galaxy star-formation activity, or whether secondary halo properties and environment also play a role. We investigate these effects beyond halo mass by measuring the auto- and cross-correlations of star-forming and quiescent galaxies in the COSMOS-Web survey from $z = 5$ to the present day. To isolate environmental contributions, we introduce a method that matches the halo mass distributions of both populations using the UniverseMachine model. We find that quiescent galaxies remain more strongly clustered than star-forming systems by at least $0.5-1$ dex at all redshifts, even after controlling for halo mass. At $z \le 2$, this excess clustering increases towards lower stellar masses, with the most clustered objects being $\log(M_\star/{\rm M}_\odot) \le 9.5$ quiescent galaxies. This points to environmental quenching significantly affecting low-mass galaxies at $z \le 2$, likely driven by ram-pressure stripping or the suppression of cold gas accretion, as these objects show disky morphologies. Cross-correlations further reveal one-halo conformity up to $z \simeq 2$: low-mass (or satellite) quiescent galaxies are more strongly clustered around massive (or central) quiescent galaxies than around star-forming centrals of the same halo mass. This signal may arise from quenching mechanisms affecting both centrals and satellites, correlated assembly histories prior to infall, or dependencies on secondary halo properties. Both environmental quenching and conformity appear to vanish between $z \simeq 5$ and $2$. Together, these results challenge the common assumption that clustering and star-formation activity depend solely on halo mass.

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Overview of 21cm Experiments at high redshift with SKAO

We provide an overview of the eight SKAO Science Book chapters that motivate the Epoch of Reionisation and Cosmic Dawn experiments with SKA-Low. We describe the individual SKA-Low experiments and expected sensitivity - power spectrum, tomography, 21-cm forest, cross-correlations, building on the broad observational plan laid out in the 2015 SKA Science Book. Finally, we outline features of the telescope that will be critical for the success of EoR/CD science, e.g., beam apodization, substations, and multi-beaming.

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COSMOS-Web: Galaxy Size and Surface Brightness Evolution at Rest-Frame 1.22 $μ$m Since $z=3$

We present the evolution of galaxy size and surface brightness in the rest-frame $J$ band (1.22 $μ$m), tracing the stellar mass distribution, over $0.5 \leq z \leq 3$, using a sample of 15,420 galaxies with stellar masses $M_\star=10^{10}$-$10^{11.5}\ M_{\odot}$ from the JWST COSMOS-Web survey. The rest-frame $J$-band effective radius ($R_{e,J}$) is obtained from previous measurements and mapped from the available JWST/NIRCam filters, while the surface brightness ($μ_J$) is corrected for dust extinction and cosmological dimming. At a characteristic mass of $M_\star = 5 \times 10^{10}\ M_{\odot}$, star-forming galaxies exhibit a size evolution of $R_{e,J} \propto (1+z)^β$ with $β= -0.92 \pm 0.04$, falling between previously reported shallower and steeper measurements. Quiescent galaxies evolve more rapidly, with $β= -1.34 \pm 0.05$, consistent with earlier studies. Among star-forming galaxies, lower-mass systems ($10^{10}$ to $10^{10.5}\ M_{\odot}$) show slower ($β=-0.66\pm0.02$) size evolution compared to their higher-mass counterparts. Furthermore, the surface brightness brightens toward higher redshifts, scaling as $μ_J \propto -2.5 \log(1+z)^γ$. We find $γ= 3.07 \pm 0.08$ for star-forming galaxies and $γ= 3.70 \pm 0.08$ for quiescent galaxies. We also find that massive star-forming galaxies ($M_\star > 10^{10.5}\ M_{\odot}$) exhibit similar $μ_J$ values at fixed redshift, independent of mass. Finally, we demonstrate that the observed surface brightness evolution is driven by the combined evolution of galaxy luminosity and size.

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Molecular gas properties of star-forming brightest group galaxies at $z \sim 0.3$

Recent efforts to characterise the molecular gas content of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) at intermediate redshift have revealed a sub-population of gas-rich systems, whose star formation activity is likely influenced by environmental processing. In this study, we aim to investigate the molecular gas reservoirs and star formation fuelling of central galaxies in groups, also known as brightest group galaxies (BGGs), at intermediate redshifts. We present targeted carbon monoxide (CO) line observations of three BGGs in the COSMOS field at $z \sim 0.3$, obtained with the IRAM 30m telescope. The galaxies exhibit disturbed morphologies, extended blue substructures, and interaction signatures. Furthermore, they exhibit significant star formation rates derived from multiwavelength diagnostics. We detect CO(1$\rightarrow$0) emission in one system, revealing a substantial molecular gas mass of $M_{H_2} \sim 3 \times 10^{10}$ M$_\odot$, while for the other two BGGs, CO emission lines remain undetected, yielding stringent upper limits of $M_{H_2} \lesssim 10^{10}$ M$_\odot$. By combining molecular gas constraints with fiducial star formation rates derived from total infrared emission, we infer gas depletion timescales in the range of $\lesssim 0.5-1.5$ Gyr. These results may indicate that, despite their active star formation and interaction signatures, some BGGs could already experience efficient gas exhaustion or suppressed gas replenishment, suggesting that gas depletion precedes star formation quenching. Our findings hint that environmental processes in galaxy groups could strongly regulate the availability of cold gas and drive rapid evolutionary phases in central galaxies, possibly bridging the gap between gas-rich BCGs and passively evolving systems.

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COSMOS-Web galaxy groups: Evolution of red sequence and quiescent galaxy fraction

We investigate the redshift and group richness dependence of the quiescent fraction and red-sequence (RS) parameters in COSMOS galaxy groups from z=0 to z=3.7. We analyzed the deep and well-characterized sample of groups detected with AMICO in the COSMOS(-Web) field. Our study of the quiescent galaxy population is based on a machine-learning classification tool based on rest-frame magnitudes. The algorithm learns from several traditional methods to estimate the probability of a galaxy being quiescent, achieving high precision and recall. Starting from this classification, we computed quiescent galaxy fractions within groups via two methods: one based on the membership probabilities provided by AMICO, which rely on an analytical model, and another using a model-independent technique. We then detected the RS by estimating the ridgeline position using photometric data, followed by sigma clipping to remove outliers. This analysis was performed using both rest-frame and observed-frame magnitudes with rest-frame matching. We compared the results from both approaches and investigated the $z$ and richness dependence of the RS parameters. We found that the quiescent galaxy population in groups builds up steadily from z=1.5-2 across all richnesses, with faster and earlier growth in the richest groups. The first galaxies settle onto the RS ridgeline by $z \sim 2$, consistent with current evolutionary scenarios. Notably, we reported a rare overdensity of quiescent galaxies at z=3.4, potentially one of the most distant early RSs observed. Extending our study to X-rays, we found that X-ray faint groups have, on average, lower quiescent fractions than X-ray bright ones, likely reflecting their typical location in filaments. Leveraging the broad wavelength coverage of COSMOS2025, we traced RS evolution over $\sim 12$ Gyr, finding no significant trends in either slope or scatter of the ridgeline.

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KiDS-Legacy: Constraining dark energy, neutrino mass, and curvature

We constrained minimally extended cosmological models with the cosmic shear analysis of the final data release from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-Legacy) in combination with external probes. Due to the consistency of the KiDS-Legacy analysis with the cosmic microwave background (CMB), we could combine these datasets reliably for the first time. Additionally, we used CMB lensing, galaxy redshift-space distortions, and baryon acoustic oscillations. We assessed, in turn, the effects of spatial curvature, varying neutrino masses, and an evolving dark energy component on cosmological constraints from KiDS-Legacy alone and from KiDS-Legacy combined with external probes. We find KiDS-Legacy to be consistent with the fiducial flat $Λ$-cold dark matter ($Λ$CDM) analysis with $c^2 \sum m_ν\leq 1.5\,$eV, $w_0 = -1.0\pm 0.7$, and $w_a = -1.3^{+1.9}_{-2.0}$ while $Ω_K = 0.08^{+0.16}_{-0.17}$ (1$σ$ bounds) with an almost equal goodness of fit. The $w_0w_a$CDM model is not a significant improvement over $Λ$CDM when cosmic shear and CMB lensing are combined, yielding a Bayes factor $B = 0.07$. If all probes are combined, however, $B$ increases to 2.73, corresponding to a $2.6σ$ suspiciousness tension. The constraint on $S_8 = σ_8\sqrt{Ω_\mathrm{m}/0.3}$ is robust to opening up the parameter space for cosmic shear. Adding all external datasets to KiDS-Legacy, we find $S_8 = 0.816 \pm 0.006$ in $Λ$CDM and $S_8 = 0.837 \pm 0.008$ in $w_0 w_a$CDM for all probes combined.

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KiDS-Legacy: Constraints on Horndeski gravity from weak lensing combined with galaxy clustering and cosmic microwave background anisotropies

We present constraints on modified gravity from a cosmic shear analysis of the final data release of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-Legacy) in combination with DESI measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations, eBOSS observations of redshift space distortions, and cosmic microwave background anisotropies from Planck. We study the Horndeski class of modified gravity models in an effective field theory framework employing a parameterisation that satisfies stability conditions by construction and, for the first time, present a cosmological analysis in this inherently stable parameter basis. Cosmic shear constrains the Horndeski parameter space significantly, matching or surpassing the CMB contribution. Adopting the de-mixed kinetic term of the scalar field perturbation, $D_{\rm kin}$, and the deviation of the Planck mass from its fiducial value, $ΔM_*^2\equiv M_*^2-1$, as model parameters, we constrain their present values to be $Δ\hat{M}_*^2=0.32^{+0.07}_{-0.21}$ and $\hat{D}_{\rm kin} = 3.74^{+0.69}_{-1.92}$, which deviate from general relativity at $1.5σ$ and $1.9σ$, respectively. We derive constraints on the structure growth parameter $S_8=0.813^{+0.008}_{-0.011}$, which is compatible with the $Λ$CDM constraint at $0.54σ$. We obtain the deviation of the effective Newtonian coupling from the GR value as $Δμ_{\infty,{\rm eff}}=0.066\pm0.023$, corresponding to a $2.9σ$ significance. Although modified gravity provides a slightly better fit to the data, a model comparison shows only a weak preference for modified gravity at the $1.4σ$ level. When adopting a dynamical dark energy model of the background cosmology, the inferred modified gravity parameter constraints are stable with respect to a $Λ$CDM background, while a mild preference at $1.57σ$ for dynamical dark energy remains.

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The AIDA-TNG project. Abundance, radial distribution, and clustering properties of halos in alternative dark matter models

Warm and self-interactive dark matter cosmologies have been proposed as nonbaryonic solutions to the tensions between the $Λ$ cold dark matter model and observations at the kiloparsec scale. In this paper, we used the dark matter-only runs of the \textsc{aida-tng} project, a set of cosmological simulations of different sizes and resolutions, to analyze the macroscopic impact of alternative dark matter models on the abundance, radial distribution, and clustering properties of halos. We adopted the halo occupation distribution formalism to characterize the evolution of its parameters $M_1$ and $α$ with the mass and redshift selection of our sample. By dividing the halo population into centrals and satellites, we were able to study their spatial density profile. We found that a Navarro-Frenk-White model is not accurate enough to describe the radial distribution of subhalos and that a generalized Navarro-Frenk-White model is required instead. Warm dark matter models, in particular, present a cuspier distribution of satellites, whereas self-interacting dark matter exhibits a shallower density profile. Moreover, we found that the small-scale clustering of dark matter halos provides a powerful tool for distinguishing among alternative dark matter scenarios, in preparation for a more detailed study that fully incorporates baryonic effects and for a comparison with observational data from galaxy clustering.

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