Key papers in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Pofolia’s corpus holds 99 papers from the Astronomy and Astrophysics subfield (2012–2026). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
Astropy: A community Python package for astronomy
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · 14,587 citations · Open access
The first public version (v0.2) of Astropy, an open-source Python package, has been released, offering core astronomy functionalities to the scientific community.
Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
Physical Review Letters · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 813.92 · 14,344 citations · Open access
For the first time, scientists have directly detected gravitational waves, confirming Einstein's theory and observing a binary black hole merger.
<i>Planck</i> 2018 results
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 791.83 · 14,233 citations · Open access
The final Planck mission data provide the most precise measurements to date of the cosmic microwave background, yielding strong support for the standard ΛCDM cosmological model and constraining key parameters like dark matter density and the Hubble constant.
<i>Planck</i>2015 results
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 792.73 · 10,682 citations · Open access
Full-mission Planck observations provide precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background, strongly supporting the standard six-parameter inflationary LCDM cosmology.
GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
Physical Review Letters · 2017 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 577.52 · 9,680 citations · Open access
The Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors observed gravitational waves (GW170817) from a binary neutron star inspiral, the closest and most precisely localized signal to date. This event provided the first direct evidence linking neutron star mergers to short gamma-ray bursts.
<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 2
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 748.19 · 8,679 citations · Open access
Gaia DR2 offers unprecedented astrometric and photometric data for 1.7 billion celestial sources, including positions and brightness, with parallaxes and proper motions for 1.3 billion.
The<i>Gaia</i>mission
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2016 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 284.34 · 7,014 citations · Open access
The Gaia mission, launched in 2013, is a European Space Agency cornerstone project designed to create a highly accurate 3D map of the Milky Way.
Review of Particle Physics
Chinese Physics C · 2014 · Q1 · FWCI 933.05 · 6,818 citations
This comprehensive review consolidates and evaluates 3,283 new measurements from 899 papers, alongside existing data, to update properties of known particles like gauge bosons and the Higgs boson, and summarizes searches for hypothetical particles.
<i>Planck</i>2013 results. XVI. Cosmological parameters
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 617.93 · 6,580 citations · Open access
The Planck satellite data precisely determine key cosmological parameters, strongly supporting the standard Lambda-CDM model but revealing a tension with direct measurements of the Hubble constant.
Planck 2015 results
Nottingham ePrints (University of Nottingham) · 2016 · FWCI 580.61 · 5,476 citations
Full-mission Planck observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) provide highly precise measurements of cosmological parameters, strongly supporting the standard ΛCDM model with no evidence for new physics.
NINE-YEAR <i>WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE</i> ( <i>WMAP</i> ) OBSERVATIONS: COSMOLOGICAL PARAMETER RESULTS
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 317.48 · 5,099 citations · Open access
Final nine-year WMAP data, combined with other cosmological measurements, precisely constrain the standard six-parameter Lambda-CDM model, determining key energy densities to ~1.5% precision.
The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package
Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) · 2022 · FWCI 494.98 · 4,729 citations
The Astropy Project has released version 5.0 of its core package, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing development as a community-driven, open-source resource for astronomy.
<scp>parsec</scp>: stellar tracks and isochrones with the PAdova and TRieste Stellar Evolution Code
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 79.73 · 4,196 citations
The updated parsec code now computes stellar evolutionary tracks, including the pre-main sequence phase, and can generate accurate opacity tables for any chemical composition.
Modified gravity and cosmology
Physics Reports · 2012 · Q1 · SJR 5.00 · FWCI 126.56 · 4,185 citations
This review comprehensively surveys recent work on modified theories of gravity and their cosmological consequences, covering a wide range of specific models and theoretical frameworks.
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2019 · Q1 · SJR 3.00 · FWCI 246.46 · 4,185 citations · Open access
The Event Horizon Telescope has captured the first direct image of a black hole's shadow, revealing an asymmetric bright emission ring around a central dark depression.
Coevolution (Or Not) of Supermassive Black Holes and Host Galaxies
Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2013 · Q1 · SJR 14.00 · FWCI 113.14 · 4,160 citations
Supermassive black holes (BHs) do not necessarily coevolve with host galaxy bulges, as BHs are found in bulgeless galaxies and do not correlate with galaxy disks, challenging the long-held belief of a simple, regulated growth between BHs and bulges.
Advanced Virgo: a second-generation interferometric gravitational wave detector
Classical and Quantum Gravity · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 73.53 · 4,140 citations
The Advanced Virgo project aims to upgrade the existing Virgo detector to increase gravitational wave detection rates by three orders of magnitude, enabling a broader view of the universe.
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems · 2014 · Q2 · FWCI 42.32 · 4,022 citations · Open access
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will survey bright, nearby stars for exoplanets using four wide-field cameras, aiming to detect over a thousand planets, including Earth-sized ones.
<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 3
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2022 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 422.61 · 3,921 citations · Open access
Gaia DR3 significantly expands astronomical data, introducing radial velocities for over 33 million stars and astrophysical parameters for nearly half a billion sources, including stars, galaxies, and quasars.
<i>Gaia</i>Early Data Release 3
Astronomy and Astrophysics · 2020 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 275.11 · 3,904 citations · Open access
Gaia EDR3 offers unprecedented astrometric and photometric data for 1.8 billion celestial sources, significantly improving precision and accuracy over its predecessor.
Recently added
Chinese Optics Letters
Chinese Optics Letters · 2026 · Q2 · 1,438 citations · Open access
A novel four-channel silicon photonic chiplet integrates mode-division multiplexing (MDM) and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) within a 1.65 mm² footprint, achieving electro-optic modulation and two-wavelength multiplexing simultaneously.
Speckle Interferometry at SOAR in 2024 and 2025
The Astronomical Journal · 2026 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · 242 citations · Open access
Speckle interferometry observations at the SOAR telescope yielded 5316 new measurements of binary star positions and magnitude differences, resolving over 400 pairs for the first time, including many not detected by Gaia.
Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)
2026 · 1,475 citations
This release provides the latest versions of the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) software package in ZIP format.
The Banana Bridge - The Unitary Kinematic Solution to the Hubble Tension and the 1.618 x 137 Master Law
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026 · 525 citations · Open access
This paper proposes a novel framework, the 'Banana Bridge,' to resolve the Hubble tension by introducing a local density scalar (ε = 1.037) that reconciles differing measurements of the universe's expansion rate.
THE THREE COMPRESSIONS: Lossy, Predatory, and Witness — A Semiotic Thermodynamics
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026 · FWCI 1368.53 · 239 citations
This paper introduces a "transfer law" for semantic operations, proposing that all such operations are compressions where the cost determines the commons effect. It defines three regimes of compression: Lossy, Predatory, and Witness, each with distinct fuel sources and ledger structures.
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