Central Halo Research Articles

Dissecting nonthermal emission in the complex multiple-merger galaxy cluster Abell 2744: Radio and X-ray analysis

We present the first deep low frequency radio observations of the massive and highly disturbed galaxy cluster Abell 2744 using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT). The cluster is experiencing a very complex multiple merger and hosts a giant halo and four radio relics. The uGMRT observations, together with existing VLA (1−4 GHz) andChandraobservations, allow us to study the complexity of the physical mechanisms active in this system. Our new images reveal that the central halo emission is more extended toward low frequencies. We find that the integrated spectrum of the halo follows a power law between 150 MHz and 3 GHz, while its subregions show significantly different spectra, also featuring high frequency spectral steepening. The halo also shows local regions in which the spectral index is significantly different from the average value. Our results highlight that an overall power-law spectrum, as observed in many radio halos, may also arise from the superposition of different subcomponents. The comparison of the radio surface brightness and spectral index with the X-ray brightness and temperature reveals for the first time different trends, indicating that the halo consists of two main components with distinct evolutionary signatures. All four relics in this system follow a power-law radio spectrum, compatible with shocks with Mach numbers in the range 3.0 − 4.5. All relics are also highly polarized from 1−4 GHz and show low Faraday dispersion measures, suggesting that they are located in the outermost regions of the cluster. The complexity in the distribution and properties of nonthermal components in Abell 2744 supports a multiple merger scenario, as also highlighted by previous X-ray and lensing studies. Our unique results demonstrate the importance of sensitive and high-resolution, multifrequency radio observations for understanding the interplay between the thermal and nonthermal components of the ICM.

Wave Dark Matter

We review the physics and phenomenology of wave dark matter: a bosonic dark matter candidate lighter than about 30 eV. Such particles have a de Broglie wavelength exceeding the average interparticle separation in a galaxy like the Milky Way and are, thus, well described as a set of classical waves. We outline the particle physics motivations for such particles, including the quantum chromodynamics axion as well as ultralight axion-like particles such as fuzzy dark matter. The wave nature of the dark matter implies a rich phenomenology: ▪ Wave interference gives rise to order unity density fluctuations on de Broglie scale in halos. One manifestation is vortices where the density vanishes and around which the velocity circulates. There is one vortex ring per de Broglie volume on average. ▪ For sufficiently low masses, soliton condensation occurs at centers of halos. The soliton oscillates and undergoes random walks, which is another manifestation of wave interference. The halo and subhalo abundance is expected to be suppressed at small masses, but the precise prediction from numerical wave simulations remains to be determined. ▪ For ultralight ∼10−22eV dark matter, the wave interference substructures can be probed by tidal streams or gravitational lensing. The signal can be distinguished from that due to subhalos by the dependence on stream orbital radius or image separation. ▪ Axion detection experiments are sensitive to interference substructures for wave dark matter that is moderately light. The stochastic nature of the waves affects the interpretation of experimental constraints and motivates the measurement of correlation functions.Current constraints and open questions, covering detection experiments and cosmological, galactic, and black hole observations, are discussed.

The Einstein Ring GAL-CLUS-022058s: a Lensed Ultrabright Submillimeter Galaxy at z = 1.4796

Abstract We report an ultrabright lensed submillimeter galaxy at z spec = 1.4796, identified as a result of a full-sky cross-correlation of the AllWISE and Planck compact source catalogs aimed at searching for bright submillimeter galaxies at z ∼ 1.5–2.8. Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX)/LABOCA observations of the candidate galaxy reveal a source with flux S 870μ m = 54 ± 8 mJy. The position of the APEX source coincides with the position of the AllWISE mid-IR source and with the Einstein ring GAL-CLUS-022058s, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Archival VLT/FORS observations reveal the redshift of this Einstein ring, z spec = 1.4796, and the detection of the CO(5–4) line at z spec = 1.4802 with APEX/nFLASH230 confirms the redshift of the submillimeter emission. The lensed source appears to be gravitationally magnified by a massive foreground galaxy cluster lens at z = 0.36. We use Lenstool to model the gravitational lensing, which is close to a “fold arc” configuration for an elliptical mass distribution of the central halo, where four images of the lensed galaxy are seen; the mean magnification is μ L = 18 ± 4. We have determined an intrinsic rest-frame infrared luminosity of L IR ≈1012 L ⊙ and a likely star formation rate of ∼70–170 M ⊙yr−1. The molecular gas mass is M mol ∼ 2.6 × 1010 M ⊙ and the gas fraction is f = 0.34 ± 0.07. We also obtain a stellar mass log (M */M ⊙) = 10.7 ± 0.1 and a specific star formation rate log (sSFR/Gyr−1) = 0.15 ± 0.03. This galaxy lies on the so-called main sequence of star-forming galaxies at this redshift.

Reconstructing H i power spectrum with minimal parameters using the dark matter distribution beyond haloes

ABSTRACT Intensity mapping of 21-cm line by several radio telescope experiments will probe the large-scale structure of the Universe in the post-reionization epoch. It requires a theoretical framework of neutral hydrogen (H i) clustering, such as modelling of H i power spectrum for baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) analysis. We propose a new method for reconstructing the H i map from dark matter distribution using N-body simulations. Several studies attempt to compute the H i power spectrum with N-body simulations by pasting H i gas at the dark matter halo centre, assuming the relation between the halo and H i masses. On the other hand, the method proposed in this paper reproduces the H i power spectrum from simulated dark matter distribution truncated at specific scales from the halo centre. With this method, the slope of H i power spectrum is reproduced well at the BAO scales, k < 1 h/Mpc. Furthermore, we find the fluctuation of spin temperature, which is often ignored at the post-reionization epoch, alters the power spectrum of brightness temperature by at most 8 per cent in the power spectrum. Finally, we discuss how our method works by comparing the density profiles of H i and dark matter around the dark matter haloes.

Unveiling the Population of Wandering Black Holes via Electromagnetic Signatures

Abstract While most galaxies appear to host a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), they are expected to also contain a substantial population of off-center “wandering” SMBHs naturally produced by the hierarchical merger-driven process of galaxy assembly. This population has been recently characterized in an analysis of the Romulus cosmological simulations, which correct for the dynamical forces on SMBHs without artificially pinning them to halo centers. Here we predict an array of electromagnetic signatures for these wanderers. The predicted wandering population of SMBHs from Romulus broadly reproduces the observed spatial offsets of a recent sample of hyperluminous X-ray sources. We predict that the sources with the most extreme offsets are likely to arise from SMBHs within satellite galaxies. These simulations also predict a significant population of secondary active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with luminosities at least 10% that of the central AGN. The majority of galaxies at z = 4 that host a central AGN with bolometric luminosity L bol > 1042 erg s−1 are predicted to host a companion off-center AGN of comparable brightness. We demonstrate that stacked X-ray observations of similar mass galaxies may reveal a halo of collective emission attributable to these wanderers. Finally, because wanderers dominate the population of SMBHs with masses of ≲107 M ⊙ in Romulus, they may dominate tidal disruption event (TDE) rates at these masses if they retain a stellar component (e.g., a nuclear star cluster). This could warrant an order of magnitude correction to current theoretically estimated TDE rates at low SMBH masses.

On the Random Motion of Nuclear Objects in a Fuzzy Dark Matter Halo

Abstract Fuzzy dark matter (FDM), consisting of ultralight bosons ( m b ∼ 10 − 22 eV ), is an intriguing alternative to cold dark matter. Numerical simulations that solve the Schrödinger–Poisson (SP) equation show that FDM halos consist of a central solitonic core, which is the ground state of the SP equation, surrounded by an envelope of interfering excited states. These excited states also interfere with the soliton, causing it to oscillate and execute a confined random walk with respect to the halo center of mass. Using high-resolution numerical simulations of a 6.6 × 10 9 M ⊙ FDM halo with m b = 8 × 10 − 23 eV in isolation, we demonstrate that the wobbling, oscillating soliton gravitationally perturbs nuclear objects, such as supermassive black holes or dense star clusters, causing them to diffuse outwards. In particular, we show that, on average, objects with mass ≲0.3% of the soliton mass ( M sol ) are expelled from the soliton in ∼3 Gyr , after which they continue their outward diffusion due to gravitational interactions with the soliton and the halo granules. More massive objects (≳ 1 % M sol ), while executing a random walk, remain largely confined to the soliton due to dynamical friction. We also present an effective treatment of the diffusion, based on kinetic theory, that accurately reproduces the outward motion of low-mass objects and briefly discuss how the observed displacements of star clusters and active galactic nuclei from the centers of their host galaxies can be used to constrain FDM.

The Uchuu simulations: Data Release 1 and dark matter halo concentrations

ABSTRACT We introduce the Uchuu suite of large high-resolution cosmological N-body simulations. The largest simulation, named Uchuu, consists of 2.1 trillion (12 8003) dark matter particles in a box of side-length 2.0 $\, h^{-1} \, \rm Gpc$, with particle mass of 3.27 × 108$\, h^{-1}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. The highest resolution simulation, Shin-Uchuu, consists of 262 billion (64003) particles in a box of side-length 140 $\, h^{-1} \, \rm Mpc$, with particle mass of 8.97 × 105$\, h^{-1}\, \rm M_{\odot }$. Combining these simulations, we can follow the evolution of dark matter haloes and subhaloes spanning those hosting dwarf galaxies to massive galaxy clusters across an unprecedented volume. In this first paper, we present basic statistics, dark matter power spectra, and the halo and subhalo mass functions, which demonstrate the wide dynamic range and superb statistics of the Uchuu suite. From an analysis of the evolution of the power spectra, we conclude that our simulations remain accurate from the baryon acoustic oscillation scale down to the very small. We also provide parameters of a mass–concentration model, which describes the evolution of halo concentration and reproduces our simulation data to within 5 per cent for haloes with masses spanning nearly eight orders of magnitude at redshift 0 ≤ z ≤ 14. There is an upturn in the mass–concentration relation for the population of all haloes and of relaxed haloes at z ≳ 0.5, whereas no upturn is detected at z < 0.5. We make publicly available various N-body products as part of Uchuu Data Release 1 on the Skies & Universes site.1 Future releases will include gravitational lensing maps and mock galaxy, X-ray cluster, and active galactic nucleus catalogues.

Seeding Supermassive Black Holes with Self-interacting Dark Matter: A Unified Scenario with Baryons

Abstract Observations show that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with a mass of ∼109 M ⊙ exist when the universe is just 6% of its current age. We propose a scenario where a self-interacting dark matter halo experiences gravothermal instability and its central region collapses into a seed black hole. The presence of baryons in protogalaxies could significantly accelerate the gravothermal evolution of the halo and shorten collapse timescales. The central halo could dissipate its angular momentum remnant via viscosity induced by the self-interactions. The host halo must be on high tails of density fluctuations, implying that high-z SMBHs are expected to be rare in this scenario. We further derive conditions for triggering general relativistic instability of the collapsed region. Our results indicate that self-interacting dark matter can provide a unified explanation for diverse dark matter distributions in galaxies today and the origin of SMBHs at redshifts z ∼ 6–7.

The morphology of star-forming gas and its alignment with galaxies and dark matter haloes in the EAGLE simulations

ABSTRACT We present measurements of the morphology of star-forming gas in galaxies from the EAGLE simulations, and its alignment relative to stars and dark matter (DM). Imaging of such gas in the radio continuum enables weak lensing experiments that complement traditional optical approaches. Star-forming gas is typically more flattened than the stars and DM within halo centres, particularly for present-day structures of total mass $\sim 10^{12-12.5}\, {\rm M}_\odot$, which preferentially host star-forming galaxies with rotationally supported stellar discs. Such systems have oblate, spheroidal star-forming gas distributions, but in both less- and more-massive subhaloes the distributions tend to be prolate, and its morphology correlates positively and significantly with that of its host galaxy’s stars, both in terms of sphericity and triaxiality. The minor axis of star-forming gas most commonly aligns with the minor axis of its host subhalo’s central DM distribution, but this alignment is often poor in subhaloes with a prolate DM distribution. Star-forming gas aligns with the DM at the centre of its parent subhalo less strongly than is the case for stars, but its morphological minor axis aligns closely with its kinematic axis, affording a route to observational identification of the unsheared morphological axis. The projected ellipticities of star-forming gas in EAGLE are consistent with shapes inferred from high-fidelity radio continuum images, and they exhibit greater shape noise than is the case for images of the stars, owing to the greater characteristic flattening of star-forming gas with respect to stars.

Origins and demographics of wandering black holes

ABSTRACT We characterize the population of wandering black holes, defined as those physically offset from their halo centres, in the romulus cosmological simulations. Unlike most other currently available cosmological simulations, black holes are seeded based on local gas properties and are permitted to evolve dynamically without being fixed at halo centres. Tracking these black holes allows us to make robust predictions about the offset population. We find that the number of wandering black holes scales roughly linearly with the halo mass, such that we expect thousands of wandering black holes in galaxy cluster haloes. Locally, these wanderers account for around 10 per cent of the local black hole mass budget once seed masses are accounted for. Yet for higher redshifts ($z$ ≳ 4), wandering black holes both outweigh and outshine their central supermassive counterparts. Most wandering black holes, we find, remain close to the seed mass and originate from the centres of previously disrupted satellite galaxies. While most do not retain a resolved stellar counterpart, those that do are situated farther out at larger fractions of the virial radius. Wanderers with higher luminosities are preferentially at lower radius, more massive, and either closer to their host’s mid-planes or associated with a stellar overdensity. This analysis shows that our current census of supermassive black holes is incomplete and that a substantial population of off-centre wanderers likely exists.

A hierarchical clustering method for quantifying satellite abundance

ABSTRACT We present a new method for quantifying the abundance of satellites around field galaxies and in groups. The method is designed to work with samples such as photometric redshift catalogues, that do not have full spectroscopic coverage, but for which some redshift or distance information is available. It consists of identifying the galaxies most likely to be centrals, and using the clustering signal around them as a template to iteratively decompose the full population into satellite and central populations. Thus, it is similar to performing crowded-field photometry by using isolated stars to determine the point spread function of the image. The method does not identify individual satellites or centrals conclusively, but assigns a probability to each galaxy of being one or the other. Averaged over a large sample, it provides a statistical estimate of satellite abundance, even in crowded fields with large redshift uncertainties. We test the method using data from the COSMOS field, which includes a large set of local objects with accurate photometric redshifts. We measure satellite abundance as a function of central stellar or halo mass, as well as the satellite luminosity function, and find results consistent with previous studies, but extending over a broader range of central masses. We also consider a number of possible systematic uncertainties in the method, and show that they are generally smaller than our random errors. Having presented the method in this paper, we will use it to study the properties of the satellite populations in a forthcoming one.

Tracing the simulated high-redshift circum-galactic medium with Lyman α emission

Abstract With the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), it is now possible to detect spatially extended Lyman α (Lyα) emission from individual faint (MUV ∼ −18) galaxies at redshifts, 3 < z < 6, tracing gas out to circum-galactic scales. To explore the implications of such observations, we present a cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulation of a single galaxy, chosen to be typical of the Lyα-emitting galaxies detected by MUSE in deep fields. We use this simulation to study the origin and dynamics of the high-redshift circum-galactic medium (CGM). We find that the majority of the mass in the diffuse CGM is comprised of material infalling for the first time towards the halo center, but with the inner CGM also containing a comparable amount of mass that has moved past first-pericentric passage, and is in the process of settling into a rotationally supported configuration. Making the connection to Lyα emission, we find that the observed extended surface brightness profile is due to a combination of three components: scattering of galactic Lyα emission in the CGM, in-situ emission of CGM gas (mostly infalling), and Lyα emission from small satellite galaxies. The weight of these contributions vary with distance from the galaxy such that (1) scattering dominates the inner regions (r < 7 kpc), at surface brightness larger than a few 10−19 cgs, (2) all components contribute equally around r ∼ 10 kpc (or SB∼10−19), and (3) the contribution of small satellite galaxies takes over at large distances (or SB∼10−20).

Oscillations and random walk of the soliton core in a fuzzy dark matter halo

A Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM) halo consists of a soliton core close to the center and an NFW-like density profile in the outer region. Previous investigations found that the soliton core exhibits temporal oscillations and random walk excursions around the halo center. Analyzing a set of numerical simulations, we show that both phenomena can be understood as the results of wave interference -- a suitable superposition of the ground (solitonic) state and excited states in a fixed potential suffices to account for the main features of these phenomena. Such an eigenmode analysis can shed light on the evolution of a satellite halo undergoing tidal disruption. As the outer halo is stripped away, reducing the amplitudes of the excited states, the ground state evolves adiabatically. This suggests diminished soliton oscillations and random walk excursions, an effect to consider in deducing constraints from stellar heating.

3-3-1 Self interacting dark matter and the galaxy core-cusp problem

The core–cusp problem remains a challenging discrepancy between observations and simulations in the standard [Formula: see text]CDM model for the formation of galaxies. The problem is that [Formula: see text]CDM simulations predict a steep power-law mass density profile at the center of galactic dark matter halos. However, observations of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group reveal a density profile consistent with a nearly flat distribution of dark matter near the center. A number of solutions to this dilemma have been proposed. Here, we summarize investigations into the possibility that the dark matter particles themselves self interact and scatter. Such self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) particles can smooth out the dark-matter profile in high-density regions. We also review the theoretical proposal that self-interacting dark matter may arise as an additional Higgs scalar in the 3–3–1 extension of the Standard Model (SM). We present new simulations of galaxy formation and evolution for this formulation of self-interacting dark matter. Current constraints on this self-interacting dark matter are then summarized.

The Dekel-Zhao profile: a mass-dependent dark-matter density profile with flexible inner slope and analytic potential, velocity dispersion, and lensing properties

ABSTRACTWe explore a function with two shape parameters for the dark-matter halo density profile subject to baryonic effects, which is a special case of the general Zhao family of models applied to simulated dark-matter haloes by Dekel et al. This profile has variable inner slope and concentration parameter, and analytic expressions for the gravitational potential, velocity dispersion, and lensing properties. Using the Numerical Investigation of a Hundred Astrophysical Objects cosmological simulations, we find that it provides better fits than the Einasto profile and the generalized NFW profile with variable inner slope, in particular towards the halo centres. We show that the profile parameters are correlated with the stellar-to-halo mass ratio Mstar/Mvir. This defines a mass-dependent density profile describing the average dark-matter profiles in all galaxies, which can be directly applied to observed rotation curves of galaxies, gravitational lenses, and semi-analytic models of galaxy formation or satellite–galaxy evolution. The effect of baryons manifests itself by a significant flattening of the inner density slope and a 20 per cent decrease of the concentration parameter for Mstar/Mvir = 10−3.5–10−2, corresponding to $M_{\rm star} \!\sim \! 10^{7-10}\, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$. The accuracy by which this profile fits simulated galaxies is similar to certain multiparameter mass-dependent profiles, but its fewer parameters and analytic nature make it most desirable for many purposes.

Ly α blobs from cold streams undergoing Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities

ABSTRACT We present an analytic toy model for the radiation produced by the interaction between cold streams thought to feed massive haloes at high redshift and their hot CGM. We begin by deriving cosmologically motivated parameters for the streams, as they enter the halo virial radius, Rv, as a function of halo mass and redshift. For $10^{12}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ haloes at z = 2, we find the stream density to be $n_{\rm H,s}\sim (0.1{\!-\!}5)\times 10^{-2}\, {\rm cm}^{-3}$, a factor of δ ∼ (30–300) times denser than the hot CGM, while stream radii are in the range Rs ∼ (0.03−0.50)Rv. As streams accelerate towards the halo centre, they become denser and narrower. The stream–CGM interaction induces Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), which leads to entrainment of CGM mass by the stream and to stream deceleration by momentum conservation. Assuming the entrainment rates derived by Mandelker et al. (2020) in the absence of gravity can be applied locally at each halocentric radius, we derive equations of motion for the stream in the halo. Using these, we derive the net acceleration, mass growth, and energy dissipation induced by the stream–CGM interaction, as a function of halo mass and redshift, for different CGM density profiles. For the range of model parameters considered, we find that the interaction induces dissipation luminosities Ldiss > 1042 erg s−1 within ≲0.6Rv of haloes with $M_{\rm v}\gt 10^{12}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ at z = 2. The emission scales with halo mass and redshift approximately as $\propto M_{\rm v}\, (1+z)^2$. The magnitude and spatial extent of the emission are consistent with observed Ly α blobs, though better treatment of the UV background and self-shielding is needed to solidify this conclusion.

Shape and spin of minihaloes – II. The effect of streaming velocities

ABSTRACT Models of the decoupling of baryons and photons during the recombination epoch predict the existence of a large-scale velocity offset between baryons and dark matter at later times, the so-called streaming velocity. In this paper, we use high resolution numerical simulations to investigate the impact of this streaming velocity on the spin and shape distributions of high-redshift minihaloes, the formation sites of the earliest generation of stars. We find that the presence of a streaming velocity has a negligible effect on the spin and shape of the dark matter component of the minihaloes. However, it strongly affects the behaviour of the gas component. The most probable spin parameter increases from ∼0.03 in the absence of streaming to ∼0.15 for a run with a streaming velocity of three times σrms, corresponding to 1.4 km s−1 at redshift z = 15. The gas within the minihaloes becomes increasingly less spherical and more oblate as the streaming velocity increases, with dense clumps being found at larger distances from the halo centre. The impact of the streaming velocity is also mass-dependent: less massive objects are influenced more strongly, on account of their shallower potential wells. The number of haloes in which gas cooling and runaway gravitational collapse occurs decreases substantially as the streaming velocity increases. However, the spin and shape distributions of gas that does manage to cool and collapse are insensitive to the value of the streaming velocity and we therefore do not expect the properties of the stars that formed from this collapsed gas to depend on the value of the streaming velocity. The spin and shape of this central gas clump are uncorrelated with the same properties measured on the scale of the halo as a whole.

Massive Star Formation in Metal-Enriched Haloes at High Redshift

The formation of supermassive stars has generally been studied under the assumption of rapid accretion of pristine metal-free gas. Recently it was found, however, that gas enriched to metallicities up to $Z \sim 10^{-3}$ Z$_{\odot}$ can also facilitate supermassive star formation, as long as the total mass infall rate onto the protostar remains sufficiently high. We extend the analysis further by examining how the abundance of supermassive star candidate haloes would be affected if all haloes with super-critical infall rates, regardless of metallicity were included. We investigate this scenario by identifying all atomic cooling haloes in the Renaissance simulations with central mass infall rates exceeding a fixed threshold. We find that among these haloes with central mass infall rates above 0.1 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ approximately two-thirds of these haloes have metallicities of $Z > 10^{-3}$ Z$_{\odot}$. If metal mixing within these haloes is inefficient early in their assembly and pockets of metal-poor gas can remain then the number of haloes hosting supermassive stars can be increased by at least a factor of four. Additionally the centres of these high infall-rate haloes provide ideal environments in which to grow pre-existing black holes. Further research into the (supermassive) star formation dynamics of rapidly collapsing haloes, with inhomogeneous metal distributions, is required to gain more insight into both supermassive star formation in early galaxies as well as early black hole growth.

First report of brown leaf spot of rice caused by Bipolaris zeicola in Pakistan.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the highly consumed cereal grain crops in Pakistan. In September 2017, leaf samples of cultivar Basmati-385 showing brown to dark brown spots (5 to 9 mm in diameter) that were oval or cylindrical in shape with a chlorotic yellow halo and grayish tan centers were collected from fields near the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (31.43633 N 73.05981 E). Average disease incidence was 69% in six rice fields that were sampled for diseased plants with visible symptoms. To isolate the pathogen, from 20 diseased leaves, 5 mm2 segments from the margins of lesions were cut, rinsed with sterile distilled water (SDW), surface disinfected by 70% ethanol and again rinsed with SDW. The samples were dried on sterilized filter paper discs, plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 27°C for 5 to 7 days. Twelve isolates were sub-cultured and single-sporing was performed to obtain pure cultures. Fungal isolates with light to dark gray in color, thick or fluffy aerial mycelium, circular and smooth margins were obtained after 7 days of incubation. Conidia were 47-83 μm × 10-17 μm (n=100), with 4 to 10 distosepta, dark or olivaceous brown, straight or moderately curved, and the cells at the ends occasionally looked paler than those in the middle. Conidiophore of the fungus were simple, smooth, cylindrical, septate, and straight to flexuous. These characteristics resembled those of Bipolaris zeicola (Stout) Shoemaker (Manamgoda et al. 2014). For molecular identification, genomic DNA (isolate SU-11) was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, large subunit (LSU) of ribosomal DNA, translation elongation factor (tef), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2) genes were amplified and sequenced by using the primers ITS1-F/ITS4-R (White et al. 1990), LROR-F/LR5-R (Schoch et al. 2012), EF1-983F/EF1-2218R (Rehner and Buckley 2005), GPD1F/GPD2R (Berbee et al. 1999), and 5F2/7CR (O'Donnell et al. 2007), respectively. BLASTn searches showed 100% homology with the LSU and rpb2 sequences of B. zeicola (GenBank Accession Nos. MH876201 and HF934842) and 98-99% similarity with ITS, tef, and gpd sequences of B. zeicola (GenBank Accession Nos. KM230398, KM093752 and KM034815). The sequences of ITS, LSU, tef, gpd, and rpb2 were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MN871712, MN877767, MN867685, MN904511 and MT349837, respectively. To fulfill Koch's postulates, 25 greenhouse-grown rice plants (cv. Basmati-385) at 2- to 3-leaf stage were spray inoculated with a spore suspension (105 spores/ml; isolate SU-11) prepared in SDW. Plants were covered with plastic wraps to maintain humid conditions for 24 hours and incubated at 27°C for one week. Similarly, ten non-inoculated plants sprayed with SDW served as controls. After one week, observed symptoms were similar to those from natural infections and no disease symptoms were observed on the non-inoculated plants. The experiment was repeated twice and the pathogen was re-isolated from the infected leaves and characterized morphologically. Globally, B. zeicola has also been reported to cause the leaf spot of rice and maize plants (Sivanesan 1987; Kang et al. 2018). To our information, this is the first report of B. zeicola causing brown leaf spot of rice in Pakistan. The increasing risk of this fungal pathogen in the rice-growing areas of Pakistan need a rigorous exploration and outreach effort to develop effective management practices.

Escalating core formation with dark matter self-heating

Exothermic scatterings of dark matter (DM) produce DM particles with significant kick velocities inside DM halos. In collaboration with DM self-interaction, the excess kinetic energy of the produced DM particles is distributed to the others, which self-heats the DM particles as a whole. The DM self-heating is efficient towards the halo center, and the heat injection is used to enhance the formation of a uniform density core inside halos. The effect of DM self-heating is expected to be more significant in smaller halos for two reasons: 1) the exothermic cross section times the relative velocity, $\left\langle\sigma_{\rm exo}v_{\rm rel}\right\rangle$, is constant; 2) and the ratio of the injected heat to the velocity dispersion squared gets larger towards smaller halos. For the first time, we quantitatively investigate the core formation from DM self-heating for halos in a wide mass range ($10^{9}$-$10^{15}\,{\rm M}_\odot$) using the gravothermal fluid formalism. Notably, we demonstrate that the core formation is sharply escalating towards smaller halos by taking the self-heating DM (i.e., DM that semi-annihilates and self-interacts) as an example. We show that the sharp escalation of core formation may cause a tension in simultaneously explaining the observed central mass deficit of Milky Way satellites, and field dwarf/low surface brightness spiral galaxies. While the details of the self-heating effect may differ among models, we expect that the sharp halo-mass dependence of the core formation is a general feature of exothermic DM.