---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '21125'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "The thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect (tSZ) is a sensitive probe of cosmology,
    as it traces the abundance of galaxy clusters and groups in the late-time Universe.
    Upcoming cosmic microwave background experiments such as the Simons Observatory
    (SO) and CMB-S4 will provide low-noise and high-resolution component-separated
    tSZ maps covering a large sky fraction. The tSZ signal is highly non-Gaussian;
    therefore, higher-order statistics are needed to optimally extract information
    from these maps. In this work, we study the cosmological constraining power of
    several tSZ statistics—Minkowski functionals (MFs), peaks, minima, and moments—that
    have yielded promising results in capturing non-Gaussian information from other
    cosmological data. Using a large suite of halo-model-based tSZ simulations with
    varying Ω\U0001D450 and \U0001D70E8 (154 cosmologies and over 800,000 maps, each
    10.5×10.5  deg2), we show that by combining these observables, we can achieve
    \ ≈29 × tighter constraints compared to using the tSZ power spectrum alone in
    an idealized noiseless case, with the MFs dominating the constraints. We show
    that much of the MF constraining power arises from halos below the detection threshold
    of cluster surveys, suggesting promising synergies with cluster-count analyses.
    Finally, we demonstrate that these statistics have the potential to deliver tight
    constraints even in the presence of noise. For example, using post-component-separation
    tSZ noise expected for SO, we obtain  ≈1.6 × and  ≈1.8 × tighter constraints than
    the power spectrum with MFs and all statistics combined, respectively. We show
    that the constraints from MFs approach the noiseless case for white-noise levels
    ≲1  \U0001D707⁢K−arcmin."
article_number: '103536'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Alina
  full_name: Sabyr, Alina
  last_name: Sabyr
- first_name: J. Colin
  full_name: Hill, J. Colin
  last_name: Hill
- first_name: Zoltán
  full_name: Haiman, Zoltán
  id: 7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36
  last_name: Haiman
  orcid: 0000-0003-3633-5403
citation:
  ama: 'Sabyr A, Hill JC, Haiman Z. Constraining cosmology with thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich
    maps: Minkowski functionals, peaks, minima, and moments. <i>Physical Review D</i>.
    2025;111(10). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536">10.1103/physrevd.111.103536</a>'
  apa: 'Sabyr, A., Hill, J. C., &#38; Haiman, Z. (2025). Constraining cosmology with
    thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich maps: Minkowski functionals, peaks, minima, and moments.
    <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536</a>'
  chicago: 'Sabyr, Alina, J. Colin Hill, and Zoltán Haiman. “Constraining Cosmology
    with Thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Maps: Minkowski Functionals, Peaks, Minima, and
    Moments.” <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical Society, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536</a>.'
  ieee: 'A. Sabyr, J. C. Hill, and Z. Haiman, “Constraining cosmology with thermal
    Sunyaev-Zel’dovich maps: Minkowski functionals, peaks, minima, and moments,” <i>Physical
    Review D</i>, vol. 111, no. 10. American Physical Society, 2025.'
  ista: 'Sabyr A, Hill JC, Haiman Z. 2025. Constraining cosmology with thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich
    maps: Minkowski functionals, peaks, minima, and moments. Physical Review D. 111(10),
    103536.'
  mla: 'Sabyr, Alina, et al. “Constraining Cosmology with Thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich
    Maps: Minkowski Functionals, Peaks, Minima, and Moments.” <i>Physical Review D</i>,
    vol. 111, no. 10, 103536, American Physical Society, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.103536">10.1103/physrevd.111.103536</a>.'
  short: A. Sabyr, J.C. Hill, Z. Haiman, Physical Review D 111 (2025).
date_created: 2026-01-31T09:29:24Z
date_published: 2025-05-28T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-02-10T08:11:17Z
day: '28'
doi: 10.1103/physrevd.111.103536
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2410.21247'
intvolume: '       111'
issue: '10'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.21247
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review D
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2470-0029
  issn:
  - 2470-0010
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Constraining cosmology with thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich maps: Minkowski functionals,
  peaks, minima, and moments'
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 111
year: '2025'
...
---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '21126'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Subparsec supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries are expected to be common
    in active galactic nuclei as a result of the hierarchical buildup of galaxies
    via mergers. While direct evidence for these compact binaries is lacking, a few
    hundred candidates have been identified, most based on the apparent periodicities
    of their optical light curves. Since these signatures can be mimicked by active
    galactic nuclei red noise, additional evidence is needed to confirm their binary
    nature. Recurring self-lensing flares, occurring whenever the two BHs are aligned
    with the line of sight within their Einstein radii, have been suggested as additional
    binary signatures. Furthermore, in many cases, lensing flares are also predicted
    to contain a “dip,” whenever the lensed SMBH’s shadow is comparable in angular
    size to the binary’s Einstein radius. This feature would unambiguously confirm
    binaries and additionally identify SMBH shadows that are spatially unresolvable
    by high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Here we estimate
    the number of quasars for which these dips may be detectable by Legacy Survey
    of Space and Time (LSST) by extrapolating the quasar luminosity function to faint
    magnitudes and assuming that SMBH binaries are randomly oriented and have mass
    ratios following those in the Illustris simulations. Under plausible assumptions
    about quasar lifetimes, binary fractions, and Eddington ratios, we expect tens
    of thousands of detectable flares, of which several dozen contain measurable dips.
article_number: '063011'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Kevin
  full_name: Park, Kevin
  last_name: Park
- first_name: Chengcheng
  full_name: Xin, Chengcheng
  last_name: Xin
- first_name: Jordy
  full_name: Davelaar, Jordy
  last_name: Davelaar
- first_name: Zoltán
  full_name: Haiman, Zoltán
  id: 7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36
  last_name: Haiman
  orcid: 0000-0003-3633-5403
citation:
  ama: Park K, Xin C, Davelaar J, Haiman Z. Self-lensing flares from black hole binaries.
    IV. The number of detectable shadows. <i>Physical Review D</i>. 2025;111(6). doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011">10.1103/physrevd.111.063011</a>
  apa: Park, K., Xin, C., Davelaar, J., &#38; Haiman, Z. (2025). Self-lensing flares
    from black hole binaries. IV. The number of detectable shadows. <i>Physical Review
    D</i>. American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011</a>
  chicago: Park, Kevin, Chengcheng Xin, Jordy Davelaar, and Zoltán Haiman. “Self-Lensing
    Flares from Black Hole Binaries. IV. The Number of Detectable Shadows.” <i>Physical
    Review D</i>. American Physical Society, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011</a>.
  ieee: K. Park, C. Xin, J. Davelaar, and Z. Haiman, “Self-lensing flares from black
    hole binaries. IV. The number of detectable shadows,” <i>Physical Review D</i>,
    vol. 111, no. 6. American Physical Society, 2025.
  ista: Park K, Xin C, Davelaar J, Haiman Z. 2025. Self-lensing flares from black
    hole binaries. IV. The number of detectable shadows. Physical Review D. 111(6),
    063011.
  mla: Park, Kevin, et al. “Self-Lensing Flares from Black Hole Binaries. IV. The
    Number of Detectable Shadows.” <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 111, no. 6, 063011,
    American Physical Society, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.111.063011">10.1103/physrevd.111.063011</a>.
  short: K. Park, C. Xin, J. Davelaar, Z. Haiman, Physical Review D 111 (2025).
date_created: 2026-01-31T09:29:42Z
date_published: 2025-03-04T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-02-10T08:14:10Z
day: '04'
doi: 10.1103/physrevd.111.063011
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2409.04583'
intvolume: '       111'
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2409.04583
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review D
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2470-0029
  issn:
  - 2470-0010
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Self-lensing flares from black hole binaries. IV. The number of detectable
  shadows
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 111
year: '2025'
...
---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '20651'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "The origin of merging binary black holes detected through gravitational waves
    remains a fundamental question in astrophysics. While stellar evolution imposes
    an upper mass limit of ∼50⁢\U0001D440⊙ for black holes, some observed mergers—most
    notably GW190521—involve significantly more massive components, suggesting alternative
    formation channels. Here we investigate the maximum masses attainable by black
    hole mergers within active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks. Using a comprehensive
    semianalytic model incorporating 27 binary and environmental parameters, we explore
    the role of AGN disk conditions in shaping the upper end of the black hole mass
    spectrum. We find that an AGN disk lifetime is the dominant factor, with high-mass
    mergers (≳200⁢\U0001D440⊙) only possible if disks persist for ≳40  Myr. The joint
    electromagnetic observation of an AGN-assisted merger could therefore lead to
    a direct measurement of the age of an AGN disk."
acknowledgement: The authors are thankful for Yang Yang and Yue Yu for valuable discussions
  and assistance with the programming process. H. T. was supported by the National
  Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2021YFC2203002). Z. H. is grateful for support
  from NASA under Grants No. 80NSSC22K0822 and No. 80NSSC24K0440. I. B. acknowledges
  support from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY-2309024.
article_number: '063034'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Ling Qin
  full_name: Xue, Ling Qin
  last_name: Xue
- first_name: Hiromichi
  full_name: Tagawa, Hiromichi
  last_name: Tagawa
- first_name: Zoltán
  full_name: Haiman, Zoltán
  id: 7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36
  last_name: Haiman
  orcid: 0000-0003-3633-5403
- first_name: Imre
  full_name: Bartos, Imre
  last_name: Bartos
citation:
  ama: Xue LQ, Tagawa H, Haiman Z, Bartos I. What determines the maximum mass of AGN-assisted
    black hole mergers? <i>Physical Review D</i>. 2025;112(6). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v">10.1103/5m1n-qh9v</a>
  apa: Xue, L. Q., Tagawa, H., Haiman, Z., &#38; Bartos, I. (2025). What determines
    the maximum mass of AGN-assisted black hole mergers? <i>Physical Review D</i>.
    American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v">https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v</a>
  chicago: Xue, Ling Qin, Hiromichi Tagawa, Zoltán Haiman, and Imre Bartos. “What
    Determines the Maximum Mass of AGN-Assisted Black Hole Mergers?” <i>Physical Review
    D</i>. American Physical Society, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v">https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v</a>.
  ieee: L. Q. Xue, H. Tagawa, Z. Haiman, and I. Bartos, “What determines the maximum
    mass of AGN-assisted black hole mergers?,” <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 112,
    no. 6. American Physical Society, 2025.
  ista: Xue LQ, Tagawa H, Haiman Z, Bartos I. 2025. What determines the maximum mass
    of AGN-assisted black hole mergers? Physical Review D. 112(6), 063034.
  mla: Xue, Ling Qin, et al. “What Determines the Maximum Mass of AGN-Assisted Black
    Hole Mergers?” <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 112, no. 6, 063034, American Physical
    Society, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/5m1n-qh9v">10.1103/5m1n-qh9v</a>.
  short: L.Q. Xue, H. Tagawa, Z. Haiman, I. Bartos, Physical Review D 112 (2025).
date_created: 2025-11-16T23:01:24Z
date_published: 2025-09-18T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-12-01T15:29:42Z
day: '18'
department:
- _id: ZoHa
doi: 10.1103/5m1n-qh9v
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2504.19570'
  isi:
  - '001583255800010'
intvolume: '       112'
isi: 1
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2504.19570
month: '09'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review D
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2470-0029
  issn:
  - 2470-0010
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: What determines the maximum mass of AGN-assisted black hole mergers?
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 112
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '15198'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The axion-nucleon coupling enables the production of axions through the decay
    of excited 57Fe nuclei, and axions produced in the Sun through this process are
    often a target of helioscope searches. We show for the first time that hot, highly
    magnetic white dwarfs such as ZTF J1901+1458 are a viable target to search for
    the x-ray signature of axions that were produced by the 57Fe transition in the
    core and then converted to photons in the magnetosphere. We calculate that a 100
    ks observation of ZTF J1901+1458 with NuSTAR would constrain the coupling of axions
    to nucleons and photons at a level below the bounds of both current and future
    planned helioscopes.
article_number: L101303
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Leesa
  full_name: Fleury, Leesa
  last_name: Fleury
- first_name: Ilaria
  full_name: Caiazzo, Ilaria
  id: 8ae5b6e7-2a03-11ee-914d-b58ed7a3b47d
  last_name: Caiazzo
  orcid: 0000-0002-4770-5388
- first_name: Jeremy
  full_name: Heyl, Jeremy
  last_name: Heyl
citation:
  ama: Fleury L, Caiazzo I, Heyl J. Constraining axions with ZTF J1901+1458. <i>Physical
    Review D</i>. 2023;107(10). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303">10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303</a>
  apa: Fleury, L., Caiazzo, I., &#38; Heyl, J. (2023). Constraining axions with ZTF
    J1901+1458. <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303</a>
  chicago: Fleury, Leesa, Ilaria Caiazzo, and Jeremy Heyl. “Constraining Axions with
    ZTF J1901+1458.” <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical Society, 2023. <a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303</a>.
  ieee: L. Fleury, I. Caiazzo, and J. Heyl, “Constraining axions with ZTF J1901+1458,”
    <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 107, no. 10. American Physical Society, 2023.
  ista: Fleury L, Caiazzo I, Heyl J. 2023. Constraining axions with ZTF J1901+1458.
    Physical Review D. 107(10), L101303.
  mla: Fleury, Leesa, et al. “Constraining Axions with ZTF J1901+1458.” <i>Physical
    Review D</i>, vol. 107, no. 10, L101303, American Physical Society, 2023, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303">10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303</a>.
  short: L. Fleury, I. Caiazzo, J. Heyl, Physical Review D 107 (2023).
date_created: 2024-03-26T09:48:05Z
date_published: 2023-05-17T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-04-02T07:11:34Z
day: '17'
doi: 10.1103/physrevd.107.l101303
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2208.00405'
intvolume: '       107'
issue: '10'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.00405
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review D
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2470-0029
  issn:
  - 2470-0010
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Constraining axions with ZTF J1901+1458
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 107
year: '2023'
...
---
_id: '15238'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'In the next decade, x-ray polarimetry will open a new window on the high-energy
    Universe, as several missions that include an x-ray polarimeter are currently
    under development. Observations of the polarization of x rays coming from the
    accretion disks of stellar-mass and supermassive black holes are among the new
    polarimeters’ major objectives. In this paper, we show that these observations
    can be affected by the quantum electrodynamic (QED) effect of vacuum birefringence:
    after an x-ray photon is emitted from the accretion disk, its polarization changes
    as the photon travels through the accretion disk’s magnetosphere, as a result
    of the vacuum becoming birefringent in the presence of a magnetic field. We show
    that this effect can be important for black holes in the energy band of the upcoming
    polarimeters and has to be taken into account in a complete model of the x-ray
    polarization that we expect to detect from black-hole accretion disks, both for
    stellar mass and for supermassive black holes. We find that, for a chaotic magnetic
    field in the disk, QED can significantly decrease the linear polarization fraction
    of edge-on photons, depending on the spin of the hole and on the strength of the
    magnetic field. This effect can provide, for the first time, a direct way to probe
    the magnetic field strength close to the innermost stable orbit of black-hole
    accretion disks and to study the role of magnetic fields in astrophysical accretion
    in general.'
article_number: '083001'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Ilaria
  full_name: Caiazzo, Ilaria
  id: 8ae5b6e7-2a03-11ee-914d-b58ed7a3b47d
  last_name: Caiazzo
  orcid: 0000-0002-4770-5388
- first_name: Jeremy
  full_name: Heyl, Jeremy
  last_name: Heyl
citation:
  ama: Caiazzo I, Heyl J. Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization from black-hole
    accretion disks. <i>Physical Review D</i>. 2018;97(8). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001">10.1103/physrevd.97.083001</a>
  apa: Caiazzo, I., &#38; Heyl, J. (2018). Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization
    from black-hole accretion disks. <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical Society.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001</a>
  chicago: Caiazzo, Ilaria, and Jeremy Heyl. “Vacuum Birefringence and the X-Ray Polarization
    from Black-Hole Accretion Disks.” <i>Physical Review D</i>. American Physical
    Society, 2018. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001</a>.
  ieee: I. Caiazzo and J. Heyl, “Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization from
    black-hole accretion disks,” <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 97, no. 8. American
    Physical Society, 2018.
  ista: Caiazzo I, Heyl J. 2018. Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization from
    black-hole accretion disks. Physical Review D. 97(8), 083001.
  mla: Caiazzo, Ilaria, and Jeremy Heyl. “Vacuum Birefringence and the X-Ray Polarization
    from Black-Hole Accretion Disks.” <i>Physical Review D</i>, vol. 97, no. 8, 083001,
    American Physical Society, 2018, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.97.083001">10.1103/physrevd.97.083001</a>.
  short: I. Caiazzo, J. Heyl, Physical Review D 97 (2018).
date_created: 2024-03-26T10:39:46Z
date_published: 2018-04-03T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-10-14T12:33:32Z
day: '03'
doi: 10.1103/physrevd.97.083001
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '1803.03798'
intvolume: '        97'
issue: '8'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1803.03798
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review D
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2470-0029
  issn:
  - 2470-0010
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Vacuum birefringence and the x-ray polarization from black-hole accretion disks
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 97
year: '2018'
...