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    Disciplines / Research questions

    Astronomy

    92 research topics · 303 questions

    Star formation laws in galaxies2 questions

    1. Observational determination of the collapsing mass and its systematics: testing the collapse-dominated interpretation of the Kennicutt–Schmidt star formation relations

    2. Physical origin of the stellar surface density term in the extended Schmidt law, and the impact of a varying CO-to-H2_2 conversion factor on the relation

    Generation and maintenance of planetary magnetic fields4 questions

    1. Robustness of dipole-dominated Jupiter dynamo models at planetary parameters: the low-Ekman-number dipolar window, conductivity-profile sensitivity, and turbulent-diffusivity calibration

    2. Is Mercury's weak magnetic field generated and maintained by a magnetospheric feedback dynamo?

    3. Physical origin and extent of Jupiter's extended shallow stably stratified layer, and the robustness of the Lowes-radius dynamo inference that implies it

    4. The ancient lunar dynamo: what powered the Moon's early magnetic field, and did a long-lived core dynamo exist at all?

    Internal structure of planets and satellites2 questions

    1. A first-principles theory of stellar-to-planetary devolatilisation for constraining the interiors of terrestrial exoplanets

    2. Origin, age, and future evolution of Mimas' recently formed subsurface ocean

    Excitation and maintenance of planetary free oscillations2 questions

    1. The excitation mechanism sustaining the Chandler wobble of Mars

    2. Closing the excitation budget of the Earth's variable Chandler wobble: amplitude, phase, and the quality factor

    Searching for quark stars1 questions

    1. Testing the strange quark star interpretation of the GW190814 secondary in the two-families scenario

    Structure of the Galactic stellar halo3 questions

    1. Physical confirmation of the RR Lyrae substructure candidates from the Gaia hierarchical clustering forest and validation of the chemo-kinematic clustering metric (Cook et al. 2022)

    2. Progenitor attribution of kinematically defined Galactic halo substructures: chemical compatibility versus common origin, and Sagittarius contamination across the E−LzE-L_z plane

    3. Origins of the new inner-halo substructure candidates from APOGEE DR17 chemo-dynamical clustering (NSTC-1/2/3, HAS/Nyx–Nyx-2, LAS, UDG) and the multiplicity of the GSE accretion

    Thick disk of the Milky Way2 questions

    1. Physical origin of the radially increasing rotation–metallicity correlation of the Galactic thick disk

    2. Quantitative physical modelling of the Milky Way's two-phase age-metallicity structure: radial migration and the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus star-formation peak

    Distance scales within the Milky Way3 questions

    1. Mapping the spiral structure of the far side of the Milky Way: direct distances, arm loci, and the validity of circular rotation beyond the Galactic center

    2. Projection-factor systematics and the long-period calibration of the Galactic Cepheid period-luminosity relation from Baade-Wesselink-type (maximum-likelihood) distances

    3. Definitive Gaia-band period–Wesenheit calibration for Galactic open-cluster Cepheids: sample stability, parallax zero-point, and extinction-law systematics

    Imaging of the Milky Way's central black hole2 questions

    1. The physical origin of the Sagittarius A* emission ring: unique interpretation of Event Horizon Telescope imaging — azimuthal structure, dynamics, photon-ring content, and scattering systematics

    2. Physical origin of the minute-scale horizon-scale dynamics detected in Event Horizon Telescope observations of Sagittarius A*

    Substructures of the Milky Way3 questions

    1. Is the Milky Way's inner dark matter halo globally tilted and triaxial? Testing the GD-1 stream acceleration inference with independent streams and time-dependent modeling

    2. Real substructure or artefact? Untested anomalies in the LAMOST–Gaia chemo-kinematic decomposition of the Milky Way's disc and halo: the three-peaked ∣Z∣max⁡|Z|_{\max} distribution of Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage and the [α/Fe][\alpha/\mathrm{Fe}] scatter of metal-poor thin-disc stars

    3. Mapping the chemically identified substructures of the Milky Way's low-inclination retrograde halo to distinct accreted progenitor galaxies

    Stellar models with magnetic fields and rotational effects2 questions

    1. Origin of the strong large-scale magnetic fields of intermediate-mass and massive main-sequence stars: fossil field versus radiative α–Ω dynamo

    2. Calibrating magnetic angular-momentum transport in stellar interiors from a definitive measurement of the solar core rotation rate

    The dark ages of the universe4 questions

    1. A complete uncertainty budget for the dark-ages global 21-cm signal prediction: current datasets, recombination modelling, beyond-Λ\LambdaCDM extensions, and lunar-mission forecasts

    2. Foreground subtraction and definitive detection forecasts for dark-ages 21 cm cosmology: converting wedge-geometry findings into experimental requirements

    3. Abundance, timing, and black-hole-binary signatures of first-star formation at z≳100z\gtrsim100: identifying small-scale primordial fluctuation models that survive observational constraints

    4. Realistic foreground-limited prospects for precision cosmology with the dark-ages 21-cm signal

    Are the primordial perturbations of the universe non-Gaussian?3 questions

    1. Can sharply scale-dependent primordial non-Gaussianity reconcile the JWST high-redshift massive-galaxy excess with existing bounds?

    2. Detectability of oscillatory-PDF primordial non-Gaussianity in the late-time large-scale structure

    3. Observational readiness of k-nearest neighbour cumulative distribution functions as a small-scale probe of primordial non-Gaussianity

    Protoplanetary disks4 questions

    1. Filling-factor dependence of dust-aggregate collision threshold velocities and its consequence for fractal growth and the streaming instability in protoplanetary disks

    2. The VSI–MRI interplay in outer protoplanetary disks under realistic thermodynamics, full azimuthal domains, and dust loading

    3. The gravitational-instability dynamo in young self-gravitating protoplanetary disks under non-ideal MHD, net vertical magnetic flux, and realistic thermodynamics

    4. Do magnetized inner disk winds attenuate soft stellar X-rays and regulate photoevaporative dispersal of protoplanetary disks?

    Long-period solar activity3 questions

    1. Can precession-resonance dynamics of nonlinear MHD Rossby-wave triads explain long-term solar-cycle modulation? Scale-up beyond the five-wave model, dynamo embedding, and observational validation

    2. Origin of the multi-century to multi-millennial variations in cosmogenic-isotope reconstructions of solar activity: solar dynamo, geomagnetic field, or archive artifact (the Hallstatt-cycle problem)

    3. Physical origin and millennial persistence of the centennial (Gleissberg-band, ~104-year) modulation of solar activity

    Gravitational waves from compact object mergers3 questions

    1. Robustness of ringdown-overtone, eccentricity, and waveform-model inferences for GW250114-class high-SNR binary black hole signals

    2. Isolating finite-temperature dense-matter physics in binary-neutron-star post-merger gravitational-wave spectra with next-generation detectors

    3. Quasi-universal relations for the gravitational-wave luminosity and energy emission of binary neutron star mergers: EOS universality of the prompt-collapse threshold, high-spin validity, and remnant characterization

    Quasi-periodic oscillations in X-ray emission of compact objects3 questions

    1. Can X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations determine the spacetime of an accreting compact object? Kerr deviations, equatorial reflection symmetry, and the presence of a horizon

    2. Physical origin of the twin kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in 4U 1636-53 and the nature of the high-frequency coherence drop

    3. Physical origin of the Type-C low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in the black hole X-ray binary Swift J1727.8-1613

    The concept of 'centrality' in ancient Chinese astronomy1 questions

    1. The astronomical and cosmological basis of the non-cardinal capital plan at Taosi: the cause of the ~45-degree orientation, the undemonstrated southwest fire altar, and the reach of the Earth-Center legitimation system

    Baryon acoustic oscillations and precision cosmology3 questions

    1. Physical origin of the DESI-favored dark-energy phenomenology: what stable theory produces a late-time energy-density bump together with a crossing of w=−1w=-1?

    2. Removing external priors and hidden model dependence from sound-horizon-agnostic inference of H0H_0 and Σmν\Sigma m_\nu with LSST/Euclid and next-generation CMB lensing

    3. Catalogue-level validation of the BAO sound-horizon estimator–integral mismatch and its corrections for Stage-IV galaxy surveys

    MACHOs and microlensing2 questions

    1. Definitive microlensing constraints on the QCD axion minicluster fraction: realistic survey detection efficiencies for extended lenses and a simulation-settled minicluster population

    2. Robustness of microlensing limits on stellar-mass primordial black holes in the Milky Way halo: validating OGLE survey systematics and resolving the MACHO-OGLE discrepancy

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