We present a new method to derive binary inclinations in quiescent black hole (BH) X-ray transients (XRTs), based on the depth of the trough (T) from double-peaked H α emission profiles arising in accretion discs. We find that the inclination angle (i) is linearly correlated with T in phase-averaged spectra with sufficient orbital coverage (≳50 per

Globular clusters (GCs) are proxies of the formation assemblies of their host galaxies. However, few studies exist targeting GC systems of spiral galaxies up to several effective radii. Through 12-band Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey (J-PLUS) imaging, we study the point sources around the M 81/M 82/NGC 3077 triplet in search of new GC

Follow-up observations of high-magnification gravitational microlensing events can fully exploit their intrinsic sensitivity to detect extrasolar planets, especially those with small mass ratios. To make followup observations more uniform and efficient, we develop a system, HighMagFinder, to automatically alert possible ongoing high-magnification

We created the APOGEE-GALEX-Gaia catalog to study white dwarf (WD) binaries. This database aims to create a minimally biased sample of WD binary systems identified from a combination of GALEX, Gaia, and APOGEE data to increase the number of WD binaries with orbital parameters and chemical compositions. We identify 3414 sources as WD binary

Some remarkable examples of alternative cosmological theories are reviewed here, ranging from a compilation of variations on the Standard Model through the more distant quasi-steady-state cosmology, plasma cosmology, or universe models as a hypersphere, to the most exotic cases including static models. The present-day Standard Model of cosmology

Bug fix release which addresses quite a serious bug which can lead to biased posteriors. The problem with biased posteriors was fixed when using multi-ellipsoid bounds and rslice and rwalk samplers. Previously the chains did not satisfy detailed balance. (issue #364). Original discovery of the problem and help by Colm Talbot. In the case of complex