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Particle-in-cell simulations have unveiled that shock-accelerated electrons do not follow a pure power-law distribution, but have an additional low-energy “thermal” part, which owns a considerable portion of the total energy of the electrons. Investigating the effects of these thermal electrons on gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows may provide valuable insights into the particle acceleration mechanisms. We solve the continuity equation of electrons in energy space, from which multiwavelength afterglows are derived by incorporating processes including synchrotron radiation, synchrotron self-absorption, synchrotron self-Compton scattering, and γ–γ annihilation. First, there is an underlying positive correlation between the temporal and spectral indices due to the cooling of electrons. Moreover, thermal electrons result in simultaneous nonmonotonic variations of both the spectral and temporal indices at multiple wavelengths, which could be individually recorded by the 2.5 m Wide Field Survey Telescope and Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The thermal electrons could also be diagnosed using afterglow spectra from synergistic observations in the optical (with LSST) and X-ray (with the Microchannel X-ray Telescope on board the Space Variable Objects Monitor) bands. Finally, we use Monte Carlo simulations to obtain the distribution of the peak flux ratio (R X) between the soft and hard X-rays, and of the time delay (Δt) between the peak times of the soft X-ray and optical light curves. The thermal electrons significantly raise the upper limits of both R X and Δt. Thus, the distribution of GRB afterglows with thermal electrons is more scattered in the R X−Δt plane.

Mutual approximation is an emerging method for obtaining high-precision astrometric measurements of natural satellites and asteroids. We used the 80 cm YaoAn High Precision Telescope to observe mutual approximation events of the main Uranian satellites during the period from 2021 to 2023. The average of internal errors along the directions of apparent relative motion and position are 20.0 and 5.1 mas, respectively. On the other hand, the rms of differences between observational results and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory ephemeris along the direction of apparent relative motion and position are 42.5 and 20.6 mas, respectively. We also investigated the factors affecting astrometric precision and found two simple indicators to exclude the invalid mutual approximation events, i.e., the events that do not contribute to precision enhancement. One indicator is the impact parameters divided by the difference of two satellites’ apparent semimajor axes; the other is the apparent relative velocity divided by the difference of their apparent orbital velocities. The resulting quotients of all invalid events are significantly larger than 1.1. Simulations confirm that the indicators are suitable for all the main Uranian satellites' mutual approximation events in recent years and the near future. Consequently, it is recommended to exclude invalid events from future observation campaigns by using the two indicators.

Accurate modeling of geometric distortion (GD) is essential for precise astrometric calibration in wide-field imaging surveys. We present a self-calibration method based on Zernike polynomials, applied to imaging data from the Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST). Our approach constructs a global GD model from the position offsets of stars in the WFST r band relative to Gaia DR3, achieving a median systematic uncertainty of below 10 mas for individual exposures. The correspondence between Zernike polynomials and optical aberrations reveals that the global GD of WFST is dominated by comae, inherent to the optical design, while rapid variations are likely attributed to the atmospheric dispersion corrector. Applying this method to 82 exposures from a single night (20250218), we find that the relative positions of the WFST CCDs remain stable, with standard deviations of less than 0.1 pixels in translation and 1.″8 in rotation. The corrected WFST astrometric system is thereby tied to the Gaia DR3 coordinate frame, with further refinements to be presented in future work.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are luminous stellar explosions characterized by the ejection of relativistic jets. This work proposes a novel paradigm to study these GRB jets. By analyzing the timing information of prompt pulses and X-ray flares, in conjunction with the multiwavelength afterglow observations, we identify three distinct jets in the extraordinary GRB 060729, with initial bulk Lorentz factors ranging from approximately 20 to 80, smaller than typical values of >100. These three jets undergo two successive collisions, producing the observed pair of X-ray flares. Following these interactions, the system evolves into a fast, narrow jet and a slower, hollow jet that continues to propagate in the circumburst medium, evidenced by the notable twin bumps observed in the X-ray and optical afterglow of GRB 060729. Our findings demonstrate that the timing of the early emission enables us to measure the velocities of the GRB jets. The proposed paradigm enhances our understanding of jet dynamics and shock interactions and serves as a powerful tool for probing the physics of the central engine with the expanded sample in the current golden era of GRB research.

We carry out deep imaging of the Milky Way satellite galaxies, Boötes III and Draco, with the Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST) as one pilot observing program to demonstrate the capability of WFST. Combining catalogs with PS1 DR2 and Gaia DR3, we derive proper motions for candidate member stars in these two satellite galaxies over a 12 yr time baseline, yielding uncertainties of ∼1.8 mas yr−1 at 21 mag and ∼3.0 mas yr−1 at 22 mag in the r band. The proper motions derived from bright and faint stars are consistent, indicating no significant variation in proper motion across stellar luminosity as these galaxies undergo tidal interactions with the Milky Way (MW). Meanwhile, we suggest that Boötes III represents the bound remnant of the progenitor galaxy that gave rise to the Styx stream, as evidenced by its elongated density profile and overdensity in both spatial and kinematic space. This is the first paper to use WFST to measure the proper motions of faint stars in MW satellite galaxies. More detailed analyses will be presented in forthcoming papers from the wide field survey program.

It has been widely recognized that gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows arise from interactions between the GRB outflow and circumburst medium, while their evolution follows the behaviors of relativistic shock waves. Assuming the distribution of circumburst medium follows a general power-law form, that is, n = A * R −k , where R denotes the distance from the burst, it is obvious that the value of the density-distribution index k can affect the behaviors of the afterglow. In this paper, we analyze the temporal and spectral behaviors of GRB radio afterglows with arbitrary k values. In the radio band, a standard GRB afterglow produced by a forward shock exhibits a late-time flux peak, and the relative peak fluxes, as well as peak times at different frequencies, show dependencies on k. Thus, with multiband radio-peak observations, one can determine the density profile of the circumburst medium by comparing the relations between peak flux/time and frequency at each observing band. Also, the effects of transrelativistic shock waves, as well as jets in afterglows, are discussed. By analyzing 31 long and 1 short GRB with multiband data of radio afterglows, we find that nearly half of them can be explained with a uniform interstellar medium (k = 0), ∼1/5 can be constrained to exhibiting a stellar-wind environment (k = 2), while less than ∼1/3 of the samples show 0 < k < 2.

Thanks to the rapidly increasing time-domain facilities, we are entering a golden era of research on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this Letter, we report our observations of GRB 240529A with the Burst Optical Observer and Transient Exploring System, the 1.5 m telescope at Observatorio de Sierra Nevada, the 2.5 m Wide Field Survey Telescope of China, the Large Binocular Telescope, and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. The prompt emission of GRB 240529A shows two comparable energetic episodes separated by a quiescence time of roughly 400 s. Combining all available data on the GRB Coordinates Network, we reveal the simultaneous apparent X-ray plateau and optical rebrightening around 103–104 s after the burst. Rather than the energy injection from the magnetar as widely invoked for similar GRBs, the multiwavelength emissions could be better explained as two shocks launched from the central engine separately. The optical peak time and our numerical modeling suggest that the initial bulk Lorentz factor of the later shock is roughly 50, which indicates that the later jet should be accretion driven and have a higher mass loading than a typical one. The quiescence time between the two prompt emission episodes may be caused by the transition between different accretion states of a central magnetar or black hole, or the fallback accretion process. A sample of similar bursts with multiple emission episodes in the prompt phase and sufficient follow-up could help to probe the underlying physics of GRB central engines.

It has been widely recognized that gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows arise from interactions between GRB outflow and circumburst medium, while their evolution follows the behaviors of relativistic shock waves. Assuming the distribution of circumburst medium follows a general power-law form, that is, \\(n = A_ R^-k\\), where \\(R\\) denotes the distance from the burst, it is obvious that the value of density-distribution index \\(k\\) can affect the behaviors of the afterglow. In this paper, we analyze the temporal and spectral behaviors of GRB radio afterglows with arbitrary \\(k\\)-values. In the radio band, a standard GRB afterglow produced by forward shock exhibits a late-time flux peak, and the relative peak fluxes as well as peak times at different frequencies show dependencies on \\(k\\). Thus with multi-band radio peak observations, one can determine the density profile of circumburst medium by comparing the relations between peak flux/time and frequency at each observing band. Also, the effects of trans-relativistic shock waves, as well as jets in afterglows are discussed. By analyzing 31 long and 1 short GRBs with multi-band data of radio afterglows, we find that nearly half of them can be explained with uniform interstellar medium (\\(k=0\\)), \\( 1/5\\) can be constrained to exhibiting stellar wind environment (\\(k=2\\)), while less than \\( 1/3\\) samples show \\(0< k< 2\\).

The physical origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains uncertain. Although multiwavelength observations have been widely conducted, only Galactic FRB 20200428D is associated with an X-ray burst from the magnetar SGR J1935+2154. Here we present multiwavelength follow-up observations of the nearby bright FRB 20250316A, including the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Einstein Probe (EP) X-ray mission, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST), and Space Variable Objects Monitor/Visible Telescope (SVOM/VT). The 13.08 hr FAST follow-up campaign without pulse detection requires an energy distribution flatter than those of well-known repeating FRBs, suggesting that this burst is likely a one-off event. A prompt EP follow-up and multiepoch observational campaign totaling >100 ks led to the detection of an X-ray source within the angular resolution of its Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT; 10″). A subsequent Chandra observation revealed this source to be offset by 7″ from the FRB position and established a 0.5–10 keV flux upper limit of 7.6 × 10−15 erg cm−2 s−1 at the FRB position, corresponding to ∼1039 erg s−1 at the 40 Mpc distance of the host galaxy NGC 4141. These results set one of the most stringent limits on X-ray emission from a nonrepeating FRB, disfavoring ultraluminous X-ray sources as counterparts of apparently one-off FRBs and offering critical insights into afterglow models. Our study suggests that an arcsecond localization of both the FRB and its potential X-ray counterpart is essential for exploring the X-ray counterpart of an FRB.

Natural killer （NK） cells play critical roles in host immunity against cancer. In response, cancers develop mechanisms to escape NK cell attack or induce defective NK cells. Current NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy aims to overcome NK cell paralysis using several approaches. One approach uses expanded allogeneic NK cells, which are not inhibited by self histocompatibility antigens like autologous NK cells, for adoptive cellular immunotherapy. Another adoptive transfer approach uses stable allogeneic NK cell lines, which is more practical for quality control and large-scale production. A third approach is genetic modification of fresh NK cells or NK cell lines to highly express cytokines, Fc receptors and/or chimeric tumor-antigen receptors. Therapeutic NK cells can be derived from various sources, including peripheral or cord blood cells, stem cells or even induced pluripotent stem cells （iPSCs）, and a variety of stimulators can be used for large-scale production in laboratories or good manufacturing practice （GMP） facilities, including soluble growth factors, immobilized molecules or antibodies, and other cellular activators. A list of NK cell therapies to treat several types of cancer in clinical trials is reviewed here. Several different approaches to NK-based immunotherapy, such as tissue-specific NK cells, killer receptor-oriented NK cells and chemically treated NK cells, are discussed. A few new techniques or strategies to monitor NK cell therapy by non-invasive imaging, predetermine the efficiency of NK cell therapy by in vivo experiments and evaluate NK cell therapy approaches in clinical trials are also introduced.