The StarXiv ✨ podcast
@starxiv.bsky.social
A podcast where Payel Das (@payeldas.bsky.social) and Michelle Collins (@runningastronomer.bsky.social) discuss papers from astroph
Starxiv.com
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Starxiv.com
Spotify - https://shorturl.at/xdTFw
Apple - https://shorturl.at/nKFNj
RSS - https://rss.com/podcasts/starxiv
Payel's last paper is another JWST discovery paper! The earliest ever observed nuclear stellar disc. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.18871
February 16, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Payel's last paper is another JWST discovery paper! The earliest ever observed nuclear stellar disc. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.18871
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 ☄️ 🔭
![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.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cugc4wn2mruqtvx7lm2kztiy/bafkreibzgksq4ag4bxuucq5652r3g4ntvcc4qmp6fgkyfch4oz25mi57fi@jpeg)
February 16, 2026 at 12:28 PM
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 ☄️ 🔭
Payel's second paper presents hydrodynamic simulations of direct collapse black holes and associated synthetic spectra that explain pretty much every observational detail of the enigmatic Little Red Dots. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.14368
February 16, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Payel's second paper presents hydrodynamic simulations of direct collapse black holes and associated synthetic spectra that explain pretty much every observational detail of the enigmatic Little Red Dots. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.14368
Nicole’s first paper looks at whether faint tidal debris in LSST-depth images can actually help CNNs spot galaxy mergers - and finds they do! Models perform best when bright cores are masked out, letting faint tidal tails dominate the classification signal. arxiv.org/abs/2602.03312 ☄️ 🔭
February 16, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Nicole’s first paper looks at whether faint tidal debris in LSST-depth images can actually help CNNs spot galaxy mergers - and finds they do! Models perform best when bright cores are masked out, letting faint tidal tails dominate the classification signal. arxiv.org/abs/2602.03312 ☄️ 🔭
Payel's first paper reveals the highest resolution map of dark matter to date! JWST enabled of course. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.17239
February 16, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Payel's first paper reveals the highest resolution map of dark matter to date! JWST enabled of course. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/pdf/2601.17239
Episode 30 – Direct collapse black holes, nuclear stellar discs, and machine learning merger histories
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and further pushing the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep…
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and further pushing the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep…
Episode 30 – Direct collapse black holes, nuclear stellar discs, and machine learning merger histories
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and further pushing the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep images to look for mergers, a direct collapse black hole explanation to Little Red Dots, machine-learning the Milky Way to reveal complex star formation histories of accreted systems, and the earliest nuclear stellar disc observed to date.
starxiv.com
February 16, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Episode 30 – Direct collapse black holes, nuclear stellar discs, and machine learning merger histories
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and further pushing the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep…
In this episode, Payel and Nicole delve into more JWST discoveries and further pushing the frontier of machine learning in astronomy - ultra-deep view of the cosmic web, machine-learning deep…
Reposted by The StarXiv ✨ podcast
Just had a great talk here in Vienna about Galactic archeology by @payeldas.bsky.social! Go listen to her podcast @starxiv.bsky.social!
January 26, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Just had a great talk here in Vienna about Galactic archeology by @payeldas.bsky.social! Go listen to her podcast @starxiv.bsky.social!
Michelle's final paper focused on the observations of a pseudo-little red dot! A red, compact source at the heart of a lensed star bursting dwarf galaxy. It shares some properties with Little red dots, but not all. Could it be an LRD in waiting? arxiv.org/abs/2601.11466 🔭☄️
January 26, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Michelle's final paper focused on the observations of a pseudo-little red dot! A red, compact source at the heart of a lensed star bursting dwarf galaxy. It shares some properties with Little red dots, but not all. Could it be an LRD in waiting? arxiv.org/abs/2601.11466 🔭☄️
Michelle's second paper showed the discovery from the fabulous new WEAVE instrument in the Canary island. This IFU found a surprising bar of iron in the centre of the ring nebula. It doesn't seem to be a jet feature, so what is it?!? 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.10635
January 26, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Michelle's second paper showed the discovery from the fabulous new WEAVE instrument in the Canary island. This IFU found a surprising bar of iron in the centre of the ring nebula. It doesn't seem to be a jet feature, so what is it?!? 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.10635
Nicole’s second paper reports the first CEMP stars ever found in the LMC, 5 extremely metal-poor giants with strong carbon enhancement, revealing that early carbon production operated even in this massive dwarf. arxiv.org/abs/2601.10514 ☄️ 🔭
![Carbon abundances ([C/Fe]) as a function of [Fe/H] for the five CEMP stars compared to literature samples. Specifically, we compare to results from Chiti et al. (2024) which reports abundances for some of the most metal poor stars known in the LMC, along with results from APOGEE spectra in SDSS-IV DR17. The commonly-used definition for CEMP ([C/Fe]>0.7) is shown as a black dashed line, with the five stars from this work being the only stars above said line.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cugc4wn2mruqtvx7lm2kztiy/bafkreidigmce7qjcupzknkp77nbipscmhuzqcwtlz4axivqe5kqluuonym@jpeg)
January 26, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Nicole’s second paper reports the first CEMP stars ever found in the LMC, 5 extremely metal-poor giants with strong carbon enhancement, revealing that early carbon production operated even in this massive dwarf. arxiv.org/abs/2601.10514 ☄️ 🔭
Nicole’s first paper confirms that the retrograde groups Rg8 and Rg9 are a single, very metal-poor halo substructure - Thamnos. High-resolution abundances show coherent chemistry and no α-knee, pointing to a progenitor quenched early after falling into the Milky Way. arxiv.org/abs/2601.09796 ☄️🔭
![The MDF of the Thamnos sample. The individual histograms show the Rg8 (orange) and Rg9 (green) subgroups, which sum to the total distribution (black solid line). The distribution is f it by a double Gaussian model (red solid line). This fit reveals two components: Component 1 (green dashed line, with a peak at [Fe/H] = −2.17), representing the dominant progenitor, and Component 2 (blue dashed line, with a peak at [Fe/H] = −1.49).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cugc4wn2mruqtvx7lm2kztiy/bafkreigg6pr4rf4oexso4atvgtqjfjlcr67uikdw6dqqgkh25wscqexohu@jpeg)
January 26, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Nicole’s first paper confirms that the retrograde groups Rg8 and Rg9 are a single, very metal-poor halo substructure - Thamnos. High-resolution abundances show coherent chemistry and no α-knee, pointing to a progenitor quenched early after falling into the Milky Way. arxiv.org/abs/2601.09796 ☄️🔭
Michelle started us off with a response to last years claim that Supernova Ia aren't as reliable as we thought as cosmic probes. This work by Phil Wiseman et al. steps through the claims and shows that these ARE the dark energy tracers we are looking for. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2601.13785
January 26, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Michelle started us off with a response to last years claim that Supernova Ia aren't as reliable as we thought as cosmic probes. This work by Phil Wiseman et al. steps through the claims and shows that these ARE the dark energy tracers we are looking for. ☄️ 🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2601.13785
Episode 29 – Exploding stars, carbon stars, and starbursting pseudo little red dots
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore recent findings on Thamnos, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and an intriguing object identified as a 'pseudo little red…
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore recent findings on Thamnos, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and an intriguing object identified as a 'pseudo little red…
Episode 29 – Exploding stars, carbon stars, and starbursting pseudo little red dots
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore recent findings on Thamnos, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and an intriguing object identified as a 'pseudo little red dot'.
starxiv.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Episode 29 – Exploding stars, carbon stars, and starbursting pseudo little red dots
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore recent findings on Thamnos, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and an intriguing object identified as a 'pseudo little red…
In this episode, Michelle and Nicole explore recent findings on Thamnos, carbon stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Supernova Type Ia as cosmic probes, and an intriguing object identified as a 'pseudo little red…
Sound the klaxon! The latest StarXiv has dropped. Tune in to hear about Supernovae, carbon stars, Thamnos, the Ring nebula and more as we delve into the last 2 weeks on astro-ph. 🔭 ☄️
starxiv.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Sound the klaxon! The latest StarXiv has dropped. Tune in to hear about Supernovae, carbon stars, Thamnos, the Ring nebula and more as we delve into the last 2 weeks on astro-ph. 🔭 ☄️
Michelle's final paper studies the use of autoencoders and dimension reduction for detecting anomalous features in exoplanet atmospheres. It can be quick and accurate, great for future exoplanet missions like ESA Ariel. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.02324
January 12, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Michelle's final paper studies the use of autoencoders and dimension reduction for detecting anomalous features in exoplanet atmospheres. It can be quick and accurate, great for future exoplanet missions like ESA Ariel. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.02324
Finally, Payel gave a quick shout out to what seems like an incredible piece of work recommending best practises for improving the situation for minorities in Astronomy. 🔭 ☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.24465
arxiv.org/abs/2512.24465
January 12, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Finally, Payel gave a quick shout out to what seems like an incredible piece of work recommending best practises for improving the situation for minorities in Astronomy. 🔭 ☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2512.24465
arxiv.org/abs/2512.24465
Michelle's second paper focused on an unusal, thin gravitational arc around the near-Einstein ring around JVAS-1933+666. When inferring the mass profile of the perturber, it is much more dense than expected from cold or warm dark matter if its a subhalo. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.02466
![From the figure caption: Comparison with cold dark matter (CDM) predictions. The contours represent
the number density of CDM subhaloes with Msub > 105h−1M⊙. These were obtained using the
SASHIMI-C semi-analytical subhalo model [50, 51] assuming a host redshift and mass of zh = 0.881
and Mh = 1012M⊙. The coloured crosses show the Vmax and rmax mean values and 1-σ uncertainties
inferred for different models of the detected object: an NFW profile with free concentration (NFW,
∆ ln E=−44), an NFW halo with concentration drawn from the mass-concentration relation in [28]
(NFWCDM,field, ∆ ln E=−75) and an NFW subhalo with concentration drawn from [29] (NFWCDM,
∆ ln E=−147). In any case, it would be extreme!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cugc4wn2mruqtvx7lm2kztiy/bafkreibva2xnsptep5qlg5taafnodyxlora5xhyicwhnwxvreb5nrwmznu@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Michelle's second paper focused on an unusal, thin gravitational arc around the near-Einstein ring around JVAS-1933+666. When inferring the mass profile of the perturber, it is much more dense than expected from cold or warm dark matter if its a subhalo. 🔭 ☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.02466
Payel's second paper talked about the incredible prospect of chemical signatures in host stars resulting from engulfing planets! Cool that this is even possible. 🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2601.00949
arxiv.org/abs/2601.00949
January 12, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Payel's second paper talked about the incredible prospect of chemical signatures in host stars resulting from engulfing planets! Cool that this is even possible. 🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2601.00949
arxiv.org/abs/2601.00949
Payel's first paper looked into another case of a star seemingly about to explode as a supernova, but a little further afield than Betelgeuse - a companion star seems again to blame! 🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2601.02057
arxiv.org/abs/2601.02057
January 12, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Payel's first paper looked into another case of a star seemingly about to explode as a supernova, but a little further afield than Betelgeuse - a companion star seems again to blame! 🔭☄️
arxiv.org/abs/2601.02057
arxiv.org/abs/2601.02057
Michelle's first paper focuses on her all time favourite star, Betelgeuse! Recent work has shown that it likely has a little companion orbiting it, and this paper searches for (and finds) evidence of its wake! 🔭☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.00470
January 12, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Michelle's first paper focuses on her all time favourite star, Betelgeuse! Recent work has shown that it likely has a little companion orbiting it, and this paper searches for (and finds) evidence of its wake! 🔭☄️ arxiv.org/abs/2601.00470
Our latest episode is live! Tune in on our website or wherever you get your podcasts! Today, Michelle and Payel are back together, discussing unusual variable stars and their compansions, signatures of exoplanets on their host stars and problems for dark matter. 🔭☄️ starxiv.com/2026/01/12/e...
starxiv.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Our latest episode is live! Tune in on our website or wherever you get your podcasts! Today, Michelle and Payel are back together, discussing unusual variable stars and their compansions, signatures of exoplanets on their host stars and problems for dark matter. 🔭☄️ starxiv.com/2026/01/12/e...
Episode 28 – Fading stars, digesting planets and dark matter conundrums
In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore intriguing astronomical findings, including the search for Betelgeuse's companion star and the effects of consumed and transiting stars on host spectra. They also discuss a curious…
In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore intriguing astronomical findings, including the search for Betelgeuse's companion star and the effects of consumed and transiting stars on host spectra. They also discuss a curious…
Episode 28 – Fading stars, digesting planets and dark matter conundrums
In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore intriguing astronomical findings, including the search for Betelgeuse's companion star and the effects of consumed and transiting stars on host spectra. They also discuss a curious lensing signal that raises questions about dark matter.
starxiv.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Episode 28 – Fading stars, digesting planets and dark matter conundrums
In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore intriguing astronomical findings, including the search for Betelgeuse's companion star and the effects of consumed and transiting stars on host spectra. They also discuss a curious…
In this episode, Michelle and Payel explore intriguing astronomical findings, including the search for Betelgeuse's companion star and the effects of consumed and transiting stars on host spectra. They also discuss a curious…
Payel's second paper is about a potentially new exciting method for finding dwarf galaxies and better understanding hierarchical galaxy formation at the low mass end.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09174
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09174
December 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Payel's second paper is about a potentially new exciting method for finding dwarf galaxies and better understanding hierarchical galaxy formation at the low mass end.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09174
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09174
Nicole’s second paper shows a Milky Way–mass FIRE-2 galaxy forms an α-bimodality without major mergers or strong radial migration! Dilution events and inside-out growth open the gap, hinting the Galaxy’s chemical split may stem from quiet evolution. arxiv.org/abs/2512.14897 🔭☄️
![Top panel: two-dimensional number density of a sample of giants in Gaia DR3 crossmatched with APOGEE DR17 that spanned a Galactocentric range of 4-16 kpc (see text for details). The red dashed lines delimit the thick disc/bridge/low-α regions used to derive the kinematic properties in Table 2, while the excluded region for this derivation is shaded red. Middle panel: two-dimensional number density of star disc particles, as identif ied by GMM, in the [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plane. Green, blue and purple mark the contours containing 90% of the high-α, bridge and low-α disc stars, respectively. Bottom panel: Mean age distribution of disc stars in the same plane, with the black contour enclosing the region containing 90% of the star particles in the disc. The last two panels show disc star particles at z ∼ 0.1.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cugc4wn2mruqtvx7lm2kztiy/bafkreie5sxvxf6shi4i57zb2p3lzehagettntmp5o5mj7cxk4sgu2zpfqy@jpeg)
December 22, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Nicole’s second paper shows a Milky Way–mass FIRE-2 galaxy forms an α-bimodality without major mergers or strong radial migration! Dilution events and inside-out growth open the gap, hinting the Galaxy’s chemical split may stem from quiet evolution. arxiv.org/abs/2512.14897 🔭☄️
Payel's first paper discusses new observations of radio emission in Omega Centauri - another search for the elusive intermediate mass black hole! Tune in to this week's Starxiv podcast to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09649
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09649
December 22, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Payel's first paper discusses new observations of radio emission in Omega Centauri - another search for the elusive intermediate mass black hole! Tune in to this week's Starxiv podcast to find out more.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09649
arxiv.org/abs/2512.09649