Dr Chiara Spiniello

Abstract:

Context. This paper presents new results from the ESO Large Programme Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS). The LEWIS sample consists of low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBs) and ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) located inside 0.4 R vir of the Hydra I cluster. Integral-field spectroscopy is acquired for 24 galaxies with the MUSE spectrograph mounted on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Aims. Our main objectives are to analyse possible correlations between the environment and the integrated stellar population properties of our targets, based on which we infer clues about their formation. Methods. For each galaxy in the sample, we extracted the 1D stacked spectrum in an aperture of one effective radius R e and adopted previously published stellar kinematics to derive the age, metallicity, and [Mg/Fe] through a full spectral fitting technique. Results. We find that the analysed LEWIS sample has a mean metallicity of ⟨[M/H]⟩= − 0.9 ± 0.2 dex and a mean age of 10 ± 2 Gyr, comparable to previous results of UDGs in other clusters. According to their position in the projected phase space, galaxies can be classified into two groups: very early infaller galaxies, which on average have slightly higher metallicities (⟨[M/H]⟩ early = −0.8 ± 0.1 dex), and late infaller galaxies, with slightly lower values (⟨[M/H]⟩ late = −1.0 ± 0.1 dex). According to their properties, late-infallers tend to be rotation-supported systems. Conversely, two types of galaxies are found in the early-infall region. Roughly half have metallicities consistent with the dwarf galaxy mass–metallicity relation. The other half show higher metallicities (with ⟨[M/H]⟩≥ − 1.0 dex) and are located outside the 1 σ scatter of the mass-metallicity relation. The two subgroups of early-infallers also display different timescales for stellar mass assembly. Metal-rich galaxies reached 50% of their stellar mass in less than 1 Gyr and show a prolonged and almost constant star formation over more than 12 Gyr. The other galaxies exhibit a star formation history similar to that found for galaxies in the late-infall region. Both early and late infallers show solar-like α abundances. Conclusions. From the analysis of stellar population properties presented in this work and of stellar kinematics previously obtained from LEWIS, we identified different classes of UDGs within the Hydra I cluster – as shown by metallicities, quenching timescales, and kinematics – which suggest different formation mechanisms. Almost all of the UDGs and LSBs in this cluster are consistent with the puffed-up dwarf formation scenario, having dwarf-like metallicities and being consistent with the mass-metallicity relation for dwarfs. In the innermost regions of the cluster, where more metal-rich UDGs are found, tidal effects or the environment might have influenced their formation and evolution.

Abstract:

We present cosmological constraints from eight strongly lensed quasars (hereafter, the TDCOSMO-2025 sample). Building on previous work, our analysis incorporated new deflector stellar velocity dispersions measured from spectra obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Keck Telescopes, and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), utilizing improved methods. We used integrated JWST stellar kinematics for five lenses, VLT-MUSE for 2, and resolved kinematics from Keck and JWST for RX J1131−1231. We also considered two samples of non-time-delay lenses: 11 from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) sample with Keck-KCWI resolved kinematics; and four from the Strong Lenses in the Legacy Survey (SL2S) sample. We improved our analysis of line-of-sight effects, the surface brightness profile of the lens galaxies, and orbital anisotropy, and corrected for projection effects in the dynamics. Our uncertainties are maximally conservative by accounting for the mass-sheet degeneracy in the deflectors’ mass density profiles. The analysis was blinded to prevent experimenter bias. Our primary result is based on the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, in combination with Ω m constraints from the Pantheon+ Type Ia supernovae (SN) dataset. In the flat Λ cold dark matter (CDM), we find H 0 = 71.6 +3.9 −3.3 km s −1 Mpc −1 . The SLACS and SL2S samples are in excellent agreement with the TDCOSMO-2025 sample, improving the precision on H 0 in flat ΛCDM to 4.6%. Using the Dark Energy Survey SN Year-5 dataset (DES-SN5YR) or DESI-DR2 baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) likelihoods instead of Pantheon+ yields very similar results. We also present constraints in the open ΛCDM, w CDM, w 0 w a CDM, and w ϕ CDM cosmologies. The TDCOSMO H 0 inference is robust and consistent across all presented cosmological models, and our cosmological constraints in them agree with those from the BAO and SN.

Abstract:

Drawing on four well‐established theoretical perspectives, this paper proposes an intersectional, emotionally grounded framework for understanding how gender and age jointly shape entrepreneurial perceptions across psychological, social, and cultural domains. Using 2024 Italian Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data and ordinal logistic regression, we find that women are approximately 30% more likely to report fear of failure and 20% less likely to feel self‐efficacious, despite perceiving high social respect for entrepreneurs. These emotional constraints persist across age, suggesting that gendered affective barriers are stable over time. We also demonstrate that composite indices, commonly used in entrepreneurial research, partially obscure gendered nuances that are better revealed through disaggregated analysis. This study contributes to entrepreneurship theory by integrating emotional risk into socially embedded models of entrepreneurial cognition. By addressing gendered emotional barriers, we contribute to building more socially sustainable and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystems, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We further frame these barriers as strategic obstacles to environmentally responsible entrepreneurship, underscoring their relevance to SDGs 5, 8, 9, and 12. Finally, we highlight managerial implications: Incubators, accelerators, and firms should design gender‐sensitive interventions, such as inclusive training, mentorship, and financial instruments, to foster innovation, responsible production, and the resilience of entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Abstract:

This study offers a comprehensive bibliometric and text‐mining overview of two decades of sustainability‐oriented entrepreneurship research. Drawing on 7563 peer‐reviewed articles from the Web of Science Core Collection, we map the field's evolution, thematic structure, and disciplinary convergence, identifying influential authors, networks, and journals. Using rule‐based classification and unsupervised learning, we categorize contributions within a four‐pillar framework encompassing environmental, social, economic, and cultural dimensions and examine their prevalence, overlap, and temporal trends. The results reveal a pronounced shift toward transdisciplinarity: 77% of articles engage with at least three pillars, and 34.5% address all four simultaneously. Building directly on this empirical evidence, we propose the Four‐Pillar Intersectionality Framework (F‐PIF), which reconceptualizes sustainable entrepreneurship as a transdisciplinary knowledge domain shaped by interdependent sustainability logics. The F‐PIF is therefore both derived from and supported by the bibliometric findings, providing an empirically grounded conceptual model that advances theoretical understanding and offers practical guidance for scholars and practitioners navigating entrepreneurship in the age of sustainability.

Abstract:

Planetary nebulae (PNe) are the only single stars in galaxies outside the Local Group that can be used as kinematic tracers of the diffuse light in the extended halo. Analysing their luminosity-specific number density across galaxies of different morphologies has also shown hints that they may be used as tracers of the age and metallicity of stellar populations. A proper understanding of this relation has been hindered by the fact that simultaneously detecting PNe and accurately measuring stellar properties is extremely difficult using classical narrow-band imaging methods, which cannot detect PNe in the bright centres of galaxies. In this work, we use integral-field spectroscopy to overcome this challenge, analysing the inner regions of a sample of 10 early-type galaxies from the Extended Planetary Nebulae Survey (ePN.S) for which archival MUSE data were available. With the Diffuse Emission-Line Filter (DELF) technique, we automate the detection of PNe, and perform spectral fitting on the diffuse light to infer kinematics and stellar population parameters. We compare the PN number density profile and its associated -parameter with multiple properties of the host galaxies. We find that our sample follows the previously observationally constrained correlation with the metallicity of the host galaxy. We find a weak anticorrelation between the -parameter and the far-ultraviolet excess, highlighting the possible relation between the visibility lifetime of PNe on the spectral energy distribution of their host galaxies, with fewer PNe detected in association with stellar populations characterized by an ultraviolet excess.