Radii versus mass for sample.

Payel's second paper finds indirect evidence for water in nine hot super-Earths around M-dwarf stars! Tune in to find out more.
arxiv.org/pdf/2604.07447

Left and right panels show the same figure layout for 2MASS J15582981-2310077 and 2MASS J16053215-1933159, respectively. The top panels show the high-resolution APOGEE spectra (black filled circles) and the best-fit synthetic spectra (in blue). Syntheses with C/O = 1 are also shown, as well as the residuals between syntheses and observed spectra. The bottom panels show the JWST/MIRI spectra together with the synthetic photospheric spectrum, while the lower inset highlights molecular features detected in the MIRI spectra.

Nicole’s second paper shows young stars and their inner disks don’t share the same chemistry; JWST finds carbon-rich gas in the disk while stars are solar-like. This mismatch suggests disk processes, not stellar composition, set the building blocks of planets. arxiv.org/abs/2604.05221 ☄️🔭

Filaments identified in a simulated cosmic web.

Payel's first paper explored the unknown structure of filaments of the cosmic web in a cosmological simulation, finding them to be self-similar, just like dark matter haloes residing at the nodes on either end of a filament.
arxiv.org/pdf/2604.05033

JWST/NIRCam mosaic of Terzan 5 obtained with module B in the F115W filter (composite of all dithered exposures from SW detectors onto a common grid).

Nicole’s first paper uses JWST to show Terzan 5 isn’t a normal globular cluster, it hosts stellar populations from ~12 to ~3 Gyr with a large metallicity spread. Its extended star formation shows it’s a surviving bulge fossil fragment from the Milky Way’s early assembly. arxiv.org/abs/2604.00098 ☄️🔭

Episode 34 – The cosmic web, the ancient Milky Way, and planets around small stars In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel explore fascinating astronomical topics, including high redshift UV bright galaxies, Population III stars, black hole binaries, pulsars in Omega Centauri, and the potential merger of the Milky Way and Andromeda.

Episode 34 – The cosmic web, the ancient Milky Way, and planets around small stars

In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel explore fascinating astronomical topics, including high redshift UV bright galaxies, Population III stars, black hole binaries, pulsars in Omega Centauri, and the…

Signatures of engulfed planet matches with data.

Payel’s second paper got us all thinking! Stars can engulf their planets and get younger in the process.
arxiv.org/abs/2602.22979

Contribution of three channels to population of binary black hole mergers.

Payel’s first paper found evidence for three channels in LIGO data for binary black hole mergers: isolated binary evolution (79%), dynamical formation in GCs (14.5%), and higher-generation binary black-hole mergers (2.5%). Tune in to find out more!
arxiv.org/abs/2603.179...

Just read an essay that ended with (paraphrased so you can't search for it) "I can trust my colleagues here at Cambridge University to use LLMs correctly. But can I trust people at lesser universities?" and oh fuck off lmao

Predicted orbital evolution of the local group (LG) galaxies. Panels (a) and (b) show 100 randomly selected tracks from 10,000 MC realizations for the two-body configuration (MW-M31), and panels (c) and (d) show the same for the four-body configuration (MW, M31, M33 and LMC). In each case,in face-on projection and edge-on projection with respect to the MW–M31 orbital plane. The green and red lines trace the orbits of the MW and M31, while the pink and silver lines trace the LMC and M33, respectively. Line brightness indicates the relative probability density at any position. If a MW–M31 merger is flagged, a white point marks the merger location and the corresponding track terminates; otherwise, tracks are integrated to 10 Gyr.

Michelle's final paper reopened the debate on whether and how the Milky Way and Andromeda will merge. With updated proper motions for the main players (M31, M33 and the LMC), they found that these two spirals will likely collide in ~6 Gyr time. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2603.22863

A localisation map of the newly discovered pulsar S!

Michelle also discussed a new hunt for pulsars in Omega Centauri, the unique Milky Way star cluster that is likely the nucleus of a galaxy that has been stripped away. This search found one new pulsar and investigated the pulsar population. Check it out! arxiv.org/abs/2603.21845 ☄️ 🔭

(Left:) JWST/NIRcam false-color red-green-blue (RGB) thumbnail image, showing a 2′′×2′′cutouts centred on the main target (the “banana”) from the Primer survey (Donnan et al. 2024). (Right:) The top shows the 2D spectrum extracted from the shutter, where the bottom shows the 1D spectrum extracted using a global-average background subtraction to remove potential contamination from the nearby neighbor (the “blueberry”, see text for details). The most prominent emission-line features identified at the spectroscopic redshift z = 5.124 are marked.

Michelle discussed the banana and the blueberry: a UV bright, banana shaped galaxy at redshift ~ 5 that seems dominated by nebulae emission. And, it's compact, blue companion that may be a Population III source! Find out more in the episode. arxiv.org/abs/2603.13471 ☄️ 🔭

New episode incoming! Tune in now to hear Michelle and Payel discuss planet eating stars, UV bright galaxies at high redshift, binary black holes, pulsars in Omega Centauri and the fate of the Galaxy. Link is below, and its available wherever you get your podcasts. ☄️ 🔭 starxiv.com/2026/03/30/b...

Bananas, blueberries, planet eating stars and the fate of the Milky Way In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel explore fascinating astronomical topics, including high redshift UV bright galaxies, Population III stars, black hole binaries, pulsars in Omega Centauri, and the potential merger of the Milky Way and Andromeda.

Bananas, blueberries, planet eating stars and the fate of the Milky Way

In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel explore fascinating astronomical topics, including high redshift UV bright galaxies, Population III stars, black hole binaries, pulsars in Omega Centauri, and the potential merger of…

A schematic showing how the authors use a hybrid approach to modelling very massive stars (tracking them individually) and other stars (using single stellar population particles) in their modified FIRE simulation. The evolution of the star from main sequence through to the formation of a black hole and its subsequent growth is all tracked.

Michelle's second paper also focused on how to grow a massive black hole. This one simulates how big you can get when starting from a very massive star in a giant molecular cloud. They find that growth is tough, but some is possible under the right conditions. arxiv.org/abs/2603.10581 🔭 ☄️

The [α/Fe] – [Fe/H] planes, where α elements include Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti. Violin shaped symbols indicate GC stars from APOGEE (Meszaros et al. 2020), including the average [Fe/H], maximum and minimum [α/Fe] of each GC. In-situ GCs are colored light green, while accreted GCs are light red. Orange circles correspond to Sagittarius (Hasselquist et al. 2017; Hayes et al. 2020). Blue circles represent stars from Sculptor (Hill et al. 2019).

Nicole’s final paper traces nitrogen-rich field stars using chemistry and Gaia orbits, revealing two origins: some escaped globular clusters formed in the Milky Way, others from clusters accreted with dwarf galaxies. Orbital modeling even links one star to NGC 6235. arxiv.org/abs/2603.02564 🔭☄️

The primordial (blue) and enriched (red) field stars in the Kepler sample, with the sample of GC stars identified by Schiavon et al. (2024) (green), both using APOGEE DR17 abundances. Stars in the Kepler sample with ages determined through asteroseismology are shown with black borders. Upper left: [N/Fe] vs. [C/Fe] anticorrelation, lower left: [N/Fe] vs. [O/Fe] anticorrelation, upper middle: Toomre diagram, lower middle: integral of motion plot, upper right: histogram of ages estimated from asteroseismology against GC ages from Forbes & Bridges (2010) (grey histogram), lower right: histogram of masses derived from asteroseismology.

Nicole’s first paper tests the idea that nitrogen-rich field stars are escaped globular-cluster members. APOGEE chemistry and Kepler ages show many are too young for a GC origin, suggesting binary interactions can mimic GC-like chemistry. arxiv.org/abs/2603.02327 🔭☄️

3 images showing the dwarf galaxy being simulated. The first shows the dark matter distribution of the simulation. The central paenal shows the gas, and the final panel zooms into the centre where the black hole seed is placed.

Michelle's first paper discussed a novel method for studying accretion onto a black hole seed in a dwarf galaxy. Dwarf galaxies can easily provide gas to grow a central black hole, but how massive can it get? This paper goes into detail arxiv.org/abs/2603.00241 ☄️ 🔭

You can listen on our website, Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe so we can keep you up to date on astro-ph! 🔭 ☄️

Episode 32 is live! In this episode, Michelle and Nicole focus on how ancient star cluster distribute (or not...) their stars into the Milky Way halo. They also discuss the growth of supermassive black holes ☄️ 🔭 starxiv.com/2026/03/16/e...

Episode 32 – Ancient star clusters and growing black holes In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss the role of stars from ancient globular clusters in the Milky Way's stellar halo. They also explore research on forming massive black hole seeds within small dwarf galaxies. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred platform for more insights.

Episode 32 – Ancient star clusters and growing black holes

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss the role of stars from ancient globular clusters in the Milky Way's stellar halo. They also explore research on forming massive black hole seeds within small dwarf galaxies. Listen on Spotify,…

This plot shows the spectral energy density of a real little red dot, compared with that predicted from a globular cluster that harbours a super massive star in its core. This is a key observable for little red dots, and the forming globular cluster hypothesis is broadly consistent with it

Michelle's final paper discussed yet another theory about how Little Red Dots found by JWST are formed. Could they be globular clusters in formation? This paper thinks so, and suggests observational tests! arxiv.org/abs/2602.15935 🔭 ☄️

Payel's final paper examines the possibility of habitable zones around massive stars. They vanish on the Main Sequence above about 12 solar masses but make a brief come back post main sequence even in more massive stars. Tune in to find out more! 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/pdf/2602.13875

A plot showing likely orbits generated by three different asteroid families, Flora, Nysa and Eunomia. Apophis' orbit is most compatible with being ejected from the Flora family.

Michelle's second paper discussed the Apophis asteroid which will make a close pass with the Earth on Friday 13th April 2029. But where did it come from? And how often do we expect encounters with Apophis like objects? This paper discusses all! 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2602.19849

Figure 3: M_UV vs M_stars

Payel's first paper introduces a very simple model for bursty star formation that is able to replicate recent observations of where galaxies lie in the plane of UV magnitude and stellar mass. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2602.16706

An image of the 7th known triple-double radio galaxy detected with MIGHTEE. Its three lobes tell us about different epochs of AGN activity, and are shown as contours. The oldest are the outer most and the youngest are the inner most.

Michelle's first paper discussed an object she'd never heard about before: triple-double radio galaxies.While very rare, they have the potential to teach us about the duty cycle of active galactic nuclei ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2602.19729

Our latest episode is live! Tune in to hear about where the Apophis asteroid came from, bursty star formation at high redshift, truple-double radio galaxies and more! Available below and wherever you get your podcasts 🔭 ☄️

Episode 31 – Near Earth Objects, Little Red Dots, bursty star formation and life around massive stars In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel discuss theories on little red dot formation, bursty star formation, and the origins of asteroids like Apophis. They also discuss the potential for life around massive stars and unusual triple-double radio galaxies.

Episode 31 – Near Earth Objects, Little Red Dots, bursty star formation and life around massive stars

In this podcast episode, Michelle and Payel discuss theories on little red dot formation, bursty star formation, and the origins of asteroids like Apophis. They also discuss the potential for life…

Me and @readdark.bsky.social are advertising aPhD position in our lovely group here at Surrey university. We're looking to understand unusual globular clusters and faint dwarf galaxies. Check out the advert and get in touch if you have questions 🔭🧪 www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-fun...

Payel's last paper is another JWST discovery paper! The earliest ever observed nuclear stellar disc. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.18871

Left: [Si/Mn] vs [Al/Fe] abundance plane for the two clusters associated with GSE and the in-situ sample. The three highest-density levels are shown with filled contours (spanning from 60% to 100% of the peak KDE density), while stars outside these regions are plotted as scatter points to highlight lowerdensity members. Black lines denote limits commonly adopted in the literature. Right: Same for [Si/Mn] vs [Na/Fe], with a gray line at solar.

Nicole’s second paper uses a graph-attention network to mine GALAH DR4 chemistry and finds that Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus splits into two chemically distinct groups with similar dynamics. arxiv.org/abs/2602.02226 ☄️ 🔭