arXiv subjects

A. Banerjee

Publications and source records attributed to A. Banerjee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A TeV-based Determination of the Local Extragalactic Background Light and its Consistency with Galaxy Counts and Direct Measurements

The extragalactic background light (EBL), the cumulative radiation from all extragalactic sources, traces galaxy formation and cosmic evolution. High-energy $\gamma$ rays attenuated via pair production with EBL photons are a powerful probe of the EBL. In this work, we use very-high-energy (VHE; $E_\gamma > 100\,\mathrm{GeV}$) $\gamma$ rays to measure the local EBL intensity and test its consistency with galaxy counts and direct measurements. Our analysis employs a sample of 268 spectra from 45 sources observed with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. A model-dependent study shows seven EBL templates require only $\le 10\%$ rescaling to fit the observed $\gamma$-ray attenuation. The galaxy-count-anchored model gives the closest match. We then derive template-marginalized TeV optical depths from a representative model subset. We combine them with \textit{Fermi}-LAT GeV measurements to reconstruct the EBL at $z = 0$ using empirical and physically motivated models. The two reconstructions agree and follow the integrated galaxy light to within $2$--$3\,\mathrm{nW\,m^{-2}\,sr^{-1}}$ (typically $<25\%$) over $0.5$--$30\,\mu$m. Both are consistent with low-zodiacal-light observations, including outer solar system and dark cloud measurements. In contrast, the near-IR excess reported by IRTS and CIBER exceeds our reconstructed intensity by $3$--$5\sigma$, implying an additional $\gtrsim 5$--$10\,\mathrm{nW\,m^{-2}\,sr^{-1}}$ incompatible with the $\gamma$-ray optical depths. Combined with GeV constraints on EBL evolution to $z \simeq 4$, these TeV optical depths provide a VHE-anchored determination of the local EBL intensity. The agreement with galaxy counts and deep-space measurements indicates that known galaxy populations account for most of the optical and near-IR background, leaving limited room for an additional diffuse component.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Intermediate Field Spin(on) Dynamics in $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$

We present comprehensive inelastic neutron spectroscopic maps of the magnetic field-induced disordered phase of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid candidate material $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. For fields along both in-plane high-symmetry directions we observe that the spin excitation spectrum at and above a magnetic field of 8~T is gapped. Excitation modes then sharpen for increasing field but are consistently broader than experimental resolution even at 13.5~T. The out-of-plane dispersion diminishes in the 7-10~T regime, signifying enhanced two-dimensional behavior as the in-plane liquid correlations are established. In this regime, excitations are very broad and largely flat for all accessible energy-momenta, which is kinematically at odds with a magnon-decay picture. By contrast, a continuum of fractionalized excitations naturally yields a broad continuum response, which crucially may be accompanied by sharper modes of bound states of fractionalized excitations. Their damping by the continuum accounts for the observed spectral broadening and field dependence. Our results provide strong evidence for the existence of fractionalized excitations in $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ in a magnetic field.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Source identification for the Swift-BAT 150-month hard X-ray catalog using soft X-ray observations

We present a comprehensive catalog of 251 potential counterparts for 250 unassociated hard X-ray sources detected in the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) 150-month hard X-ray survey. Over 150 months of observation, BAT has detected 2339 sources in the 15-150 keV energy range. Among these, 344 do not have a previously identified low-energy counterpart. Our study focuses on the analysis of soft X-ray observations at energies below 10 keV, spatially overlapping with these new Swift-BAT hard X-ray sources. Such observations were taken with Chandra, Swift-XRT, eROSITA, and XMM-Newton. Within the sample of 251 potential counterparts, 94 (37 percent) are identified as active galactic nuclei and 58 (23 percent) as galaxies. The remaining 99 sources (40 percent) include pulsars, cataclysmic variables, and unclassified soft X-ray counterparts in the 0.5-10 keV band. Redshift information is available for 139 out of the 251 sources, and its distribution is in close agreement with the redshift distribution of previous BAT catalogs. We also present the results of a small optical spectroscopy campaign of 9 out of 58 galaxies. The majority of these are classified as Seyfert 2 galaxies at redshifts slightly larger than the median of the BAT AGN sample.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Transient QPOs of Fermi-LAT blazars with Linearly Multiplicative Oscillations

We present a study on the detection and characterization of transient quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the $\gamma$-ray emission of blazars 4C +31.03, MG1 J123931+0443, and PKS 1622$-$253. Using light curves derived from \textit{Fermi} Large Area Telescope data, we investigate oscillatory patterns characterized by periodic multiplicative amplitudes that vary linearly over time. By segmenting the light curves into increasing and decreasing trends, we analyze each segment independently, allowing for precise measurements of both the periodicity and long-term variations. To interpret these QPOs, we explore various theoretical scenarios that could explain their origin and underlying physical mechanisms. The variability observed in 4C~+31.03 is more consistent with a stochastic process, whereas the periods estimated for MG1~J123931+0443 and PKS~1622$-$253 align with the precessional dynamics expected from binary supermassive black hole systems. However, the current results remain tentative and do not allow for a definitive conclusion.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Transient QPOs of Fermi-LAT blazars under the Curved Jet Model

This study explores transient quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the $\gamma$-ray emission of two blazars, PMN J0531$-$4827 and PKS 1502+106, using over a decade of Fermi Large Area Telescope observations. The analysis focuses on identifying QPO signatures in their long-term light curves and interpreting the variability through a curved jet model, which predicts multiplicative oscillations with exponentially decaying amplitudes. We develop an analysis methodology to characterize the QPO and the specific properties of the amplitude of such QPOs. The findings offer insights into the dynamic processes driving relativistic jet evolution and their potential connections to underlying mechanisms, such as binary systems or other phenomena influencing the observed characteristics of these blazars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

X-ray polarization observations of NGC 2110 with IXPE

X-ray polarimetric observations from the Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) is an excellent tool for probing the geometry and dynamics of X-ray emitting corona in active galactic nuclei (AGN). This work aims to investigate the geometry of the X-ray corona in the Seyfert 2 AGN, NGC 2110, using its first polarimetric observation with IXPE, conducted over a net exposure of 554 ks beginning on October 16, 2024. We performed a model-independent analysis of the 2-8 keV IXPE polarimetric observation to estimate the polarization properties of NGC 2110. Furthermore, we performed spectral and spectro-polarimetric analyses combining IXPE data with archival observations from NuSTAR, XMM-Newton, and Swift-XRT to derive detailed spectral and polarization properties. From the spectro-polarimetric analyses, an upper limit on the polarization degree (PD) of 7.6% (at the 99% confidence) was estimated in the 2-8 keV band. The spectro-polarimetric analysis in the 5.66-8 keV band yielded a looser upper limit of 27% at the 99 % confidence. Comparing the measured polarization properties, coronal parameters, and inclination angle of NGC 2110 with the Monte Carlo radiative transfer (MONK) simulations suggest that the current polarization measurements lack the sensitivity to place definitive constraints on the coronal geometry. The upper limits on PD, as derived from our analysis at the 99% confidence level, indicate that polarization remains undetected at a statistically significant level. Consequently, we are unable to determine whether the corona is elongated along the disk or more compact and spherical. Future observations with improved sensitivity will be crucial to breaking these degeneracies and providing deeper insight into the coronal structure of NGC 2110.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Extension of the particle x-ray coincidence technique: The lifetimes and branching ratios apparatus

The particle x-ray coincidence technique (PXCT) was originally developed to measure average lifetimes in the $10^{-17}-10^{-15}$~s range for proton-unbound states populated by electron capture (EC). We have designed and built the Lifetimes and Branching Ratios Apparatus (LIBRA) to be used in the stopped-beam area at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams that extends PXCT to measure lifetimes and decay branching ratios of resonances populated by EC/$\beta^+$ decay. The first application of LIBRA aims to obtain essential nuclear data from $^{60}$Ga EC/$\beta^+$ decay to constrain the thermonuclear rates of the $^{59}$Cu$(p,\gamma)^{60}$Zn and $^{59}$Cu$(p,\alpha)^{56}$Ni reactions, and in turn, the strength of the NiCu nucleosynthesis cycle, which is predicted to significantly impact the modeling of type I x-ray burst light curves and the composition of the burst ashes. Detailed theoretical calculations, Monte Carlo simulations, and performance tests with radioactive sources have been conducted to validate the feasibility of employing LIBRA for the $^{60}$Ga experiment. LIBRA can be utilized to measure most essential ingredients needed for charged-particle reaction rate calculations in a single experiment, in the absence of direct measurements, which are often impractical for radioactive reactants.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

In-Situ Manipulation of Superconducting Properties via Ultrasonic Excitation

We demonstrate in-situ manipulation of the critical temperature ($T_S$) and upper critical field ($H_{C2}$) of conventional and unconventional superconductors via ultrasonic excitation. Using an AC susceptibility measurements, we observed a reduction in $T_S$ with increasing amplitude of the applied ultrasonic waves. This reduction exhibits a power law dependence on the excitation voltage, suggesting a non-linear coupling between the ultrasonic waves and the superconducting order parameter. Analogous behavior was observed in cuprate superconductors, hinting at a possible link between the modified superconducting properties and the modulation of the antiferromagnetic network by ultrasonic excitation. Measurements on a paramagnetic material (Gd$_2$O$_3$) with quenched orbital angular momentum (L\,=\,0) revealed no change in magnetization even at extreme ultrasonic excitation amplitudes. This highlights the role of spin-orbit coupling in the observed effects and rules out the possibility of local temperature increases affecting the measurements. To further confirm this, we conducted auxiliary experiments where a Cernox temperature sensor was subjected to ultrasonic excitation, and the resulting temperature difference relative to a reference Cernox was recorded. Simultaneously, the power difference was measured to assess the impact of ultrasonic heating. This analysis revealed that localized heating effects become dominant above an ultrasonic amplitude of 10 V$_{pp}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

A novel reentrant susceptibility due to vortex and magnetic dipole interaction in a La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 and Gd2O3 composite system

A reentrant behavior of temperature dependent magnetic ac-susceptibility (or excess susceptibility(ES)) at lower temperature is observed in a composite made of superconductor $La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4$ (LCu) and an insulating paramagnetic salt $Gd_2O_3$ (GdO). The ES exhibits an exponential characteristic that varies with temperature ($\exp,[\frac{T_0}{T}]$), T0 is characteristics temperature. The characteristics temperature,T$_0$, decreases as the effective interface diminishes and the amplitude of the dc magnetic field increases. The creation of ferromagnetic dimers between Gd$^{+3}$ ions in GdO is observed as a result of vortex-dipole interaction, which causes the observation of this unusual ES at temperatures much lower than the superconducting onset temperature T$_{S}^{onset}$. This type of ferromagnetic dimer formation much below superconducting transition temperature is found comparable with the formation of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) state and interaction between these YSR state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Quantization of Cantor-Like Set on the Real Projective Line

In this article, an iterated function system (IFS) is considered on the real projective line $\mathbb{RP}^1$ so that the attractor is a Cantor-like set. Hausdorff dimension of this attractor is estimated. The existence of a probability measure associated with this IFS on $\mathbb{RP}^1$ is also demonstrated. It is shown that the $n$-th quantization error of order $r$ for the push-forward measure is a constant multiple of the $n$-th quantization error of order $r$ of the original measure. Finally, an upper bound for the $n$-th quantization error of order $2$ for this measure is provided.

math.DS↗

arXiv2023

Measurement of the Isolated Nuclear Two-Photon Decay in $^{72}\mathrm{Ge}$

The nuclear two-photon or double-gamma ($2\gamma$) decay is a second-order electromagnetic process whereby a nucleus in an excited state emits two gamma rays simultaneously. To be able to directly measure the $2\gamma$ decay rate in the low-energy regime below the electron-positron pair-creation threshold, we combined the isochronous mode of a storage ring with Schottky resonant cavities. The newly developed technique can be applied to isomers with excitation energies down to $\sim100$\,keV and half-lives as short as $\sim10$\,ms. The half-life for the $2\gamma$ decay of the first-excited $0^+$ state in bare $^{72}\mathrm{Ge}$ ions was determined to be $23.9\left(6\right)$\,ms, which strongly deviates from expectations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Negative Magnetization and Magnetic Ordering of Rare Earth and Transition Metal Sublattices in NdFe0.5Cr0.5O3

We investigate the effect of alloying at the 3d transition metal site of a rare-earth-transition metal oxide, by considering NdFe0.5Cr0.5O3 alloy with two equal and random distribution of 3d ions, Cr and Fe, interacting with an early 4f rare earth ion, Nd. Employing temperature- and field-dependent magnetization measurements, temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy, we characterize its structural and magnetic properties. Our study reveals bipolar magnetic switching (arising from negative magnetization) and magnetocaloric effect which underline the potential of the studied alloy in device application. The neutron diffraction study shows the absence of spin reorientation transition over the entire temperature range of 1.5-320 K, although both parent compounds exhibit spin orientation transition. We discuss the microscopic origin of this curious behavior. The neutron diffraction results also reveal the ordering of Nd spins at an unusually high temperature of about 40 K, which is corroborated by Raman measurements.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Band Structure of Topological Insulator BiSbTe1.25Se1.75

We present our angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) and density functional theory results on quaternary topological insulator (TI) BiSbTe1.25Se1.75 (BSTS) confirming the non-trivial topology of the surface state bands (SSBs) in this compound. We find that the SSBs, which are are sensitive to the atomic composition of the terminating surface have a partial 3D character. Our detailed study of the band bending (BB) effects shows that in BSTS the Dirac point (DP) shifts by more than two times compared to that in Bi2Se3 to reach the saturation. The stronger BB in BSTS could be due to the difference in screening of the surface charges. From momentum density curves (MDCs) of the ARPES data we obtained an energy dispersion relation showing the warping strength of the Fermi surface in BSTS to be intermediate between those found in Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3 and also to be tunable by controlling the ratio of chalcogen/pnictogen atoms. Our experiments also reveal that the nature of the BB effects are highly sensitive to the exposure of the fresh surface to various gas species. These findings have important implications in the tuning of DP in TIs for technological applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Broken Symmetry and Fractionalized Flux Strings in a Staggered U(1) Pure Gauge Theory

Inspired by self-adjoint extensions of the electric field operator in the Hamiltonian formalism, we extend the Wilsonian framework of Abelian lattice gauge theory by introducing a modified action parameterized by an angle $\alpha$, where the ordinary Wilson theory corresponds to $\alpha=0$. Choosing instead $\alpha=\pi$ (the "staggered" case) gives the only other theory in the family which preserves all symmetries of the original model at the microscopic level. We study the case of $3D$ $\mathrm{U}(1)$ pure gauge theory, simulating the staggered case of this model numerically in its dual formulation. We find evidence of a continuum limit with a spontaneously broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ single-site translational symmetry, in contrast to the ordinary theory. Moreover, the confining string fractionalizes into multiple strands which separate spatial regions in distinct ground states of the broken symmetry.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2023

Simulation of optoelectronic oscillator injection locking, pulling and spiking phenomena

Complex envelope and reduced phase simulation models describing the dynamical behavior of an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) under injection by an external source are described. The models are built on the foundations of a previously reported delay integral differential equation (DDE) theory of injection locking of time delay oscillators (TDO) such as the OEO. The DDE formulation is particularly amenable to high precision simulation using the Simulink block diagram environment. The correspondence between the blocks and the oscillator components offers intuition and considerable freedom to explore different circuit architectures and design variations with minimal coding effort. The simulations facilitate the study of the profound effect the multimode nature of a TDO has on its dynamical behavior. The reduced phase models that make use of the Leeson approximation are generally successful in reproducing the results of complex envelope models for established oscillations except for spiking phenomena for which the Leeson approximation fails. Simulation results demonstrating phenomena not captured by classical injection theory are presented, including multimode oscillation, the appearance of sidemodes in the RF and phase noise spectrum, and persistent spike trains redolent of recent experimental observations of 2pi phase pulse trains in a broadband OEO under injection.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Beyond the 3rd moment: A practical study of using lensing convergence CDFs for cosmology with DES Y3

Widefield surveys of the sky probe many clustered scalar fields -- such as galaxy counts, lensing potential, gas pressure, etc. -- that are sensitive to different cosmological and astrophysical processes. Our ability to constrain such processes from these fields depends crucially on the statistics chosen to summarize the field. In this work, we explore the cumulative distribution function (CDF) at multiple scales as a summary of the galaxy lensing convergence field. Using a suite of N-body lightcone simulations, we show the CDFs' constraining power is modestly better than that of the 2nd and 3rd moments of the field, as they approximately capture the information from all moments of the field in a concise data vector. We then study the practical aspects of applying the CDFs to observational data, using the first three years of the Dark Energy Survey (DES Y3) data as an example, and compute the impact of different systematics on the CDFs. The contributions from the point spread function are 2-3 orders of magnitude below the cosmological signal, while those from reduced shear approximation contribute $\lesssim 1\%$ to the signal. Source clustering effects and baryon imprints contribute $1-10\%$. Enforcing scale cuts to limit systematics-driven biases in parameter constraints degrades these constraints a noticeable amount, and this degradation is similar for the CDFs and the moments. We also detect correlations between the observed convergence field and the shape noise field at $13\sigma$. We find that the non-Gaussian correlations in the noise field must be modeled accurately to use the CDFs, or other statistics sensitive to all moments, as a rigorous cosmology tool.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Bands renormalization and superconductivity in the strongly correlated Hubbard model using composite operators method

We use the composite operator method (COM) to analyze the strongly correlated repulsive Hubbard model, investigating the effect of nearest-neighbor hoppings up to fourth order on a square lattice. We consider two sets of self-consistent equations, one enforcing the Pauli principle and the other imposing charge-charge, spin-spin, and pair-pair correlations using a decoupling scheme developed by L. Roth. We extract three distinct solutions from these equations: COM1 and COM2 by imposing the Pauli principle and one from Roth decoupling. An overview of the method studying the validity of particle-hole symmetry and the Luttinger theorem for each solution is presented. Additionally, we extend the initial basis to study superconductivity, concluding that it is induced by the Van Hove singularity. Finally, we include higher-order hoppings using realistic estimates for tight binding parameters and compare our results with ARPES measurements on cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Magnetization, dielectric and thermal studies in the double perovskite polycrystalline compound Tm2CoMnO6

We report here a comprehensive study on structural, magnetic, caloric and electronic properties of the monoclinic phase of double perovskite compound Tm2CoMnO6 (TCMO) in its polycrysttaline format. Magnetic measurements confirm the presence of thermal hysteresis in magnetization indicates towards a first order magnetic transition at its critical point (Tc). Our study finds the metamagnetic jump in isothermal M(H) at 2 K that signifies the rare earth spin allignement in loop cycling above a certain critical field. This jump is only present at very low T that dies out as the T raises. M(H) measurements at different temperature stipulate that Co2+ and Mn4+ do not order completely inspite of strong ferromagnetic correlation that is against the previous study on TCMO. The concurrence of structral, magnetic and dielectric anomaly at Tc suggest its possible magnetostructural copuling. We found a high dielectric constant (2700) in TCMO and the Maxwell-Wagner electrial loss spectrum analysis hints towards a long range hopping mechanism. Sizeable magnetocaloric effect in terms of entropy change across the transition temperatures has been obtained from heat capacity data that clearly corroborates its intrinsic behaviour.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗