arXiv subjects

J. Wang

Publications and source records attributed to J. Wang.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

The Deep and Transient Universe in the SVOM Era: New Challenges and Opportunities - Scientific prospects of the SVOM mission

To take advantage of the astrophysical potential of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), Chinese and French astrophysicists have engaged the SVOM mission (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor). Major advances in GRB studies resulting from the synergy between space and ground observations, the SVOM mission implements space and ground instrumentation. The scientific objectives of the mission put a special emphasis on two categories of GRBs: very distant GRBs at z$>$5 which constitute exceptional cosmological probes, and faint/soft nearby GRBs which allow probing the nature of the progenitors and the physics at work in the explosion. These goals have a major impact on the design of the mission: the on-board hard X-ray imager is sensitive down to 4 keV and computes on line image and rate triggers, and the follow-up telescopes on the ground are sensitive in the NIR. At the beginning of the next decade, SVOM will be the main provider of GRB positions and spectral parameters on very short time scale. The SVOM instruments will operate simultaneously with a wide range of powerful astronomical devices. This rare instrumental conjunction, combined with the relevance of the scientific topics connected with GRB studies, warrants a remarkable scientific return for SVOM. In addition, the SVOM instrumentation, primarily designed for GRB studies, composes a unique multi-wavelength observatory with rapid slew capability that will find multiple applications for the whole astronomy community beyond the specific objectives linked to GRBs. This report lists the scientific themes that will benefit from observations made with SVOM, whether they are specific GRB topics, or more generally all the issues that can take advantage of the multi-wavelength capabilities of SVOM.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

Femtosecond probing of light-speed plasma wakefields by using a relativistic electron bunch

Relativistic wakes produced by intense laser or particle beams propagating through plasmas are being considered as accelerators for next generation of colliders and coherent light sources. Such wakes have been shown to accelerate electrons and positrons to several gigaelectronvolts (GeV), with a few percent energy spread and a high wake-to-beam energy transfer efficiency. However, complete mapping of electric field structure of the wakes has proven elusive. Here we show that a high-energy electron bunch can be used to probe the fields of such light-speed wakes with femtosecond resolution. The highly transient, microscopic wakefield is reconstructed from the density modulated ultra-short probe bunch after it has traversed the wake. This technique enables visualization of linear wakefields in low-density plasmas that can accelerate electrons and positrons beams. It also allows characterization of wakes in plasma density ramps critical for maintaining the beam emittance, improving the energy transfer efficiency and producing high brightness beams from plasma accelerators.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Fully gapped superconducting state in Au2Pb: a natural candidate for topological superconductor

We measured the ultra-low-temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity of Au$_2$Pb single crystal, a possible three-dimensional Dirac semimetal with a superconducting transition temperature $T_c \approx$ 1.05 K. The electronic specific heat can be fitted by a two-band s-wave model, which gives the gap amplitudes $Δ_1$(0)/$k_BT_c$ = 1.38 and $Δ_2$(0)/$k_BT_c$ = 5.25. From the thermal conductivity measurements, a negligible residual linear term $κ_0/T$ in zero field and a slow field dependence of $κ_0/T$ at low field are obtained. These results suggest that Au$_2$Pb has a fully gapped superconducting state in the bulk, which is a necessary condition for topological superconductor if Au$_2$Pb is indeed one.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

The Bluedisk Survey: molecular gas distribution and scaling relations in the context of galaxy evolution

One of the key goals of the Bluedisk survey is to characterize the impact of gas accretion in disc galaxies in the context of galaxy evolution. It contains 50 disc galaxies in the stellar mass range 10^10-10^11 Msun, of which half are bluer and more HI-rich galaxies than their HI-normal (control) counterparts. In this paper, we investigate how ongoing disc growth affects the molecular gas distribution and the star-formation efficiency in these galaxies. We present 12CO observations from the IRAM 30-m telescope in 26 galaxies of the Bluedisk survey. We compare the amount and spatial distribution of the molecular gas to key quantities such as atomic gas, stellar mass and surface density, star-formation rate and metallicity. We analyse the star-formation rate per unit gas (SFR/HI and SFR/H2) and relate all those parameters to general galaxy properties (HI-rich/control disc, morphology, etc.). We find that the HI-rich galaxies have similar H2 masses as the control galaxies. In their centres, HI-rich galaxies have lower H2/HI ratios and marginally shorter molecular gas depletion times. However, the main differences between the two samples occur in the outer parts of the discs, with the HI-rich galaxies having slightly smaller CO discs (relative to the optical radius R25) and steeper CO and metallicity gradients than the control galaxies. The ongoing accretion of HI at large radii has thus not led to an appreciable growth of the CO discs in our sample. Based on depletion times, we estimate that this gas will contribute to star formation on time-scales of at least 5 Gyr.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Computational study of atomic mobility in HCP Mg-Al-Zn ternary alloys

The experimental data in the literature for the hcp phase of the Mg-Al-Zn ternary system have been critically reviewed. Based on the concentration profiles from the literature, the diffusion coefficients have been re-extracted using the Hall method for the impurity diffusion, and the Sauer-Freise and the Whittle-Green strategies for interdiffusion coefficients in binary and ternary systems, respectively. Moreover, extra interdiffusion coefficients were obtained from the Darken-type couples, which present relative maxima or/and minima at the concentration profiles. This information was assessed to obtain an atomic mobility database, by means of DICTRA software in conjunction with the CALPHAD thermodynamic description that is able to reproduce the diffusion couple experiments. Comprehensive comparisons between the calculated results and experimental values show an excellent agreement not only for the diffusion coefficient data, but also for the concentration profiles and the diffusion paths.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Rabi oscillation induced $π$-phase flip in an unbalanced Ramsey atom interferometer

We present an observation of zero to $π$ phase flips induced by Rabi oscillation in an unbalanced Ramsey atom interferometer. The phase shift and visibility are experimentally investigated by modulating either the polarization or duration of Raman lasers, and they are well explained by a theoretical model. In an atom interferometer, the $π$-phase flips are caused not only by the sign of Rabi frequency but also by the Rabi oscillation. Considering the $π$-phase flips, we propose the composite-light-pulse sequences for realizing the large-momentum-transfer beam splitter and mirror, which have the high immunity to the external phase noise in building the cold atom interferometer.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Strength of Cu-TiN and Al-TiN interfaces from first-principles

Using density functional theory (DFT) based first principles calculations, we show that the preferred interfacial plane orientation relationship is determined by the strength of bonding at the interface. The thermodynamic stability, and the ideal tensile and shear strengths of Cu/TiN and Al/TiN interfaces are calculated. While there is a strong orientation relation (OR) preference for Al/TiN interface, there is no OR preference for Cu/TiN interface. Both the ideal tensile and shear strengths of Cu/TiN interfaces are lower than those of bulk Cu and TiN, suggesting such interfaces are weaker than their bulk components. By comparison, the ideal strengths of Al/TiN interface are comparable to the constituents in the bulk form. Such contrasting interfaces can be a test-bed for studying the role of interfaces in determining the mechanical behavior of the nanolayered structures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

The frequency and properties of young tidal dwarf galaxies in nearby gas-rich groups

We present high-resolution Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) HI observations and deep Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) optical imaging of two galaxy groups: NGC 4725/47 and NGC 3166/9. These data are part of a multi-wavelength unbiased survey of the gas-rich dwarf galaxy populations in three nearby interacting galaxy groups. The NGC 4725/47 group hosts two tidal knots and one dIrr. Both tidal knots are located within a prominent HI tidal tail, appear to have sufficient mass (M_gas~10^8 M_sol) to evolve into long-lived tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) and are fairly young in age. The NGC 3166/9 group contains a TDG candidate, AGC 208457, at least three dIrrs and four HI knots. Deep CFHT imaging confirms that the optical component of AGC 208457 is bluer -- with a 0.28 mag g-r colour -- and a few Gyr younger than its purported parent galaxies. Combining the results for these groups with those from the NGC 871/6/7 group reported earlier, we find that the HI properties, estimated stellar ages and baryonic content of the gas-rich dwarfs clearly distinguish tidal features from their classical counterparts. We optimistically identify four potentially long-lived tidal objects associated to three separate pairs of interacting galaxies, implying that TDGs are not readily produced during interaction events as suggested by some recent simulations. The tidal objects examined in this survey also appear to have a wider variety of properties than TDGs of similar mass formed in current simulations of interacting galaxies, which could be the result of pre- or post-formation environmental influences.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Temporal characterization of ultrashort linearly chirped electron bunches generated from a laser wakefield accelerator

A new method for diagnosing the temporal characteristics of ultrashort electron bunches with linear energy chirp generated from a laser wakefield accelerator is described. When the ionization-injected bunch interacts with the back of the drive laser, it is deflected and stretched along the direction of the electric field of the laser. Upon exiting the plasma, if the bunch goes through a narrow slit in front of the dipole magnet that disperses the electrons in the plane of the laser polarization, it can form a series of bunchlets that have different energies but are separated by half a laser wavelength. Since only the electrons that are undeflected by the laser go through the slit, the energy spectrum of the bunch is modulated. By analyzing the modulated energy spectrum, the shots where the bunch has a linear energy chirp can be recognized. Consequently, the energy chirp and beam current profile of those bunches can be reconstructed. This method is demonstrated through particle-in-cell simulations and experiment.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Accumulative magnetic switching of ultra-high-density recording media by circularly polarized light

Manipulation of the magnetization by external energies other than magnetic field, such as spin-polarized current1-4, electric voltage5,6 and circularly polarized light7-11 gives a paradigm shift in magnetic nanodevices. Magnetization control of ferromagnetic materials only by circularly polarized light has received increasing attention both as a fundamental probe of the interactions of light and magnetism but also for future high-density magnetic recording technologies. Here we show that for granular FePt films, designed for ultrahigh-density recording, the optical magnetic switching by circularly polarized light is an accumulative effect from multiple optical pulses. We further show that deterministic switching of high anisotropy materials by the combination of circularly polarized light and modest external magnetic fields, thus revealing a pathway towards technological implementation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

MCP-based Photodetectors for Cryogenic Applications

The Argonne MCP-based photo detector is an offshoot of the Large Area Pico-second Photo Detector (LAPPD) project, wherein 6 cm x 6 cm sized detectors are made at Argonne National Laboratory. We have successfully built and tested our first detectors for pico-second timing and few mm spatial resolution. We discuss our efforts to customize these detectors to operate in a cryogenic environment. Initial plans aim to operate in liquid argon. We are also exploring ways to mitigate wave length shifting requirements and also developing bare-MCP photodetectors to operate in a gaseous cryogenic environment.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Planet Hunters X. KIC 8462852 - Where's the Flux?

Over the duration of the Kepler mission, KIC8462852 was observed to undergo irregularly shaped, aperiodic dips in flux of up to $\sim 20$\%. The dipping activity can last for between 5 and 80 days. We characterize the object with high-resolution spectroscopy, spectral energy distribution fitting, radial velocity measurements, high-resolution imaging, and Fourier analyses of the Kepler light curve. We determine that KIC8462852 is a typical main-sequence F3 V star that exhibits no significant IR excess, and has no very close interacting companions. In this paper, we describe various scenarios to explain the dipping events observed in the Kepler light curve. We confirm that the dipping signals in the data are not caused by any instrumental or data processing artifact, and thus are astrophysical in origin. We construct scenario-independent constraints on the size and location of a body in the system that is needed to reproduce the observations. We deliberate over several assorted stellar and circumstellar astrophysical scenarios, most of which have problems explaining the data in hand. By considering the observational constraints on dust clumps in orbit around a normal main-sequence star, we conclude that the scenario most consistent with the data in hand is the passage of a family of exocomet or planetesimal fragments, all of which are associated with a single previous break-up event, possibly caused by tidal disruption or thermal processing. The minimum total mass associated with these fragments likely exceeds $10^{-6}$~\mearth, corresponding to an original rocky body of $>100$~km in diameter. We discuss the necessity of future observations to help interpret the system.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2016

The SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: selecting emission line galaxies using the Fisher discriminant

We present a new selection technique of producing spectroscopic target catalogues for massive spectroscopic surveys for cosmology. This work was conducted in the context of the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), which will use ~200 000 emission line galaxies (ELGs) at 0.6<zspec<1.0 to obtain a precise baryon acoustic oscillation measurement. Our proposed selection technique is based on optical and near-infrared broad-band filter photometry. We used a training sample to define a quantity, the Fisher discriminant (linear combination of colours), which correlates best with the desired properties of the target: redshift and [OII] flux. The proposed selections are simply done by applying a cut on magnitudes and this Fisher discriminant. We used public data and dedicated SDSS spectroscopy to quantify the redshift distribution and [OII] flux of our ELG target selections. We demonstrate that two of our selections fulfil the initial eBOSS/ELG redshift requirements: for a target density of 180 deg^2, ~70% of the selected objects have 0.6<zspec<1.0 and only ~1% of those galaxies in the range 0.6<zspec<1.0 are expected to have a catastrophic zspec estimate. Additionally, the stacked spectra and stacked deep images for those two selections show characteristic features of star-forming galaxies. The proposed approach using the Fisher discriminant could, however, be used to efficiently select other galaxy populations, based on multi-band photometry, providing that spectroscopic information is available. This technique could thus be useful for other future massive spectroscopic surveys such as PFS, DESI, and 4MOST.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The SVOM gamma-ray burst mission

We briefly present the science capabilities, the instruments, the operations, and the expected performance of the SVOM mission. SVOM (Space-based multiband astronomical Variable Objects Monitor) is a Chinese-French space mission dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the next decade. The SVOM mission encompasses a satellite carrying four instruments to detect and localize the prompt GRB emission and measure the evolution of the afterglow in the visible band and in X-rays, a VHF communication system enabling the fast transmission of SVOM alerts to the ground, and a ground segment including a wide angle camera and two follow-up telescopes. The pointing strategy of the satellite has been optimized to favor the detection of GRBs located in the night hemisphere. This strategy enables the study of the optical emission in the first minutes after the GRB with robotic observatories and the early spectroscopy of the optical afterglow with large telescopes to measure the redshifts. The study of GRBs in the next decade will benefit from a number of large facilities in all wavelengths that will contribute to increase the scientific return of the mission. Finally, SVOM will operate in the era of the next generation of gravitational wave detectors, greatly contributing to searches for the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave triggers at Xray and gamma-ray energies.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

A Direct Linkage Between AGN Outflows in The Narrow-line Regions and The X-ray Emission From The Accretion disks

The origin of outflow in narrow-line region (NLR) of active galactic nucleus (AGN) is studied in this paper by focusing on the relationship between the [\ion{O}{3}]$λ$5007 line profile and the hard X-ray (in a bandpass of 2-10 keV) emission from the central SMBH in type-I AGNs. A sample of 47 local X-ray selected type-I AGNs at $z<0.2$ is extracted from the 2XMMi/SDSS DR7 catalog that is originally crossmatched by Pineau et al. The X-ray luminosities in an energy band from 2 to 10keV of these luminous AGNs range from $10^{42}$ to $10^{44}\ \mathrm{erg\ s^{-1}}$. A joint spectral analysis is performed on their optical and X-ray spectra, in which the [\ion{O}{3}] line profile is modeled by a sum of several Gaussian functions to quantify its deviation from a pure Gaussian function. The statistics allows us to identify a moderate correlation with a significance level of 2.78$σ$: luminous AGNs with stronger [\ion{O}{3}] blue asymmetry tend to have steeper hard X-ray spectra. By identifying a role of $L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$ on the correlation at a $2-3σ$ significance level in both direct and indirect ways, we argue that the photon index versus asymmetry correlation provides evidence that the AGN's outflow commonly observed in its NLR is related with the accretion process occurring around the central SMBH, which favors the wind/radiation model for the origin of the outflow in luminous AGNs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Bi-cross-validation for factor analysis

Factor analysis is over a century old, but it is still problematic to choose the number of factors for a given data set. The scree test is popular but subjective. The best performing objective methods are recommended on the basis of simulations. We introduce a method based on bi-cross-validation, using randomly held-out submatrices of the data to choose the number of factors. We find it performs better than the leading methods of parallel analysis (PA) and Kaiser's rule. Our performance criterion is based on recovery of the underlying factor-loading (signal) matrix rather than identifying the true number of factors. Like previous comparisons, our work is simulation based. Recent advances in random matrix theory provide principled choices for the number of factors when the noise is homoscedastic, but not for the heteroscedastic case. The simulations we choose are designed using guidance from random matrix theory. In particular, we include factors too small to detect, factors large enough to detect but not large enough to improve the estimate, and two classes of factors large enough to be useful. Much of the advantage of bi-cross-validation comes from cases with factors large enough to detect but too small to be well estimated. We also find that a form of early stopping regularization improves the recovery of the signal matrix.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2015

Versatile Directional Searches for Gravitational Waves with Pulsar Timing Arrays

By regularly monitoring the most stable millisecond pulsars over many years, pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are positioned to detect and study correlations in the timing behaviour of those pulsars. Gravitational waves (GWs) from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are an exciting potentially detectable source of such correlations. We describe a straight-forward technique by which a PTA can be "phased-up" to form time series of the two polarisation modes of GWs coming from a particular direction of the sky. Our technique requires no assumptions regarding the time-domain behaviour of a GW signal. This method has already been used to place stringent bounds on GWs from individual SMBHBs in circular orbits. Here, we describe the methodology and demonstrate the versatility of the technique in searches for a wide variety of GW signals including bursts with unmodeled waveforms. Using the first six years of data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array, we conduct an all-sky search for a detectable excess of GW power from any direction. For the lines of sight to several nearby massive galaxy clusters, we carry out a more detailed search for GW bursts with memory, which are distinct signatures of SMBHB mergers. In all cases, we find that the data are consistent with noise.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Timing analysis for 20 millisecond pulsars in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array

We present timing models for 20 millisecond pulsars in the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array. The precision of the parameter measurements in these models has been improved over earlier results by using longer data sets and modelling the non-stationary noise. We describe a new noise modelling procedure and demonstrate its effectiveness using simulated data. Our methodology includes the addition of annual dispersion measure (DM) variations to the timing models of some pulsars. We present the first significant parallax measurements for PSRs J1024-0719, J1045-4509, J1600-3053, J1603-7202, and J1730-2304, as well as the first significant measurements of some post-Keplerian orbital parameters in six binary pulsars, caused by kinematic effects. Improved Shapiro delay measurements have resulted in much improved pulsar mass measurements, particularly for PSRs J0437-4715 and J1909-3744 with $M_p=1.44\pm0.07$ $M_\odot$ and $M_p=1.47\pm0.03$ $M_\odot$ respectively. The improved orbital period-derivative measurement for PSR J0437-4715 results in a derived distance measurement at the 0.16% level of precision, $D=156.79\pm0.25$ pc, one of the most fractionally precise distance measurements of any star to date.

astro-ph.HE↗