Observational Constraints Research Articles

The Rise of Nova V1674 Herculis

Observational constraints on classical novae are heavily biased to phases near optical peak and later because of the simple fact that novae are not typically discovered until they become bright. The earliest phases of brightening, coming before discovery, are typically missed, but this is changing with the proliferation of wide-field optical monitoring systems including the Zwicky Transient Facility, All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae, and Evryscope. Here, we report on unprecedented observations of the fast nova V1674 Her beginning >10 mag below its optical peak and including high-cadence (2 minutes) observations that chart a rise of ∼8 mag in just 5 hr. Two clear breaks are identified as the light curve transitions first from rising slowly to rising rapidly, followed by a transition to an even faster, nearly linear rate of increasing flux with time. The depths of the observations allow us to place tight constraints on the size of the photosphere under the assumption of blackbody emission from a white dwarf emitting at its Eddington luminosity. We find that the white dwarf was unlikely to have overflowed its Roche lobe prior to the launch of a fast wind, which poses a challenge for explaining the Fermi γ-ray detections as the interaction of a fast wind with a slow torus of gas stripped from the inflated white dwarf envelope by the companion. High-cadence observations of novae from Evryscope and the planned Argus Array can record the diversity of rising nova light curves and help resolve how the interplay between thermonuclear fusion, binary interaction, and shocks power their earliest light.

Compact Binary Merger Rate with Modified Gravity in Dark Matter Spikes

In this study, we investigate the impact of modified gravity (MG) on the merger rate of compact binaries within dark matter spikes surrounding supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Specifically, we calculate the binary merger rates involving primordial black holes (PBHs) and/or neutron stars (NSs) in Hu–Sawicki f(R) gravity and the normal branch of Dvali–Gabadadze–Porrati (nDGP) gravity, with three SMBH mass functions: Benson, Vika, and Shankar. The results show consistently higher merger rates predicted for PBH–PBH and PBH–NS binaries in these gravity models compared to general relativity (GR), in particular at lower SMBH masses and for steeper dark matter spike density profiles. The predicted merger rates are compared to the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observations in constraining the parameters of the theory. In particular, we find steeper dark matter spike density profiles in the MG scenarios compared to GR. When compared to current observational constraints on PBH abundance, the mass ranges allowed by Hu–Sawicki f(R) models are found to be wider than those allowed by nDGP models, for given merger rates. The results are highly dependent on the choice of SMBH mass function, with the Vika and Shankar mass functions predicting lower abundances. The considerable sensitivity of the results to the assumed gravity scenario and SMBH mass function demonstrates the necessity of incorporating the corresponding theoretical uncertainties when making relatively robust predictions on compact binary merger rates and, as a result, on PBH properties.

Regional differences in the effects of atmospheric moisture residence time on precipitation isotopes over Eurasia

Regional variations in atmospheric moisture residence time (RT) highlight the need to obtain independent observation indexes to constrain different model-based estimates. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen naturally exist in water molecules that can provide such observational constraints. We analyzed the relationship between RT and precipitation isotopes (δ2H and δ18O) across different climatic zones in Eurasia from 1980 to 2020. Our analysis reveals that: (1) Both precipitation isotopes and RT showed significant increasing trends during 1980–2020. The increase in RT corresponds to weakened net isotopic distillation over Eurasia, suggesting reduced atmospheric circulation intensity under warming conditions. (2) The spatial patterns of RT and precipitation isotopes vary significantly among different moisture source regions, reflecting distinct moisture transport and precipitation formation processes. (3) On long-term scales, RT generally shows positive correlations with precipitation isotopes, except in plateau regions. The RT-δ18O relationship exhibits latitude-dependent variations, with similar slopes in regions sharing common moisture sources. These findings enhance our understanding of the long-term controls on precipitation isotopic composition and atmospheric moisture cycling patterns across Eurasia.

Constraining neutron star properties and dark matter admixture with the NITR-I equation of state: Insights from observations and universal relations

A recent observational study has set a constraint on the maximum mass of neutron stars (NSs), specifically focusing on PSR J0952-0607 and the compact star remnant HESS J1731-347, particularly within the low-mass regime. In our recent study, Ref. 1 , we developed an energy density functional named NITR, which successfully produced the mass limit of the aforementioned pulsar but did not fully meet other observational constraints, such as those from NICER+XMM and GW170817. In this study, we introduce a new EDF named “NITR-I”, which not only reproduces the mass limit of PSR J0952-0607 but also aligns its canonical radius with NICER+XMM data, and its canonical dimensionless tidal deformability is consistent with the GW170817 event, thereby demonstrating the robustness of our model. The low-mass constraint associated with HESS J1731-347 suggests various possible compositions for the NS. The NITR-I model alone does not satisfy the HESS J1731-347 constraint; thus, we explore the possibility of incorporating dark matter (DM) inside the NS to meet this constraint. This approach proves successful when a specific value of Fermi momentum is considered. We also examine the impact of DM with varying Fermi momentum on different NS properties, such as tidal deformability and nonradial f-mode oscillation, using various relativistic mean-field (RMF) models. For the NITR-I EOS, the f-mode frequency is about 2.15[Formula: see text]kHz at 1.4 [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV, and it slightly increases to around 2.32[Formula: see text]kHz with [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV. This increase in frequency due to DM suggests a possible reduction in tidal deformability, indicating that neutron stars with higher DM content are less susceptible to deformation by tidal forces which could be detectable in gravitational wave signals from neutron star mergers. Finally, we explore various universal relations (URs) for DM-admixed NSs, such as the relation between compactness and tidal deformability, the f-mode frequency and tidal deformability, and estimate the canonical values corresponding to both compactness and f-mode frequency using the GW170817 data.

Reconstructions of f(𝒫) and f(𝒬) gravity models from (m, n)-type Barrow Holographic Dark Energy: Analysis and Observational Constraints

Reconstructions of f(𝒫) and f(𝒬) gravity models from (<i>m, n</i>)-type Barrow Holographic Dark Energy: Analysis and Observational Constraints

Partial alignment between jets and megamasers: Coherent versus selective accretion

Spins play a crucial role in the appearance, evolution, and occupation fraction of massive black holes (MBHs). To date, observational estimates of MBH spins are scarce, and the assumptions commonly made in such estimates have recently been questioned. Similarly, theoretical models for MBH spin evolution, while reproducing the few observational constraints, are based on possibly oversimplified assumptions. New independent constraints on MBH spins are therefore of primary importance. We present a rigorous statistical analysis of the relative orientation of radio jets and megamaser disks in ten low-redshift galaxies. We find a strong preference for (partial) alignment between jets and megamaser that can be attributed to two different causes: coherent accretion and selective accretion. In the first case the partial alignment is due to an anisotropy in the gas reservoir fueling the growth of MBHs. In the second case the spin-dependent anisotropic feedback allows long-lived accretion only if the orbits of the gas inflows are almost aligned to the MBH equatorial plane. A discussion of the implications of the two accretion scenarios regarding the evolution of MBHs is presented, together with an outlook on future observational tests aiming at discriminating between the two scenarios and checking whether either applies to different redshifts and black hole mass regimes.

On the origin of counter-gradient transport in turbulent scalar flux: physics interpretation and adjoint data assimilation

The present study offers a twofold contribution on counter-gradient transport (CGT) of turbulent scalar flux. First, by examining turbulent scalar mixing through synchronized particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence on an inclined jet in cross-flow, we clarify the previously unexplained phenomenon of CGT, revealing key flow structures, their spatial distribution and modelling implications. Statistical analysis identifies two distinct CGT regions: local cross-gradient transport in the windward shear layer and non-local effects near the wall after injection. These behaviours are driven by specific flow structures, namely Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices (local) and wake vortices (non-local), suggesting that scalar flux can be decomposed into a gradient-type term for gradient diffusion and a term for large-eddy stirring. Second, we propose a new approach for reconstruction of turbulent mean flow and scalar fields using continuous adjoint data assimilation (DA). By rectifying model-form errors through anisotropic correction under observational constraints, our DA model minimizes discrepancies between experimental measurements and numerical predictions. As expected, the introduced forcing term effectively identifies regions where traditional models fall short, particularly in the jet centreline and near-wall regions, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the mean scalar field. These enhancements occur not only within the observation region but also in unseen regions, underscoring present DA approach's reliability and practicality for reproducing mean flow behaviours from limited data. These findings lay a solid foundation for adjoint-based model-consistent data-driven methods, offering promising potential for accurately predicting complex flow scenarios like film cooling.

Fire, environmental and anthropogenic controls on pantropical tree cover

Explaining tropical tree cover distribution in areas of intermediate rainfall is challenging, with fire’s role in limiting tree cover particularly controversial. We use a novel Bayesian approach to provide observational constraints on the strength of the influence of humans, fire, rainfall seasonality, heat stress, and wind throw on tropical tree cover. Rainfall has the largest relative impact on tree cover (11.6–39.6%), followed by direct human pressures (29.8–36.8%), heat stress (10.5–23.3%) and rainfall seasonality (6.3–22.8%). Fire has a smaller impact (0.2–3.2%) than other stresses, increasing to 0.3–5.2% when excluding human influence. However, we found a potential vulnerability of eastern Amazon and Indonesian forests to fire, with up to 2% forest loss for a 1% increase in burnt area. Our results suggest that vegetation models should focus on fire development for emerging fire regimes in tropical forests and revisit the linkages between rainfall, non-fire disturbances, land use and broad-scale vegetation distributions.

Testing kinematic distances under a realistic Galactic potential. Investigating systematic errors in the kinematic distance method arising from a non-axisymmetric potential

Obtaining reliable distance estimates to gas clouds within the Milky Way is challenging in the absence of certain tracers. The kinematic distance approach has been used as an alternative, and it is derived from the assumption of circular trajectories around the Galactic centre. Consequently, significant errors are expected in regions where gas flow deviates from purely circular motions. We aim to quantify the systematic errors that arise from the kinematic distance method in the presence of a Galactic potential that is non-axisymmetric. We investigated how these errors differ in certain regions of the Galaxy and how they relate to the underlying dynamics. We performed 2D isothermal hydrodynamical simulation of the gas disk with the moving-mesh code Arepo adding the capability of using an external potential provided by the Agama library for galactic dynamics. We introduced a new analytic potential of the Milky Way, taking elements from existing models and adjusting parameters to match recent observational constraints. In line with results of previous studies, we report significant errors in the kinematic distance estimate for gas close to the Sun along sight lines towards the Galactic centre and anti-centre and associated with the Galactic bar. Kinematic distance errors are low within the spiral arms, as gas resides close to local potential minima and the resulting line-of-sight velocity is similar to what is expected for an axisymmetric potential. Interarm regions exhibit large deviations at any given Galactic radius, and this is caused by the gas being sped up or slowed down as it travels into or out of spiral arms. In addition, we identify ‘zones of avoidance’ in the $lv$-diagram, where the kinematic distance method is particularly unreliable and should only be used with caution and we find a power-law relation between the kinematic distance error and the deviation of the projected line-of-sight velocity from circular motion.

A global re-analysis of regionally resolved emissions and atmospheric mole fractions of SF6 for the period 2005–2021

Abstract. We determine the global emission distribution of the potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) for the period 2005–2021 using inverse modelling. The inversion is based on 50 d backward simulations with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM) FLEXPART and on a comprehensive observation data set of SF6 mole fractions in which we combine continuous with flask measurements sampled at fixed surface locations and observations from aircraft and ship campaigns. We use a global-distribution-based (GDB) approach to determine baseline mole fractions directly from global SF6 mole fraction fields at the termination points of the backward trajectories. We compute these fields by performing an atmospheric SF6 re-analysis, assimilating global SF6 observations into modelled global three-dimensional mole fraction fields. Our inversion results are in excellent agreement with several regional inversion studies in the USA, Europe, and China. We find that (1) annual US SF6 emissions strongly decreased from 1.25 Gg in 2005 to 0.48 Gg in 2021; however, they were on average twice as high as the reported emissions to the United Nations. (2) SF6 emissions from EU countries show an average decreasing trend of −0.006 Gg yr−1 during the period 2005 to 2021, including a substantial drop in 2018. This drop is likely a direct result of the EU's F-gas regulation 517/2014, which bans the use of SF6 for recycling magnesium die-casting alloys as of 2018 and requires leak detection systems for electrical switch gear. (3) Chinese annual emissions grew from 1.28 Gg in 2005 to 5.16 Gg in 2021, with a trend of 0.21 Gg yr−1, which is even higher than the average global total emission trend of 0.20 Gg yr−1. (4) National reports for the USA, Europe, and China all underestimated their SF6 emissions. (5) Our results indicate increasing emissions in poorly monitored areas (e.g. India, Africa, and South America); however, these results are uncertain due to weak observational constraints, highlighting the need for enhanced monitoring in these areas. (6) Global total SF6 emissions are comparable to estimates in previous studies but are sensitive to a priori estimates due to the low network sensitivity in poorly monitored regions. (7) Monthly inversions indicate that SF6 emissions in the Northern Hemisphere were on average higher in summer than in winter throughout the study period.

Ionising properties of galaxies in JADES for a stellar mass complete sample: resolving the cosmic ionising photon budget crisis at the Epoch of Reionisation

Abstract We use NIRCam imaging from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) to study the ionising properties of a sample of 14652 galaxies at 3 ≤ zphot ≤ 9, 90% complete in stellar mass down to log(M⋆/[M⊙]) ≈ 7.5. Out of the full sample, 1620 of the galaxies have spectroscopic redshift measurements from the literature. We use the spectral energy distribution fitting code Prospector to fit all available photometry and infer galaxy properties. We find a significantly milder evolution of the ionising photon production efficiency (ξion) with redshift and UV magnitude than previously reported. Interestingly, we observe two distinct populations in ξion, distinguished by their burstiness (given by SFR10/SFR100). Both populations show the same evolution with z and MUV, but have a different ξion normalisation. We convolve the more representative log (ξion(z, MUV)) relations (accounting for ∼97% of the sample), with luminosity functions from literature, to place constraints on the cosmic ionising photon budget. By combining our results, we find that one of our models can match the observational constraints from the Lyα forest at z ≲ 6. We conclude that galaxies with MUV between −16 and −20, adopting a reasonable escape fraction, can produce enough ionising photons to ionise the Universe, without exceeding the required ionising photon budget.

Observational Constraints on the Spatial Effect of Greenness and Canopy Cover on Urban Heat in a Major Midlatitude City

AbstractUrban heat stress is a critical issue, particularly in cities where dense infrastructure and limited green space exacerbate temperature extremes. This study investigates the impact of greenery (EVI2), canopy cover (CC), impervious cover (IC), and water bodies on heat index in Chicago using high‐resolution data from the Heat Watch campaign. We find that EVI2, CC and proximity to water body significantly reduce heat while IC increases heat, particularly in the afternoon when solar radiation is intense. Additionally, the effective radius that land cover impacts heat is smaller in the afternoon. The combined effect analysis indicates that enhancing total greenness, not just canopy cover, is the most effective strategy to reduce heat. This study underscores the importance of strategic vegetation management, highlighting the critical role of integrated approaches in reducing urban heat.

Full interferometric map of the L1157 southern outflow: Formamide (NH_2CHO) can form in the gas, after all

The formation mechanism of interstellar formamide (NH$_2$CHO), a key prebiotic precursor, is currently a matter of hot debate within the astrochemistry community, with both gas-phase and grain-surface chemical pathways having been proposed as its dominant formation route. The aim of the present study is to place firm observational constraints on the formation pathways leading to formamide thanks to new interferometric observations of the molecular outflow driven by the protostellar binary L1157. We employed the IRAM NOEMA interferometer to map the entire southern outflow of L1157, which contains three main shocked regions with increasing post-shock age: B0, B1, and B2. This allowed us to measure how the abundance of formamide, that of acetaldehyde (CH$_3$CHO), and the ratio of the two, vary with time in this region. In order to gain a greater understanding of the most likely formation routes of formamide, we ran a grid of astrochemical models and compared these to our observations. A comparison between observations and astrochemical modelling indicates that there are two possible scenarios: one in which the amount of formamide observed can be explained by gas-phase-only chemistry, and more specifically via the reaction H$_2$CO + NH$_2$ rightarrow NH$_2$CHO + H$_2$, and another in which part of the observed formamide originates from surface chemistry and part from gas-phase chemistry. Surface chemistry alone cannot account for the abundance of formamide that we measure. While grain-surface chemistry cannot be ruled out, the present study brings definitive proof that gas-phase chemistry does work in L1157-B and acts efficiently in the production of this molecular species.

Revisiting the local interstellar radiation field using Gaia DR3

Context. Dust grains in the interstellar medium are heated by the integrated radiation from stars in the Milky Way. Thus, knowledge of the local interstellar radiation field (LISRF) is necessary to interpret observations of dust emission in the infrared and constrain (some) properties of interstellar grains. The LISRF representation that is most widely used in dust modeling still dates back to the seminal works of Mezger et al. (1982, A&amp;A, 105, 372) and Mathis et al. (1983, A&amp;A, 128, 212). Aims. A new version of the LISRF is presented here, starting from the photometry of the Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) and revisiting the available data. This dataset includes observations from the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes. Methods. The LISRF contribution by direct starlight was estimated in the Gaia bands by summing fluxes of all stars in DR3. The LISRF was extrapolated from the optical to the ultraviolet and near-infrared, using the astrophysical parameters provided by DR3 for a subsample of Gaia stars. The correlation between dust emission at 100 µm and residual diffuse emission in the Pioneer and other available maps was exploited to derive the contribution of dust-scattered starlight to the LISRF. Results. The new LISRF is significantly redder and emits ~30% more energy than the old model. The old LISRF is almost a factor two lower in the near-infrared, while, in the optical, it accounts only for direct starlight. For |b| &lt; 50°, diffuse starlight contributes on average to ~25% of the total radiation, which is three times more than what can be derived using literature estimates at high Galactic latitudes. Conclusions. The new LISRF can modify the predicted mid-infrared (MIR) dust emission beyond the uncertainties normally assumed between dust models and observational constraints. These differences should be taken into account to redefine the properties of small grains and of carriers of the MIR emission bands.

Double-well inflation: observational constraints and theoretical implications

We revisit the small field double-well inflationary model and investigate its observational viability in light of the current Cosmic Microwave Background data. In particular, considering scenarios with minimal and nonminimal coupling between the inflaton field and the Ricci scalar, we perform a Monte Carlo Markov chain analysis to probe the model's parameter space. We also investigate the consequences of the cosmological results in the canonical type-I seesaw mechanism context and obtain constraints on the vacuum expectation value of the inflaton field, together with the amplitude of the coupling to gravity in the nonminimal case. We employ a Bayesian procedure to compare the model's predictions with the Starobinsky inflationary scenario and find a strong statistical preference for the latter against the minimal and nonminimal coupled double-well scenario.

Interacting models of dark energy and dark matter in Einstein scalar Gauss Bonnet gravity

We study the dynamics of the interacting models between the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) coupled scalar field and the dark matter fluid in a homogeneous and isotropic background. A key feature of GB coupling models is the varying speed of gravitational waves (GWs). We utilize recent constraints on the GW speed and conduct our analysis in two primary scenarios: model-dependent and model-independent. In the model-dependent scenario, where determining the GW speed requires a specific GB coupling functional form, we choose an exponential GB coupling. We adopt a dynamical system analysis to obtain the necessary constraints on the model parameters that describe different phases of the universe and produce a stable late-time accelerating solution following the GW constraint, and find that to satisfy all these constraints, fine-tuning of the free parameters involved in the models is often needed. In the model-independent scenario, the GW speed is fixed to one, and we construct the autonomous system to identify the late-time stable accelerating critical points. Furthermore, we adopt a Bayesian inference method using late-time observational data sets, including 31 data points from cosmic chronometer data (Hubble data) and 1701 data points from Pantheon+ and find that all the observational constraints can be satisfied without fine-tuning. In addition, we also utilize simulated binned Roman and LSST data to study the evolution of the universe in the model-independent scenario. We find that the model shows significant deviation at higher redshifts from ΛCDM and fits the current data much better than ΛCDM within the error bars.

Enhancing Collaboration in Heterogeneous Multiagent Systems Through Communication Complementary Graph.

Heterogeneous multiagent systems are characterized by diverse task distributions, which are prevalent in practical scenarios, such as distributed decision making and robotic collaboration. A significant challenge in these systems is the constraint of limited observations, where each agent has access only to partial information. Many studies facilitate information exchange by employing shared parameters among agents. However, this approach is generally more effective for homogeneous systems where agents have similar observation or action spaces. In heterogeneous systems, indiscriminate parameter sharing can significantly increase the exploration cost required for effective adaptation. To address this challenge, we propose a novel communication complementary graph model (CCGM) for enhancing collaboration in heterogeneous multiagent systems. Our approach builds upon the training framework of heterogeneous agent reinforcement learning (HARL) with trust region learning and nonparameter sharing. This model utilizes advantage function decomposition and sequential updates to promote policy convergence. Within this framework, we introduce a novel communication method inspired by signaling games, where agents acting as receivers, process messages from other agents alongside their own observations. CCGM aligns the messages with observations in a graph-based communication module, which establishes communication relationships and supplements observational information. Subsequently, agents generate self-interested information, which they then share with others as senders. We evaluate our algorithm across various environments, including multiagent particle environments (MPE) and multiagent MuJoCo (MAMuJoCo) robot experiments. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of CCGM in enhancing HARL-based algorithms.

Nebular dust attenuation with the Balmer and Paschen lines based on the MaNGA survey

Dust attenuations observed by stars and ionized gas are not necessarily the same. The lack of observational constraints on the nebular dust attenuation curve leaves a large uncertainty when correcting nebular dust attenuation with stellar continuum-based attenuation curves. Making use of the DAP catalogs of the MaNGA survey, we investigate the nebular dust attenuation of H II regions traced by the Balmer and Paschen lines. Based on a simple simulation, we find that star-forming regions on kpc scales favor the classic foreground screen dust model rather than the uniform mixture model. We propose a novel approach to fit the dust attenuation curve using the emission-line fluxes directly. For strong hydrogen recombination lines (e.g., Hγ, Hδ, and Hϵ), the slopes of the nebular attenuation curve can be well determined and are found to be in good agreement with the Fitzpatrick Milky Way extinction curve with an accuracy of ≲4% in terms of the correction factor. However, severe contaminations and/or systematic uncertainties prevent us from obtaining reasonable values of the slopes for weak recombination lines (e.g., the high-order Balmer lines or the Paschen lines). We discuss how the choice of emission line measurement methods affects the results. Our results demonstrate the difficulty of deriving an average nebular dust attenuation curve given the current ground-based emission-line measurements.

A NICER View of PSR J1231−1411: A Complex Case

Recent constraints on neutron star mass and radius have advanced our understanding of the equation of state (EOS) of cold dense matter. Some of them have been obtained by modeling the pulses of three millisecond X-ray pulsars observed by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). Here, we present a Bayesian parameter inference for a fourth pulsar, PSR J1231−1411, using the same technique with NICER and XMM-Newton data. When applying a broad mass-inclination prior from radio timing measurements and the emission region geometry model that can best explain the data, we find likely converged results only when using a limited radius prior. If limiting the radius to be consistent with the previous observational constraints and EOS analyses, we infer the radius to be 12.6 ± 0.3 km and the mass to be 1.04−0.03+0.05 M ⊙, each reported as the posterior credible interval bounded by the 16% and 84% quantiles. If using an uninformative prior but limited between 10 and 14 km, we find otherwise similar results, but Req=13.5−0.5+0.3 km for the radius. In both cases, we find a nonantipodal hot region geometry where one emitting spot is at the equator or slightly above, surrounded by a large colder region, and where a noncircular hot region lies close to southern rotational pole. If using a wider radius prior, we only find solutions that fit the data significantly worse. We discuss the challenges in finding the better fitting solutions, possibly related to the weak interpulse feature in the pulse profile.

JWST Ice Band Profiles Reveal Mixed Ice Compositions in the HH 48 NE Disk

Planet formation is strongly influenced by the composition and distribution of volatiles within protoplanetary disks. With JWST, it is now possible to obtain direct observational constraints on disk ices, as recently demonstrated by the detection of ice absorption features toward the edge-on HH 48 NE disk as part of the Ice Age Early Release Science program. Here, we introduce a new radiative transfer modeling framework designed to retrieve the composition and mixing status of disk ices using their band profiles, and apply it to interpret the H2O, CO2, and CO ice bands observed toward the HH 48 NE disk. We show that the ices are largely present as mixtures, with strong evidence for CO trapping in both H2O and CO2 ice. The HH 48 NE disk ice composition (pure versus polar versus apolar fractions) is markedly different from earlier protostellar stages, implying thermal and/or chemical reprocessing during the formation or evolution of the disk. We infer low ice-phase C/O ratios around 0.1 throughout the disk, and also demonstrate that the mixing and entrapment of disk ices can dramatically affect the radial dependence of the C/O ratio. It is therefore imperative that realistic disk ice compositions are considered when comparing planetary compositions with potential formation scenarios, which will fortunately be possible for an increasing number of disks with JWST.