KICC papers

arXiv:2504.00535v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The first generation of stars, known as Population III (Pop III), played a crucial role in the early Universe through their unique formation environment and metal-free composition. These stars can undergo chemically homogeneous evolution (CHE) due to fast rotation, becoming more compact and hotter/bluer than their (commonly assumed) non-rotating counterparts. In this study, we investigate the impact of Pop III CHE on the 21-cm signal and cosmic reionization under various assumptions on Pop III star formation, such as their formation efficiency, initial mass function, and transition to metal-enriched star formation. We combine stellar spectra computed by detailed atmosphere models with semi-numerical simulations of Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization ($z\sim 6-30$). The key effect of CHE arises from the boosted ionizing power of Pop III stars, which reduces the Pop III stellar mass density required to reproduce the observed Thomson scattering optical depth by a factor of $\sim 2$. Meanwhile, the maximum 21-cm global absorption signal is shallower by up to $\sim 15$ mK (11%), partly due to the reduced Lyman-band emission from CHE, and the large-scale ($k\sim 0.2\ \rm cMpc^{-1}$) power drops by a factor of a few at $z\gtrsim 25$. In general, the effects of CHE are comparable to those of Pop III star formation parameters, showing an interesting interplay with distinct features in different epochs. These results highlight the importance of metal-free/poor stellar evolution in understanding the early Universe and suggest that future studies should consider joint constraints on the physics of star/galaxy formation and stellar evolution.

arXiv:2503.21863v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Recent studies of gas kinematics at high redshift have reported disky systems which appear to challenge models of galaxy formation, but it is unclear whether they are representative of the underlying galaxy population. We present the first statistical sample of spatially resolved ionised gas kinematics at high redshift, comprised of $272$ H$\alpha$ emitters in GOODS-S and GOODS-N at redshifts $z\approx3.9-6.5$, observed with JWST/NIRCam slitless spectroscopy and imaging from JADES, FRESCO and CONGRESS. The sample probes two orders of magnitude in stellar mass ($\log (M_{\star}[\mathrm{M}_{\odot}])\approx8-10$) and star formation rate ($\text{SFR}\approx0.3-100\thinspace M_{\odot}/$yr), and is representative down to $\log(M_{\star}[\mathrm{M}_{\odot}])\approx 9$. Using a novel inference tool, $\texttt{geko}$, we model the grism data to measure morphological and kinematic properties of the ionised gas, as probed by H$\alpha$. Our results are consistent with a decrease of the rotational support $v/\sigma_0$\ and increase of the velocity dispersion $\sigma_0$ with redshift, with $\sigma_0\approx100$ km/s and $v/\sigma_0\approx1-2$ at $z\approx3.9-6.5$. We study the relations between $\sigma_0$, and $v/\sigma_0$, and different star formation tracers and find a large scatter and diversity, with the strongest correlations between $\sigma_0$ and SFR and SFR surface density. The fraction of rotationally supported systems ($v/\sigma_0>1$) slightly increases with cosmic time, from $(36\pm6)\%$ to $(41\pm6)\%$ from $z\sim 5.5$ to $z\sim 4.5$, for galaxies with masses $9<\log(M_{\star}[\mathrm{M}_{\odot}])<10$. Overall, disks do not dominate the turbulent high-redshift galaxy population in the mass range probed by this work. When placed in the context of studies up to cosmic noon, our results are consistent with a significant increase of disk-like systems with cosmic time.

arXiv:2503.21687v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In the current era of JWST, we continue to uncover a wealth of information about the Universe deep into the Epoch of Reionization. In this work, we run a suite of simulations using the code 21cmSPACE, to explore the astrophysical properties of galaxies in the early Universe, and their impact on high-redshift observables. We use multi-wavelength observational data including the global 21-cm signal and power spectrum limits from SARAS~3 and HERA respectively, present-day diffuse X-ray and radio backgrounds, and UV luminosity functions (UVLFs) from HST and JWST in the range $z=6-14.5$ to derive our constraints. We constrain a flexible model of halo-mass and redshift dependent star-formation efficiency (SFE), defined as the gas fraction converted into stars, and find that it is best described by little to no redshift evolution at $z\approx6-10$ and rapid evolution at $z\approx10-15$. We derive Bayesian functional posterior distributions for the SFE across this redshift range, inferring that a halo of mass $M_h=10^{10}\text{M}_\odot$ has an efficiency of $2-3\%$ at $z\lesssim10$, $12\%$ at $z=12$ and $26\%$ at $z=15$. We also find, through synergy between SARAS~3 and UVLFs, that the minimum circular velocity for star-formation in halos is $V_c = 16.9^{+25.7}_{-9.5}\text{km s}^{-1}$ or equivalently $\log_{10}(M_\text{crit}/\text{M}_\odot) = 8.29^{+1.21}_{-1.08}$ at $z=6$. Alongside these star-formation constraints, we find the X-ray and radio efficiencies of early galaxies to be $f_X = 0.5^{+6.3}_{-0.3}$ and $f_r \lesssim 11.7$ respectively, improving upon existing works that do not use UVLF data. Our results demonstrate the critical role of UVLFs in constraining the early Universe, and its synergies with 21-cm observations, alongside other multi-wavelength observational datasets.

arXiv:2503.21728v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is a major systematic limitation in radio astronomy, particularly for science cases requiring high sensitivity, such as 21-cm cosmology. Traditionally, RFI is dealt with by identifying its signature in the dynamic spectra of visibility data and flagging strongly affected regions. However, for RFI sources that do not occupy narrow regions in the time-frequency space, such as persistent local RFI, modeling these sources could be essential to mitigating their impact. This paper introduces two methods for detecting and characterizing local RFI sources from radio interferometric visibilities: matched filtering and maximum a posteriori (MAP) imaging. These algorithms use the spherical wave equation to construct three-dimensional near-field image cubes of RFI intensity from the visibilities. The matched filter algorithm can generate normalized maps by cross-correlating the expected contributions from RFI sources with the observed visibilities, while the MAP method performs a regularized inversion of the visibility equation in the near field. We also develop a full polarization simulation framework for RFI and demonstrate the methods on simulated observations of local RFI sources. The stability, speed, and errors introduced by these algorithms are investigated, and, as a demonstration, the algorithms are applied to a subset of NenuFAR observations to perform spatial, spectral, and temporal characterization of two local RFI sources. We assess the impact of local RFI on images, the uv plane, and cylindrical power spectra through simulations and describe these effects qualitatively. We also quantify the level of errors and biases that these algorithms induce and assess their implications for the estimated 21-cm power spectrum with radio interferometers. The near-field imaging and simulation codes are made available publicly in the Python library nfis.

arXiv:2408.16608v4 Announce Type: replace Abstract: $\require{mediawiki-texvc}$Cosmic Reionisation commenced when ultraviolet (UV) radiation produced in the first galaxies began illuminating the cold, neutral gas that filled the primordial Universe. Recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations have shown that surprisingly UV-bright galaxies were in place beyond redshift $z = 14$, when the Universe was less than $300 \, \mathrm{Myr}$ old. Smooth turnovers of their UV continua have been interpreted as damping-wing absorption of Lyman-$\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$), the principal hydrogen transition. However, spectral signatures encoding crucial properties of these sources, such as their emergent radiation field, largely remain elusive. Here we report spectroscopy from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) of a galaxy at redshift $z = 13.0$ that reveal a singular, bright emission line unambiguously identified as Ly$\alpha$, in addition to a smooth turnover. We observe an equivalent width of $\text{EW}_\mathrm{Ly\alpha} > 40 \, \AA$ (rest frame), previously only seen at $z < 9$ where the intervening intergalactic medium (IGM) becomes increasingly ionised. Together with an extremely blue UV continuum, the unexpected Ly$\alpha$ emission indicates the galaxy is a prolific producer and leaker of ionising photons. This suggests massive, hot stars or an active galactic nucleus (AGN) have created an early reionised region to prevent complete extinction of Ly$\alpha$, thus shedding new light on the nature of the earliest galaxies and the onset of Reionisation only $330 \, \mathrm{Myr}$ after the Big Bang.

arXiv:2503.17342v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We present an updated reconstruction of the dark energy equation of state, $w(a)$, using the newly released DESI DR2 Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data in combination with Pantheon+ and DES5Y Type Ia supernovae measurements, respectively. Building on our previous analysis in arXiv:2503.08658, which employed a nonparametric flexknot reconstruction approach, we examine whether the evidence for dynamical dark energy persists with the improved precision of the DESI DR2 dataset. We find that while the overall qualitative structure of $w(a)$ remains consistent with our earlier findings, the statistical support for dynamical dark energy is reduced when considering DESI DR2 data alone, particularly for more complex flexknot models with higher numbers of knots. However, the evidence for simpler dynamical models, such as $w$CDM and CPL (which correspond to $n=1$ and $n=2$ knots respectively), increases relative to $\Lambda$CDM with DESI DR2 alone, consistent with previous DESI analyses. When combined with Pantheon+ data, the conclusions remain broadly consistent with our earlier work, but the inclusion of DES5Y supernovae data leads to an increase of preference for flexknot models with more than two knots, placing $w$CDM and CPL on par with $\Lambda$CDM.

arXiv:2501.09070v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We use NIRSpec MSA spectroscopy and NIRCam Photometry to explore the properties of JADES-GS8-RL-1, a rapidly quenched, $z=8.5$ galaxy with a stellar mass of $10^{8.9}M_\odot$, a steep blue UV slope, a Balmer break, and no sign of strong emission lines. With a $\beta_{UV}$=-2.8$\pm 0.2$, as measured from the NIRSpec spectrum, JADES-GS8-RL-1 is consistent with negligible dust attenuation and little to no contribution from the nebular continuum alongside a probable high escape fraction. The $\beta_{UV}$ slope measured from photometry varies from -3.0 in the central regions to -2.2 at the outskirts suggesting possible regional differences in the escape fraction. There are no high-ionisation emission lines, only a tentative 2.9\sig detection of [OII]. Using photometry, this emission appears to be extended, possibly corresponding to weakly ionised gas expelled during or after the quenching process. JADES-GS8-RL-1 is spatially resolved with a half-light radius of 240 pc and has an exponential, disc-like morphology. It appears to have formed all its stars in a short burst within the past 100 Myr with a formation time of $\approx$70 Myr and a quenching time of $\approx$30 Myr. This quenching would have occurred rapidly, making it a more distant example of the kind of low-mass "mini-quenched" galaxies previously observed at high-z. Due to the extremely blue $\beta_{UV}$ slope, our best-fit model predicts a high value for \fesc of >10\%, consistent with the value derived from the $\beta_{UV}$ slope, which when combined with our extraordinarily low O32 upper limit suggests JADES-GS8-RL-1 is a fascinating example of a high-z "remnant leaker" in one of its earliest phases, deep in the epoch of reionisation.

arXiv:2503.16596v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The physical processes that led to the formation of billion solar mass black holes within the first 700 million years of cosmic time remain a puzzle. Several theoretical scenarios have been proposed to seed and rapidly grow black holes, but direct observations of these mechanisms remain elusive. Here we present a source 660 million years after the Big Bang that displays singular properties: among the largest Hydrogen Balmer breaks reported at any redshift, broad multi-peaked H$\beta$ emission, and Balmer line absorption in multiple transitions. We model this source as a "black hole star" (BH*) where the Balmer break and absorption features are a result of extremely dense, turbulent gas forming a dust-free "atmosphere" around a supermassive black hole. This source may provide evidence of an early black hole embedded in dense gas -- a theoretical configuration proposed to rapidly grow black holes via super-Eddington accretion. Radiation from the BH* appears to dominate almost all observed light, leaving limited room for contribution from its host galaxy. We demonstrate that the recently discovered "Little Red Dots" (LRDs) with perplexing spectral energy distributions can be explained as BH*s embedded in relatively brighter host galaxies. This source provides evidence that black hole masses in the LRDs may be over-estimated by orders of magnitude -- the BH* is effectively dust-free contrary to the steep dust corrections applied while modeling LRDs, and the physics that gives rise to the complex line shapes and luminosities may deviate from assumptions underlying standard scaling relations.

arXiv:2503.15331v2 Announce Type: new Abstract: Euclid will detect tens of thousands of clusters and protoclusters at $z$>1.3. With a total coverage of 63.1deg$^2$, the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (Q1) is large enough to detect tens of clusters and hundreds of protoclusters at these early epochs. The Q1 photometric redshift catalogue enables us to detect clusters out to $z$ < 1.5; however, infrared imaging from Spitzer extends this limit to higher redshifts by using high local projected densities of Spitzer-selected galaxies as signposts for cluster and protocluster candidates. We use Spitzer imaging of the Euclid Deep Fields (EDFs) to derive densities for a sample of Spitzer-selected galaxies at redshifts $z$ > 1.3, building Spitzer IRAC1 and IRAC2 photometric catalogues that are 95% complete at a magnitude limit of IRAC2=22.2, 22.6, and 22.8 for the EDF-S, EDF-F, and EDF-N, respectively. We apply two complementary methods to calculate galaxy densities: (1) aperture and surface density; and (2) the Nth-nearest-neighbour method. When considering a sample selected at a magnitude limit of IRAC2 < 22.2, at which all three EDFs are 95% complete, our surface density distributions are consistent among the three EDFs and with the SpUDS blank field survey. We also considered a deeper sample (IRAC2 < 22.8), finding that 2% and 3% of the surface densities in the North and Fornax fields are 3$\sigma$ higher than the average field distribution and similar to densities found in the CARLA cluster survey. Our surface densities are also consistent with predictions from the GAEA semi-analytical model. Using combined Euclid and ground-based i-band photometry we show that our highest Spitzer-selected galaxy overdense regions, found at $z$~1.5, also host high densities of passive galaxies. This means that we measure densities consistent with those found in clusters and protoclusters at $z$>1.3.

arXiv:2410.14773v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We use NIRSpec/MSA spectroscopy and NIRCam imaging to study a sample of 18 massive ($\log\; M_{*}/M_{\odot} \gt 10\;$dex), central quiescent galaxies at $2\leq z \leq 5$ in the GOODS fields, to investigate their number density, star-formation histories, quenching timescales, and incidence of AGN. The data depth reaches $\log M_*/M_\odot \approx 9\;$dex, yet the least-massive central quiescent galaxy found has $\log M_*/M_\odot \gt 10\;$dex, suggesting that quenching is regulated by a physical quantity that scales with $M_*$. With spectroscopy, we assess the completeness and purity of photometric samples, finding number densities 10 times higher than predicted by galaxy formation models, confirming earlier photometric studies. We compare our number densities to predictions from FLAMINGO, the largest-box full-hydro simulation suite to date. We rule out cosmic variance at the 3-$\sigma$ level, providing spectroscopic confirmation that galaxy formation models do not match observations at $z>3$. Using FLAMINGO, we find that the vast majority of quiescent galaxies' stars formed in situ, with these galaxies not having undergone multiple major dry mergers. This is in agreement with the compact observed size of these systems and suggests that major mergers are not a viable channel for quenching most massive galaxies. Several of our observed galaxies are old, with four galaxies displaying 4000-\r{A} breaks with formation and quenching redshifts of $z\geq8$ and $z\geq6$. Using tracers, we find that 8 galaxies host AGN, including old systems suggesting a high AGN duty cycle with a continuing trickle of gas to fuel accretion.

arXiv:2503.15587v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We present the early data release (EDR) of SAPPHIRES, a JWST Cycle-3 Treasury imaging and spectroscopic survey using the powerful NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopic (WFSS) mode in pure parallel. SAPPHIRES will obtain NIRCam imaging and WFSS data in many cosmological deep fields totaling a telescope charged time of 709 hours (557-hour exposures). In this EDR, we present NIRCam imaging and WFSS data obtained in parallel to the Frontier Field galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403, which are attached to primary observations JWST-GO-4750. With a total dual-channel exposure time of 47.2 hours, we obtain deep NIRCam imaging in 13 bands at 0.6--5.0 micron and deep WFSS at 3.1-5.0 micron through the F356W and F444W filters with grisms in orthogonal dispersion directions. We release reduced NIRCam images, photometric catalogs of 22107 sources and WFSS spectra of 1060 sources with confirmed redshifts ($z\simeq0-8.5$). Preliminary value-added catalogs including photometric redshifts, spectroscopic redshifts and physical properties (mass, star-formation rate, etc.) are also made available. We also characterize the data quality and demonstrate scientific applications, including (1) galaxy candidates at the redshift frontier ($z\gtrsim10$), (2) the ionized gas kinematics of a galaxy reconstructed from $R\sim1500$ grism spectra at orthogonal dispersion directions, (3) massive emission-line galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) around the Epoch of Reionization.

arXiv:2503.15635v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The European Space Agency's Euclid mission will observe approximately 14,000 $\rm{deg}^{2}$ of the extragalactic sky and deliver high-quality imaging for many galaxies. The depth and high spatial resolution of the data will enable a detailed analysis of stellar population properties of local galaxies. In this study, we test our pipeline for spatially resolved SED fitting using synthetic images of Euclid, LSST, and GALEX generated from the TNG50 simulation. We apply our pipeline to 25 local simulated galaxies to recover their resolved stellar population properties. We produce 3 types of data cubes: GALEX + LSST + Euclid, LSST + Euclid, and Euclid-only. We perform the SED fitting tests with two SPS models in a Bayesian framework. Because the age, metallicity, and dust attenuation estimates are biased when applying only classical formulations of flat priors, we examine the effects of additional priors in the forms of mass-age-$Z$ relations, constructed using a combination of empirical and simulated data. Stellar-mass surface densities can be recovered well using any of the 3 data cubes, regardless of the SPS model and prior variations. The new priors then significantly improve the measurements of mass-weighted age and $Z$ compared to results obtained without priors, but they may play an excessive role compared to the data in determining the outcome when no UV data is available. The spatially resolved SED fitting method is powerful for mapping the stellar populations of galaxies with the current abundance of high-quality imaging data. Our study re-emphasizes the gain added by including multiwavelength data from ancillary surveys and the roles of priors in Bayesian SED fitting. With the Euclid data alone, we will be able to generate complete and deep stellar mass maps of galaxies in the local Universe, thus exploiting the telescope's wide field, NIR sensitivity, and high spatial resolution.

arXiv:2503.15590v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We report the discovery of a remarkably large and luminous line-emitting nebula extending on either side of the Balmer-break galaxy JADES-GS-518794 at z=5.89, detected with JADES JWST/NIRCam imaging in [O III]$\lambda\lambda$4959,5007 and H$\alpha$ and spectroscopically confirmed with NIRCam/WFSS thanks to the pure-parallel SAPPHIRES programme. The end-to-end velocity offset is $\Delta v=830\pm130$ km s$^{-1}$. Nebulae with such large size and high luminosity (25-pkpc diameter, L[O III] = $1.2\times 10^{10}$ L$_\odot$) are routinely observed around bright quasars, unlike JADES-GS-518794. With a stellar mass of $10^{10.1}$ M$_\odot$, this galaxy is at the knee of the mass function at z=6. Its star-formation rate declined for some time (10-100 Myr prior to observation), followed by a recent (10 Myr) upturn. This system is part of a candidate large-scale galaxy overdensity, with an excess of Balmer-break galaxies compared to the field (3 $\sigma$). We discuss the possible origin of this nebula as material from a merger or gas expelled by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The symmetry of the nebula, its bubble-like morphology, kinematics, high luminosity, and the extremely high equivalent width of [OIII] together favour the AGN interpretation. Intriguingly, there may be a physical connection between the presence of such a large, luminous nebula and the possible metamorphosis of the central galaxy towards quenching.

arXiv:2503.15597v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We report the discovery of a galaxy proto-cluster candidate (dubbed MACS0416-OD-z8p5) at a spectroscopic redshift of $z\sim8.47$, dating back to $\sim550$Myr after the Big Bang. The observations are part of the JWST Cycle-3 treasury program, Slitless Areal Pure-Parallel HIgh-Redshift Emission Survey (SAPPHIRES) with NIRCam-grism. Using wide field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) obtained in the MACS0416 parallel field, we robustly confirm nine galaxies at $z_{\rm spec}\sim8.47$ via emission line detections of [OIII]5008A (with $>5\,\sigma$) and tentatively confirm one additional galaxy (at $\sim3\,\sigma$). This discovery represents the highest-redshift, spectroscopically confirmed galaxy over-density known to date, which is $\sim6$--$8$ times more dense than the average volume density of galaxies at the same redshift. Furthermore, a galaxy hosting a low-mass active galactic nucleus (``Little-Red-Dot'') is found as a member, suggesting an early emergence of active, massive black holes and feedback between these black holes and their surrounding environments. We also discuss the spatial structures connecting the galaxy over-density to nearby massive star-forming galaxies (separated by $\sim 5$pMpc, including MACS0416-Y1 and MACS0416-JD. This finding of a massive dark matter halo hosting a galaxy over-density at $z\sim8.5$ is surprising given that our survey covered only a small, random field ($16.5\,{\rm arcmin^2}$) as part of a pure parallel observation. The comparison with cosmological simulations shows that the likelihood of finding such a large-scale structure is $<5\,\%$ under the current galaxy formation scenario and the observed survey volume. Our results demonstrate the power of WFSS observations to build a complete line-emitter sample and suggest an important role for over-densities in enhancing galaxy formation by funneling large-scale gas supplies into small cosmological volumes.

arXiv:2503.15305v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: The Euclid satellite is an ESA mission that was launched in July 2023. \Euclid is working in its regular observing mode with the target of observing an area of $14\,000~\text{deg}^2$ with two instruments, the Visible Camera (VIS) and the Near IR Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) down to $I_{\rm E} = 24.5~\text{mag}$ ($10\, \sigma$) in the Euclid Wide Survey. Ground-based imaging data in the \textit{ugriz} bands complement the \Euclid data to enable photo-$z$ determination and VIS PSF modeling for week lensing analysis. Euclid investigates the distance-redshift relation and the evolution of cosmic structures by measuring shapes and redshifts of galaxies and clusters of galaxies out to $z\sim 2$. Generating the multi-wavelength catalogues from \Euclid and ground-based data is an essential part of the \Euclid data processing system. In the framework of the \Euclid Science Ground Segment (SGS), the aim of the MER Processing Function (PF) pipeline is to detect objects in the \Euclid imaging data, measure their properties, and MERge them into a single multi-wavelength catalogue. The MER PF pipeline performs source detection on both visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) images and offers four different photometric measurements: Kron total flux, aperture photometry on PSF-matched images, template fitting photometry, and S\'ersic fitting photometry. Furthermore, the MER PF pipeline measures a set of ancillary quantities, spanning from morphology to quality flags, to better characterise all detected sources. In this paper, we show how the MER PF pipeline is designed, detailing its main steps, and we show that the pipeline products meet the tight requirements that Euclid aims to achieve on photometric accuracy. We also present the other measurements (e.g. morphology) that are included in the OU-MER output catalogues and we list all output products coming out of the MER PF pipeline.

arXiv:2503.15332v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The matter distribution around galaxy clusters is distributed over several filaments, reflecting their positions as nodes in the large-scale cosmic web. The number of filaments connected to a cluster, namely its connectivity, is expected to affect the physical properties of clusters. Using the first Euclid galaxy catalogue from the Euclid Quick Release 1 (Q1), we investigate the connectivity of galaxy clusters and how it correlates with their physical and galaxy member properties. Around 220 clusters located within the three fields of Q1 (covering $\sim 63 \ \text{deg}^2$), are analysed in the redshift range $0.2 < z < 0.7$. Due to the photometric redshift uncertainty, we reconstruct the cosmic web skeleton, and measure cluster connectivity, in 2-D projected slices with a thickness of 170 comoving $h^{-1}.\text{Mpc}$ and centred on each cluster redshift, by using two different filament finder algorithms on the most massive galaxies ($M_*\ > 10^{10.3} \ M_\odot$). In agreement with previous measurements, we recover the mass-connectivity relation independently of the filament detection algorithm, showing that the most massive clusters are, on average, connected to a larger number of cosmic filaments, consistent with hierarchical structure formation models. Furthermore, we explore possible correlations between connectivities and two cluster properties: the fraction of early-type galaxies and the S\'ersic index of galaxy members. Our result suggests that the clusters populated by early-type galaxies exhibit higher connectivity compared to clusters dominated by late-type galaxies. These preliminary investigations highlight our ability to quantify the impact of the cosmic web connectivity on cluster properties with Euclid.

arXiv:2503.15330v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We present the first catalogue of strong lensing galaxy clusters identified in the Euclid Quick Release 1 observations (covering $63.1\,\mathrm{deg^2}$). This catalogue is the result of the visual inspection of 1260 cluster fields. Each galaxy cluster was ranked with a probability, $\mathcal{P}_{\mathrm{lens}}$, based on the number and plausibility of the identified strong lensing features. Specifically, we identified 83 gravitational lenses with $\mathcal{P}_{\mathrm{lens}}>0.5$, of which 14 have $\mathcal{P}_{\mathrm{lens}}=1$, and clearly exhibiting secure strong lensing features, such as giant tangential and radial arcs, and multiple images. Considering the measured number density of lensing galaxy clusters, approximately $0.3\,\mathrm{deg}^{-2}$ for $\mathcal{P}_{\mathrm{lens}}>0.9$, we predict that \Euclid\ will likely see more than 4500 strong lensing clusters over the course of the mission. Notably, only three of the identified cluster-scale lenses had been previously observed from space. Thus, \Euclid has provided the first high-resolution imaging for the remaining $80$ galaxy cluster lenses, including those with the highest probability. The identified strong lensing features will be used for training deep-learning models for identifying gravitational arcs and multiple images automatically in \Euclid observations. This study confirms the huge potential of \Euclid for finding new strong lensing clusters, enabling exciting new discoveries on the nature of dark matter and dark energy and the study of the high-redshift Universe.

arXiv:2503.15328v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The Euclid Wide Survey (EWS) is expected to identify of order $100\,000$ galaxy-galaxy strong lenses across $14\,000$deg$^2$. The Euclid Quick Data Release (Q1) of $63.1$deg$^2$ Euclid images provides an excellent opportunity to test our lens-finding ability, and to verify the anticipated lens frequency in the EWS. Following the Q1 data release, eight machine learning networks from five teams were applied to approximately one million images. This was followed by a citizen science inspection of a subset of around $100\,000$ images, of which $65\%$ received high network scores, with the remainder randomly selected. The top scoring outputs were inspected by experts to establish confident (grade A), likely (grade B), possible (grade C), and unlikely lenses. In this paper we combine the citizen science and machine learning classifiers into an ensemble, demonstrating that a combined approach can produce a purer and more complete sample than the original individual classifiers. Using the expert-graded subset as ground truth, we find that this ensemble can provide a purity of $52\pm2\%$ (grade A/B lenses) with $50\%$ completeness (for context, due to the rarity of lenses a random classifier would have a purity of $0.05\%$). We discuss future lessons for the first major Euclid data release (DR1), where the big-data challenges will become more significant and will require analysing more than $\sim300$ million galaxies, and thus time investment of both experts and citizens must be carefully managed.

arXiv:2503.15326v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Strong gravitational lensing has the potential to provide a powerful probe of astrophysics and cosmology, but fewer than 1000 strong lenses have been confirmed previously. With \ang{;;0.16} resolution covering a third of the sky, the \Euclid telescope will revolutionise strong lens finding, with \num{170000} lenses forecasted to be discovered amongst its 1.5 billion galaxies. We present an analysis of the performance of five machine-learning models at finding strong gravitational lenses in the quick release of \Euclid data (Q1), covering 63\,deg$^{2}$. The models are validated with citizen scientists and expert visual inspection. We focus on the best performing network: a fine-tuned version of the \texttt{Zoobot} pretrained model, originally trained to classify galaxy morphologies in heterogeneous astronomical imaging surveys. Of the one million Q1 objects that \texttt{Zoobot} was tasked to find strong lenses within, the top 1000 ranked objects contained 122 grade A lenses (almost certain lenses), and 41 grade B lenses (probable lenses). A deeper search with the five networks combined with visual inspection discovered 250 (247) grade A (B) lenses, of which 224 (182) are ranked in the top \num{20000} by \texttt{Zoobot}. When extrapolated to the full \Euclid survey, the highest ranked one million images will contain \num{75000} grade A or B strong gravitational lenses.

arXiv:2503.15322v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Our understanding of cosmic star-formation at $z>3$ used to largely rely on rest-frame UV observations. However, these observations overlook dusty and massive sources, resulting in an incomplete census of early star-forming galaxies. Recently, infrared data from Spitzer and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed a hidden population at $z\sim$3-6 with extreme red colours. Taking advantage of the overlap between imaging in the Euclid Deep Fields (EDFs), covering $\sim$ 60 deg$^2$, and ancillary Spitzer observations, we identified 27000 extremely red objects with $H_E-{\rm IRAC}2>2.25$ (dubbed HIEROs) down to a $10\sigma$ completeness magnitude limit of IRAC2 $=$ 22.5 AB. After a visual inspection to discard artefacts and objects with troubling photometry, we ended up with a final sample of 3900 candidates. We retrieved the physical parameter estimates for these objects from the SED-fitting tool CIGALE. Our results confirm that HIERO galaxies may populate the high-mass end of the stellar mass function at $z>3$, with some reaching extreme stellar masses ($M_*>10^{11}M_\odot$) and exhibiting high dust attenuation ($A_V>3$). However, we consider stellar mass estimates unreliable for $z>3.5$, favouring a lower-z solution. The challenges faced by SED-fitting tools in characterising these objects highlight the need for further studies, incorporating shorter-wavelength and spectroscopic data. Euclid spectra will help resolve degeneracies and better constrain the physical properties of the brightest galaxies. Given the extreme nature of this population, characterising these sources is crucial for understanding galaxy evolution. This work demonstrates Euclid's potential to provide statistical samples of rare, massive, dust-obscured galaxies at $z>3$, which will be prime targets for JWST, ALMA, and ELT.