Help identifying font from an astronomy research paper

[Guest]

I'm struggling to identify the font used in the figures of an astronomy research paper called Hazy blue worlds: A holistic aerosol model for Uranus and Neptune, including Dark Spots (https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.04516v1). I've already seen this font in the past, especially in physics/astronomy papers. I find it really appealing and legible, so I would like to use it for my own figures (I'd say it's probably free). Thanks!

[Riccardo Sartori]

I looked at the source files, and am pretty sure it’s not a traditional outline font, but rather drawn directly by the same program used to plot the graphs.

However, there are many typefaces that imitate this style of mechanical lettering, for example Planscribe or DIN 17, you may also find something in this handy list.

For a free alternative, you could try Quicksand.