arXiv subjects

Lei Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Lei Hu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

The environmental dependence of mid-IR luminous dusty Supernovae

Using the Spitzer and WISE images, we discovered 42 mid-IR luminous dusty supernovae with local integral-field spectroscopy data. The observed mid-IR emission indicates the presence of newly formed dust, or pre-existing dust heated by the radiation from the supernovae or circumstellar medium interactions. We carried out a systematic analysis of the supernova host environments and their dust properties, for understanding the dust-veiled exploding stars, and whether such an intense dust production process is associated with their local environments. We find that dusty supernovae prefer the locations with higher EW(Hα), lower metallicity, and heavier host extinctions compared to typical SN types, and they show the same increasing sequence in the values of EW(Hα) and oxygen abundance from hydrogen-rich, type IIn and hydrogen-poor dusty supernovae. These differences in environmental properties of different dusty SN types indicate the diversity of their progenitors. We also found that one marginal correlation is a negative correlation between the SN dust mass and star formation rate. This means that SNe would be more mid-IR luminous and more dust-rich at the region with lower star formation rate. However, the SN dust mass show no correlation with the metallicity and the host extinction, which were thought to be key factors affecting the mass-loss history of progenitors and the CSM environment of SNe. Therefore, the dust formation process in SNe might be insensitive to metallicity and the dust condition of their host environments.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

WFST Supernovae in the First Year: I. Statistical Study of 16 Early-phase Type Ia Supernovae from the Pilot Survey

In this paper we present 16 early-phase type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered during the pilot survey of the 2.5-meter Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST-PS) from March 4 to July 10, 2024, including three SNe Ia with early-excess emission features (EExSNe Ia). The discovery magnitude of the 16 WFST-PS early-phase SNe is at least 3 mag fainter than their peak brightness. A large scatter of color indices is found in approximately the first 10 days of supernova explosions, indicating diverse photometric behaviors in the early phase. Three EExSNe Ia show relatively brighter peak luminosities and longer rise time compared to those of non-EExSNe Ia. The results indicate that current theoretical models require further refinement to fully capture the early photometric evolution of SNe Ia. Based on the initial high-cadence ugr-band data from the WFST-PS survey, we emphasize that early near-ultraviolet (NUV) observations are indispensable for placing tight constraints on the explosion mechanisms and progenitor systems of SNe Ia.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

WFST Supernovae in the First Year: II. SN 2024aedt: Systematical Study of a Transitional Type Ia Supernova

We present comprehensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of a transitional type Ia SN 2024aedt, discovered by the 2.5-meter Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) within one day of the explosion. Its light curve is characterized by a peak absolute magnitude of $M_B = -18.49 \pm 0.03$ mag and a decline rate of $Δm_{15}(B) = 1.53 \pm 0.36$ mag, placing the object on the $Δm_{15}(B)$--$M_B$ diagram in the transition region between normal and subluminous SNe Ia. Furthermore, the early-color evolution and host galaxy environment of SN 2024aedt underscore its transitional nature, sharing properties with both normal and 91bg-like SNe Ia. Light-curve modeling with MOSFiT yields a synthesized $^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ mass of $0.414 \pm 0.042\,M_{\odot}$ and a total ejecta mass of $0.548 \pm 0.108\,M_{\odot}$. A comparison with theoretical models suggests that the evolutionary trend can be broadly explained by both delayed-detonation (DDT) and double-detonation (DDet) scenarios while possible early-excess emissions predicted by DDet cannot be identified given the limited detections soon after the SN explosion. Although the overall spectral evolution of SN 2024aedt is similar to that of other transitional SNe Ia, the spectroscopic comparison reveals diversity in the early-phase blue-end features, which becomes more homogeneous at later phases. The result indicates the importance of early-time observations in understanding the origin of SN Ia diversity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Illuminating the Mass Gap Through Deep Optical Constraint on a Neutron Star Merger Candidate S250206dm

The gravitational wave (GW) event S250206dm, as the first well-localized neutron star merger candidate potentially located in the mass gap, presented a unique opportunity to probe the electromagnetic signatures from such a system. Here we report a deep, multiband search with the new 2.5-meter Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST), covering about 64% of the localization region up to a 5-sigma limiting magnitude of 23 mag. In total, 12 potential candidates have been identified while none of them are likely related to S250206dm. This non-detection provides the most stringent constraint to date on any associated kilonova. Crucially, an AT 2017gfo-like event at 269 Mpc can be excluded by WFST observations alone. Based on ejecta mass limits, a neutron star-black hole with a large mass ratio (Q >= 3.2) is disfavored. This optical-derived constraint on the mass ratio reaches, for the first time, a precision comparable to that inferred from the GW signal. This work presents the best observation of this type of events until now, and demonstrates the power of rapid, deep follow-up observations to constrain the properties of compact binary progenitors, offering key insights into the constituents of the mass gap.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

STProtein: predicting spatial protein expression from multi-omics data

The integration of spatial multi-omics data from single tissues is crucial for advancing biological research. However, a significant data imbalance impedes progress: while spatial transcriptomics data is relatively abundant, spatial proteomics data remains scarce due to technical limitations and high costs. To overcome this challenge we propose STProtein, a novel framework leveraging graph neural networks with multi-task learning strategy. STProtein is designed to accurately predict unknown spatial protein expression using more accessible spatial multi-omics data, such as spatial transcriptomics. We believe that STProtein can effectively addresses the scarcity of spatial proteomics, accelerating the integration of spatial multi-omics and potentially catalyzing transformative breakthroughs in life sciences. This tool enables scientists to accelerate discovery by identifying complex and previously hidden spatial patterns of proteins within tissues, uncovering novel relationships between different marker genes, and exploring the biological "Dark Matter".

cs.AI↗

arXiv2026

The 2.5-meter Wide Field Survey Telescope Real-time Data Processing Pipeline I: From raw data to alert distribution

The Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) is a dedicated photometric surveying facility built jointly by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO). Since many of its scientific objectives rely on near-real-time data for effective analysis, prompt processing of WFST images is of great significance. To meet this need, we adapted the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) science pipelines to handle the data collected by WFST. This paper presents the complete data processing workflow, from ingestion of raw images to the distribution of alerts, and details the primary data products generated by our pipeline. Researchers using data processed by this pipeline can refer to this document to fully understand the data processing procedures.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

The DESI Transients Survey: Legacy Classifications and Methodology

We present the first systematic spectroscopic observations of extragalactic transients from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), as part of the DESI Transients Survey program. With 5,000 fibers and an ${\sim} 8$ deg$^2$ field of view, we exploit DESI as a machine for the discovery and classification of transients. We present transient classifications from archival DESI data in Data Releases 1 and 2, relying on a combination of a secondary target program and serendipitous observations. We also present observations from the first 6 months of the DESI spare fiber program dedicated to transients. The program is run in coordination with a dedicated DECam time-domain survey, serving as a pathfinder for what we will be able to achieve in conjunction with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). We classify over 250 transients, of which the majority were previously unclassified. The sample comprises thermonuclear and core-collapse supernovae and tidal disruption events (TDEs), including a TDE observed before its discovery in imaging. We demonstrate DESI's ability to classify a population of faint transients down to $r\sim 22.5$ mag during main survey operations, with negligible impacts on DESI's main observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Convergence Properties of Good Quantum Codes for Classical Communication

An important part of the information theory folklore had been about the output statistics of codes that achieve the capacity and how the empirical distributions compare to the output distributions induced by the optimal input in the channel capacity problem. Results for a variety of such empirical output distributions of good codes have been known in the literature, such as the comparison of the output distribution of the code to the optimal output distribution in vanishing and non-vanishing error probability cases. Motivated by these, we aim to achieve similar results for the quantum codes that are used for classical communication, that is the setting in which the classical messages are communicated through quantum codewords that pass through a noisy quantum channel. We first show the uniqueness of the optimal output distribution, to be able to talk more concretely about the optimal output distribution. Then, we extend the vanishing error probability results to the quantum case, by using techniques that are close in spirit to the classical case. We also extend non-vanishing error probability results to the quantum case on block codes, by using the second-order converses for such codes based on hypercontractivity results for the quantum generalized depolarizing semi-groups.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2026

Breaking the Storage-Bandwidth Tradeoff in Distributed Storage with Quantum Entanglement

This work investigates the use of quantum resources in distributed storage systems. Consider an $(n,k,d)$ distributed storage system in which a file is stored across $n$ nodes such that any $k$ nodes suffice to reconstruct the file. When a node fails, any $d$ helper nodes transmit information to a newcomer to rebuild the system. In contrast to the classical repair, where helper nodes transmit classical bits, we allow them to send classical information over quantum channels to the newcomer. The newcomer then generates its storage by performing appropriate measurements on the received quantum states. In this setting, we fully characterize the fundamental tradeoff between storage and repair bandwidth (total communication cost). Compared to classical systems, the optimal storage--bandwidth tradeoff can be significantly improved with the enhancement of quantum entanglement shared only among the surviving nodes, particularly at the minimum-storage regenerating point. Remarkably, we show that when $d \geq 2k-2$, there exists an operating point at which \textit{both storage and repair bandwidth are simultaneously minimized}. This phenomenon breaks the tradeoff in the classical setting and reveals a fundamentally new regime enabled by quantum communication.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2026

PEARLS: 21 Transients Found in the Three-Epoch NIRCam Observations in the Continuous Viewing Zone of the James Webb Space Telescope

We present 21 transients from our three-epoch, four-band NIRCam observations covering 14.16 arcmin^2 in the Spitzer IRAC Dark Field (IDF), taken by the JWST Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science program with a time cadence of ~6 months. A separate Hubble Space Telescope program provided Advanced Camera for Surveys optical imaging contemporaneous with the second and third epochs of the NIRCam observations. The NIRSpec spectroscopy on three transients confirmed a Type Ia supernova at z=1.63 and the host galaxies of the other two at z=2.64 and 1.90, respectively. Combining these with the photometric redshifts (z_ph) of the host galaxies in the rest of the sample, we find that the transients are in either a "mid-z" group at z>1.6 with M_V < -16.0 mag or a "low-z" group at z < 0.4 with M_H > -14.0 mag. The mid-z transients are consistent with supernovae. In contrast, the low-z transients' luminosities fall in the range of the so-called "gap transients" between supernovae and novae. However, this latter conclusion is only tentative due to possible catastrophic failures in z_ph that could bias them to low-z. Conversely, if they are indeed at z < 0.4, it would be worth studying similar transients in the future. Our work further demonstrates the power of NIRCam in transient science and also shows that it would be more fruitful to carry out a long-term monitoring program with more passbands, a higher cadence and prompt follw-up spectroscopy. Being in the continuous viewing zone of the JWST, the IDF is an ideal field for this purpose.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

On the Capacity Region of Individual Key Rates in Vector Linear Secure Aggregation

We provide new insights into an open problem recently posed by Yuan-Sun [ISIT 2025], concerning the minimum individual key rate required in the vector linear secure aggregation problem. Consider a distributed system with $K$ users, where each user $k\in [K]$ holds a data stream $W_k$ and an individual key $Z_k$. A server aims to compute a linear function $\mathbf{F}[W_1;\ldots;W_K]$ without learning any information about another linear function $\mathbf{G}[W_1;\ldots;W_K]$, where $[W_1;\ldots;W_K]$ denotes the row stack of $W_1,\ldots,W_K$. The open problem is to determine the minimum required length of $Z_k$, denoted as $R_k$, $k\in [K]$. In this paper, we characterize a new achievable region for the rate tuple $(R_1,\ldots,R_K)$. The region is polyhedral, with vertices characterized by a binary rate assignment $(R_1,\ldots,R_K) = (\mathbf{1}(1 \in \mathcal{I}),\ldots,\mathbf{1}(K\in \mathcal{I}))$, where $\mathcal{I}\subseteq [K]$ satisfies the \textit{rank-increment condition}: $\mathrm{rank}\left(\bigl[\mathbf{F}_{\mathcal{I}};\mathbf{G}_{\mathcal{I}}\bigr]\right) =\mathrm{rank}\bigl(\mathbf{F}_{\mathcal{I}}\bigr)+N$. Here, $\mathbf{F}_\mathcal{I}$ and $\mathbf{G}_\mathcal{I}$ are the submatrices formed by the columns indexed by $\mathcal{I}$. Our results uncover the novel fact that it is not necessary for every user to hold a key, thereby strictly enlarging the best-known achievable region in the literature. Furthermore, we provide a converse analysis to demonstrate its optimality when minimizing the number of users that hold keys.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2025

AT2025ulz and S250818k: zooming in with the Hubble Space Telescope

AT2025ulz is an optical/near-infrared transient discovered during follow-up of the candidate gravitational wave (GW) event S250818k. Its young age ($\lesssim$1 d), rapid decline and strong color evolution over the first 48 hr classify it as a potential kilonova candidate. In this work, we present the results of our observing campaign, carried out with the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Although the early time evolution of AT2025ulz resembles some aspects of a kilonova, its rapid onset ($\sim$3 hr after the GW trigger) and luminosity (a factor of $\sim5$ brighter than AT2017gfo in $g$-band) are difficult to reproduce. Only a small subset of our kilonova models matches its multi-color light curve, and the inferred ejecta mass is uncomfortably large given the low chirp mass ($\lesssim\!0.87\!$ M$_{\odot}$) of the GW candidate. HST observations place the transient within a nearby ($z=0.08489$) spiral galaxy with on-going star-formation and measure a color ($F336W-F160W\!\approx\!1.4$ mag) that is too blue to match with a kilonova. Our data support the classification of AT2025ulz as a supernova, initially undergoing a shock-cooling phase and later entering its photospheric phase, and spectroscopically identified via its broad absorption features.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Exploring the connection between compact object mergers and fast X-ray transients: The cases of LXT 240402A and EP250207b

The connection between compact object mergers and some extragalactic fast X-ray transients (FXRTs) has long been hypothesized, but never ultimately established. In this work, we investigate two FXRTs, the LEIA X-ray Transient LXT 240402A and the Einstein Probe EP250207b, whose precise positions lie close to nearby ($z\!\lesssim\!0.1$) quiescent galaxies with negligible probability of chance coincidence, identifying them as particularly promising cases of merger-driven explosions in the local Universe. We used Chandra to derive accurate localizations for both events and secure otherwise ambiguous associations with their optical counterparts. Deep optical and near-infrared observations with VLT, GTC, and LBT were performed to characterize the surrounding environment and search for kilonova emission, the hallmark of neutron star mergers. Complementary early-time X-ray monitoring with Swift and Einstein Probe was used to constrain the non-thermal afterglow. We find that both FXRTs remain compatible with a compact binary merger progenitor, which produced low-mass ejecta and kilonova emission subdominant to the afterglow. However, alternative explanations such as a distant ($z\!\gtrsim\!1$) core-collapse supernova cannot be conclusively ruled out.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Multiwavelength Observations of the Apparently Non-repeating FRB 20250316A

The physical origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains uncertain. Although multiwavelength observations have been widely conducted, only Galactic FRB~20200428D is associated with an X-ray burst from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154. Here, we present multiwavelength follow-up observations of the nearby bright FRB~20250316A, including the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Einstein Probe (EP) X-ray mission, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) and Space Variable Object Monitor/Visible Telescope (SVOM/VT). The 13.08-hour FAST follow-up campaign without pulse detection requires an energy distribution flatter than those of well-known repeating FRBs, suggesting that this burst is likely a one-off event. A prompt EP follow-up and multi-epoch observational campaign totaling $>$ 100 ks led to the detection of an X-ray source within the angular resolution of its Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT, $10^{\prime\prime}$). A subsequent Chandra observation revealed this source to be offset by $7^{\prime\prime}$ from the FRB position, and established a 0.5-10 keV flux upper limit of $7.6\times 10^{-15}$ $\rm erg\,cm^{-2}\,s^{-1}$ at the FRB position, corresponding to $\sim 10^{39}$ $\rm erg\,s^{-1}$ at the 40 Mpc distance of the host galaxy NGC~4141. These results set one of the most stringent limits on X-ray emission from a non-repeating FRB, disfavoring ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) as counterparts of apparently one-off FRBs and offering critical insights into afterglow models. Our study suggests that an arcsecond localization of both the FRB and its potential X-ray counterpart is essential for exploring the X-ray counterpart of an FRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

ZTF25abjmnps (AT2025ulz) and S250818k: A Candidate Superkilonova from a Sub-threshold Sub-Solar Gravitational Wave Trigger

On August 18, 2025, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration reported gravitational waves from a sub-threshold binary neutron star merger. If astrophysical, this event would have a surprisingly low chirp mass, suggesting that at least one neutron star was below a solar mass. The Zwicky Transient Facility mapped the coarse localization and discovered a transient, ZTF25abjmnps (AT2025ulz), that was spatially and temporally coincident with the gravitational wave trigger. The first week of follow-up suggested properties reminiscent of a GW170817-like kilonova. Subsequent follow-up suggests properties most similar to a young, stripped-envelope, Type IIb supernova. Although we cannot statistically rule out chance coincidence, we undertake due diligence analysis to explore the possible association between ZTF25abjmnps and S250818k. Theoretical models have been proposed wherein sub-solar neutron star(s) may form (and subsequently merge) via accretion disk fragmentation or core fission inside a core-collapse supernova i.e. a ``superkilonova". Here, we qualitatively discuss our multi-wavelength dataset in the context of the superkilonova picture. Future higher significance gravitational wave detections of sub-solar neutron star mergers with extensive electromagnetic follow-up would conclusively resolve this tantalizing multi-messenger association.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Optical/infrared observations of the extraordinary GRB 250702B: a highly obscured afterglow in a massive galaxy consistent with multiple possible progenitors

GRB 250702B was the longest gamma-ray burst ever detected, with a duration that challenges standard collapsar models and suggests an exotic progenitor. We collected a rich set of optical and infrared follow-up observations of its rapidly fading afterglow using a suite of telescopes including the W. M. Keck Observatory, the Gemini telescopes, the Magellan Baade Telescope, the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope, and the Fraunhofer Telescope at Wendelstein Observatory. Our analysis reveals that the afterglow emission is well described by forward shock emission from a highly obscured relativistic jet. Deep photometric observations of the host galaxy reveal a massive (10^10.66 solar masses), dusty, and extremely asymmetric system that is consistent with two galaxies undergoing a major merger. The galactocentric offset, host galaxy properties, and jet characteristics disfavor a jetted TDE around a supermassive black hole but do not definitively distinguish between competing progenitor scenarios. We find that the afterglow and host are consistent with a range of progenitors including an atypical collapsar, a merger between a helium star and a stellar mass black hole, the disruption of a star by a stellar mass compact object (micro-TDE), and the tidal disruption of a star by an off-nuclear intermediate mass black hole.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

HMVLM: Human Motion-Vision-Lanuage Model via MoE LoRA

The expansion of instruction-tuning data has enabled foundation language models to exhibit improved instruction adherence and superior performance across diverse downstream tasks. Semantically-rich 3D human motion is being progressively integrated with these foundation models to enhance multimodal understanding and cross-modal generation capabilities. However, the modality gap between human motion and text raises unresolved concerns about catastrophic forgetting during this integration. In addition, developing autoregressive-compatible pose representations that preserve generalizability across heterogeneous downstream tasks remains a critical technical barrier. To address these issues, we propose the Human Motion-Vision-Language Model (HMVLM), a unified framework based on the Mixture of Expert Low-Rank Adaption(MoE LoRA) strategy. The framework leverages the gating network to dynamically allocate LoRA expert weights based on the input prompt, enabling synchronized fine-tuning of multiple tasks. To mitigate catastrophic forgetting during instruction-tuning, we introduce a novel zero expert that preserves the pre-trained parameters for general linguistic tasks. For pose representation, we implement body-part-specific tokenization by partitioning the human body into different joint groups, enhancing the spatial resolution of the representation. Experiments show that our method effectively alleviates knowledge forgetting during instruction-tuning and achieves remarkable performance across diverse human motion downstream tasks.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2025

AT2025ulz and S250818k: Deep X-ray and radio limits on off-axis afterglow emission and prospects for future discovery

The first joint electromagentic (EM) and gravitational wave (GW) detection, known as GW170817, marked a critical juncture in our collective understanding of compact object mergers. However, it has now been 8 years since this discovery, and the search for a second EM-GW detection has yielded no robust discoveries. Recently, on August 18, 2025, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration reported a low-significance (high false alarm rate) binary neutron star merger candidate S250818k. Rapid optical follow-up revealed a single optical candidate AT2025ulz ($z=0.08484$) that initially appeared consistent with kilonova emission. We quickly initiated a set of observations with \textit{Swift}, \textit{XMM-Newton}, \textit{Chandra}, and the Very Large Array to search for non-thermal afterglow emission. Our deep X-ray and radio search rules out that the optical rebrightening of AT2025ulz is related to the afterglow onset, reinforcing its classification as a stripped-envelope supernova (SN 2025ulz). We derive constraints on the afterglow parameters for a hypothetical binary neutron star merger at the distance of AT2025ulz ($\approx 400$ Mpc) based on our X-ray and radio limits. We conclude that our observational campaign could exclude a GW170817-like afterglow out to viewing angles of $θ_\textrm{v}\approx 12.5$ degrees. We briefly discuss the prospects for the future discovery of off-axis afterglows.

astro-ph.HE↗