arXiv subjects

H. S. Xu

Publications and source records attributed to H. S. Xu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

$Z=14$ Magicity Revealed by the Mass of the Proton Dripline Nucleus $^{22}$Si

Using the $Bρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry technique, we conducted the first mass measurement of the proton dripline nucleus $^{22}$Si. We confirm that $^{22}$Si is bound against particle emission with $S_p/S_{2p}=+1412(114)/+229(54)$ keV, fixing the proton dripline location for the Si element. By analyzing the mass differences of the neighboring $sd$-shell nuclei, we find that $^{22}$Si exhibits a doubly-magic character similar to its mirror partner $^{22}$O, and that the mirror energy difference of $^{22}$Si-$^{22}$O deviates from the predictions assuming mirror symmetry. Gamow shell-model calculations reveal that the average occupations of valence protons in $^{22}$Si are nearly identical to those of valence neutrons in $^{22}$O, supporting the $Z=14$ magicity in $^{22}$Si. The observed mirror-symmetry breaking is attributed to the extended proton distribution in $^{22}$Si arising from a small contribution of the unbound $\pi2s_{1/2}$ orbital.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Nuclear structure of dripline nuclei elucidated through precision mass measurements of $^{23}$Si, $^{26}$P, $^{27,28}$S, and $^{31}$Ar

Using the B$ρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry technique, we report the first determination of the $^{23}$Si, $^{26}$P, $^{27}$S, and $^{31}$Ar masses and improve the precision of the $^{28}$S mass by a factor of 11. Our measurements confirm that these isotopes are bound and fix the location of the proton dripline in P, S, and Ar. We find that the mirror energy differences of the mirror-nuclei pairs $^{26}$P-$^{26}$Na, $^{27}$P-$^{27}$Mg, $^{27}$S-$^{27}$Na, $^{28}$S-$^{28}$Mg, and $^{31}$Ar-$^{31}$Al deviate significantly from the values predicted assuming mirror symmetry. In addition, we observe similar anomalies in the excited states, but not in the ground states, of the mirror-nuclei pairs $^{22}$Al-$^{22}$F and $^{23}$Al-$^{23}$Ne. Using $ab~ initio$ VS-IMSRG and mean field calculations, we show that such a mirror-symmetry breaking phenomeon can be explained by the extended charge distributions of weakly-bound, proton-rich nuclei. When observed, this phenomenon serves as a unique signature that can be valuable for identifying proton-halo candidates.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Robust incoherent perfect absorption

A coherent perfect absorber is capable of completely absorbing input waves. However, the coherent perfect absorption severely depends on the superposition of the input waves, and the perfect absorption is sensitive to the disorder of the absorber. Thus, a robust incoherent perfect absorption, being insensitive to the superposition of input waves and the system disorder, is desirable for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate that the linearly independent destructive interference at the port connections removes the constraint on the coherent input. We propose an approach using the interplay between the loss and localization to form the incoherent perfect absorption. The resonant incidence from either port is completely absorbed. Furthermore, we utilize the lattice configuration supporting the flat band to demonstrate the disorder-immune incoherent perfect absorption. Our findings provide insight into the fundamentals and applications for the perfect absorption of light, microwaves, sound, mechanical waves, and beyond.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Edge State, Band Topology, and Time Boundary Effect in the Fine-Grained Categorization of Chern Insulators

We predict novel topological phases with broken time-reversal symmetry supporting the coexistence of opposite chiral edge states, which are fundamentally different from the photonic spin-Hall, valley-Hall, and higher-order topological phases. We find a fine-grained categorization of Chern insulators, their band topologies characterized by identical Chern number are completely different. Furthermore, we prove that different topologies cause zeros in their Bloch wavefunction overlaps, which imprint the band gap closing and appear at the degenerate points of topological phase transition. The Bloch wavefunction overlaps predict the reflection and refraction at a topological time boundary, and the overlap zeros ensure the existence of vanishing revival amplitude at critical times even though different topologies before and after the time boundary have identical Chern number. Our findings create new opportunities for topological metamaterials, uncover the topological feature hidden in the time boundary effect as a probe of topology, and open a venue for the exploration of the rich physics originating from the long-range couplings.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Ground-state mass of $^{22}$Al and test of state-of-the-art \textit{ab initio} calculations

The ground-state mass excess of the $T_{z}=-2$ drip-line nucleus $^{22}$Al is measured for the first time to be $18103(10)$ keV using the newly-developed B$ρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry method at the cooler storage ring in Lanzhou. The new mass excess value allowed us to determine the excitation energies of the two low-lying $1^+$ states in $^{22}$Al with significantly reduced uncertainties of 51 keV. Comparing to the analogue states in its mirror nucleus $^{22}$F, the mirror energy differences of the two $1^+$ states in the $^{22}$Al-$^{22}$F mirror pair are determined to be $-625(51)$ keV and $-330(51)$ keV, respectively. The excitation energies and the mirror energy differences are used to test the state-of-the-art \textit{ab initio} valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group calculations with four sets of interactions derived from the chiral effective field theory. The mechanism leading to the large mirror energy differences is investigated and attributed to the occupation of the $πs_{1/2}$ orbital.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Pseudo-Hermiticity protects the energy-difference conservation in the scattering

Symmetry plays a fundamentally important role in physics. In this work, we find a conservation law, $S^{\dagger}(H_{c}^{\dagger})S(H_{c})=I$, which is valid for any non-Hermitian scattering center $H_c$. As a result, the reflections and transmissions of a non-Hermitian system $\left\{ r,t\right\}$ and its Hermitian conjugation system $\left\{ \bar{r},\bar{t}\right\} $ satisfy the conservation law $\bar{r}^{\ast}r+\bar{t}^{\ast}t=1$, instead of the energy conservation law that applies to incoming and outgoing waves in a Hermitian system. Consequently, the pseudo-Hermiticity of a non-Hermitian system ensures an energy-difference conservation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the energy-difference conservation is respectively valid and invalid in two prototypical anti-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric systems, where the energy-difference conservation is protected by the pseudo-Hermiticity. Our findings provide profound insight into the conservation law, the pseudo-Hermiticity, and the anti-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry in non-Hermitian systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Tunable Aharonov-Bohm cages through anti-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric imaginary couplings

The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) cage enables localized confinement with nondiffractive propagation for arbitrary excitation. In this study, we introduce an anti-parity-time (anti-$\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric imaginary coupling in a generalized Creutz ladder to construct a non-Hermitian AB cage with tunable flat-band energy. We investigate compact localized states and complete localization dynamics, and show that non-Hermiticity affects the localization probability distributions and increases the oscillation period of the AB cage dynamics. Non-Hermitian engineering of the decoupled core of the AB cage is the essential point in our proposal. Our approach is widely applicable to a more general situation and can facilitate the manipulation of localization in physics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

High-order spectral singularity

Exceptional point and spectral singularity are two types of singularity that are unique to non-Hermitian systems. Here, we report the high-order spectral singularity as a high-order pole of the scattering matrix for a non-Hermitian scattering system, and the high-order spectral singularity is a unification of the exceptional point and spectral singularity. At the high-order spectral singularity, the scattering coefficients have high-order divergence and the scattering system stimulates high-order lasing. The wave emission intensity is polynomially enhanced, and the order of the growth in the polynomial intensity linearly scales with the order of the spectral singularity. Furthermore, the coherent input controls and alters the order of the spectral singularity. Our findings provide profound insights into the fundamentals and applications of high-order spectral singularities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

$Bρ$-defined isochronous mass spectrometry: a new approach for high-precision mass measurements of short-lived nuclei

A novel technique for broadband high-precision mass measurements of short-lived exotic nuclides is reported. It is based on the isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) and realizes simultaneous determinations of revolution time and velocity of short-lived stored ions at the cooler storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. The new technique, named as the $Bρ$-defined IMS or $Bρ$-IMS, boosts the efficiency, sensitivity, and accuracy of mass measurements, and is applied here to measure masses of neutron-deficient $fp$-shell nuclides. In a single accelerator setting, masses of $^{46}$Cr, $^{50}$Fe and $^{54}$Ni are determined with relative uncertainties of (5~-~6)$\times10^{-8}$, thereby improving the input data for testing the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark mixing matrix. This is the technique of choice for future high-precision measurements of the most rarely produced shortest-lived nuclides.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2022

$Bρ$-defined Isochronous Mass Spectrometry and Mass Measurements of $^{58}$Ni Fragments

A novel isochronous mass spectrometry, termed as $Bρ$-defined IMS, is established at the experimental cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. Its potential has been studied through high precision mass measurements of $^{58}$Ni projectile fragments. Two time-of-flight detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of CSRe, thus enabling simultaneous measurements of the velocity and the revolution time of each stored short-lived ion. This allows for calculating the magnetic rigidity $Bρ$ and the orbit length $C$ of each ion. The accurate $Bρ(C)$ function has been constructed, which is a universal calibration curve used to deduce the masses of the stored nuclides. The sensitivity to single stored ions, quickness, and background-free characteristics of the method are ideally suited to address nuclides with very short lifetimes and tiniest production yields. In the limiting case of just a single particle, the attained mass resolving power allows one us to determine its mass-over-charge ratio $m/q$ with a remarkable precision of merely $\sim5$ keV. Masses of $T_z = -3/2$ fp-shell nuclides are re-determined with high accuracy, and the validity of the isospin multiplet mass equation is tested up to the heaviest isospin quartet with $A = 55$. The new masses are also used to investigate the mirror symmetry of empirical residual proton-neutron interactions.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

Coherent resonant transmission

The reflectionless coherent light transport in the coupled resonator array is investigated in the presence of intra-resonator intermodal coupling between the clockwise and counterclockwise modes, which plays a constructive role for modulating the light flow rather than inducing the unwanted backscattering. The interplay between the intra-resonator intermodal coupling and the inter-resonator couplings enables the coherent resonant transmission (CRT) of the properly superposed injection constituted by the clockwise and counterclockwise modes. The superposition coefficients of the initial excitation determine the mode chirality of the resonant transmission. Sequentially experiencing the time-reversal process of CRT and the CRT realizes the perfect mode conversion that the mode chirality of the injection wave switches into the opposite after resonant transmission. Our findings on the coherent light transport provide insights for the control and manipulation of light field in the integrated photonics, nanophotonics, chiral optics, and beyond.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Signature of edge states in resonant wave scattering

Particle beam scattering is a conventional technique for detecting the nature of matter. We studied the scattering problem of a cluster connected to multiple leads. We established the connection between the eigenstate of the topological scattering center and the transmission and reflection amplitudes for the resonant scattering process. We discovered that as an application, this approach enables the detection of the edge state in the band gap for both Hermitian and non-Hermitian systems and the identification of the topology of a system. We investigated two types of Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chains as examples. In addition, we proposed a dynamic scheme through an evanescently coupled-waveguide array to detect the edge state on the basis of measured transmission intensity. Numerical simulation revealed that pattern visibility can be the signature of the edge states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Coupling-induced nonunitary and unitary scattering in anti-PT-symmetric non-Hermitian systems

We investigate the properties of two anti-parity-time (anti-PT )-symmetric four-site scattering centers. The anti-PT -symmetric scattering center may have imaginary couplings, real couplings, and real on-site potentials. The only difference between the two scattering centers is the coupling between two central sites of the scattering center, which plays a crucial role in determining the parity of anti-PT symmetry and significantly affects the scattering properties. For the imaginary coupling, the even-parity anti-PT -symmetric scattering center possesses nonunitary scattering and the difference between the reflection and transmission is unity; for the real coupling, the odd-parity anti-PT -symmetric scattering center possesses unitary scattering and the sum of the reflection and transmission is unity. The coupling-induced different scattering behaviors are verified in the numerical simulations. Our findings reveal that a significant difference in the dynamics can be caused by a slight difference between two similar anti-PT -symmetric non-Hermitian scattering centers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

New $α$-Emitting Isotope $^{214}$U and Abnormal Enhancement of $α$-Particle Clustering in Lightest Uranium Isotopes

A new $α$-emitting isotope $^{214}$U, produced by fusion-evaporation reaction $^{182}$W($^{36}$Ar, 4n)$^{214}$U, was identified by employing the gas-filled recoil separator SHANS and recoil-$α$ correlation technique. More precise $α$-decay properties of even-even nuclei $^{216,218}$U were also measured in reactions of $^{40}$Ar, $^{40}$Ca with $^{180, 182, 184}$W targets. By combining the experimental data, improved $α$-decay reduced widths $δ^2$ for the even-even Po--Pu nuclei in the vicinity of magic neutron number $N=126$ were deduced. Their systematic trends are discussed in terms of $N_{p}N_{n}$ scheme in order to study the influence of proton-neutron interaction on $α$ decay in this region of nuclei. It is strikingly found that the reduced widths of $^{214,216}$U are significantly enhanced by a factor of two as compared with the $N_{p}N_{n}$ systematics for the $84 \leq Z \leq 90$ and $N<126$ even-even nuclei. The abnormal enhancement is interpreted by the strong monopole interaction between the valence protons and neutrons occupying the $π1f_{7/2}$ and $ν1f_{5/2}$ spin-orbit partner orbits, which is supported by a large-scale shell model calculation.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Particle identification and revolution time corrections for the isochronous mass spectrometry in storage rings

In the isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) performed at storage rings, masses of short-lived nuclides are determined through precision measurements of their mean revolution times. However, the distribution of revolution times could be seriously deteriorated by instabilities of the ring's magnetic fields. This becomes a significant obstacle for the particle identifications and mass determinations. A data analysis method is described in this paper which is able to largely remove the uncertainties caused by the magnetic field instabilities in the particle identifications and the mean revolution times. We show that this method is very effective for the IMS experiments even when the magnetic fields of a storage ring vary slowly up to a level of $ΔB/B\sim 10^{-4}$.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2020

Mass measurements for $T_{z}=-2$ $fp$-shell nuclei $^{40}$Ti, $^{44}$Cr, $^{46}$Mn, $^{48}$Fe, $^{50}$Co and $^{52}$Ni

By using isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) at the experimental cooler storage ring CSRe, masses of short-lived $^{44}$Cr, $^{46}$Mn, $^{48}$Fe, $^{50}$Co and $^{52}$Ni were measured for the first time and the precision of the mass of $^{40}$Ti was improved by a factor of about 2. Relative precisions of $δm/m=(1-2)\times$10$^{-6}$ have been achieved. Details of the measurements and data analysis are described. The obtained masses are compared with the Atomic-Mass Evaluation 2016 (AME$^{\prime}$16) and with theoretical model predictions. The new mass data enable us to extract the higher order coefficients, $d$ and $e$, of the quartic form of the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) for the $fp$-shell isospin quintets. Unexpectedly large $d$- and $e$-values for $A=44$ quintet are found. By re-visiting the previous experimental data on $β$-delayed protons from $^{44}$Cr decay, it is suggested that the observed anomaly could be due to the misidentification of the $T=2$, $J^π=0^{+}$ isobaric analog state (IAS) in $^{44}$V.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Fine structure in the $α$ decay of $^{223}$U

Fine structure in the $α$ decay of $^{223}$U was observed in the fusion-evaporation reaction $^{187}$Re($^{40}$Ar, p3n) by using fast digital pulse processing technique. Two $α$-decay branches of $^{223}$U feeding the ground state and 244 keV excited state of $^{219}$Th were identified by establishing the decay chain $^{223}$U $\xrightarrow{α_{1}}$ $^{219}$Th $\xrightarrow{α_{2}}$ $^{215}$Ra $\xrightarrow{α_{3}}$ $^{211}$Rn. The $α$-particle energy for the ground-state to ground-state transition of $^{223}$U was determined to be 8993(17) keV, 213 keV higher than the previous value, the half-life was updated to be 62$^{+14}_{-10}$ $μ$s. Evolution of nuclear structure for $N$ = 131 even-$Z$ isotones from Po to U was discussed in the frameworks of nuclear mass and reduced $α$-decay width, a weakening octupole deformation in the ground state of $^{223}$U relative to its lighter isotones $^{219}$Ra and $^{221}$Th was suggested.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Masses of ground and isomeric states of $^{101}$In and configuration-dependent shell evolution in odd-$A$ indium isotopes

We report first precision mass measurements of the $1/2^-$ isomeric and $9/2^+$ ground states of $^{101}$In. The determined isomeric excitation energy continues a smooth trend of odd-$A$ indium isotopes up to the immediate vicinity of $N=50$ magic number. This trend can be confirmed by dedicated shell model calculations only if the neutron configuration mixing is considered. We find that the single particle energies are different for different states of the same isotope. The presented configuration-dependent shell evolution, type II shell evolution, in odd-$A$ nuclei is discussed for the first time. Our results will facilitate future studies of single-particle neutron states.

nucl-ex↗