arXiv subjects

Liancheng Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Liancheng Zhou.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Gamma-Ray Emission from the Crab Pulsar: A 17-Year Fermi-LAT Reanalysis

We present a reanalysis of 17 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations of the Crab pulsar obtained between 2008 August and 2025 August. Using monthly Jodrell Bank radio ephemerides, we assigned pulse phases to the LAT events and aligned the phase zero across the full data set. From this phase-aligned data set, we derived pulse profiles over 100 MeV to 300 GeV. The pulsed emission remains clearly detectable in the 10 to 20 GeV and 20 to 30 GeV bands, with H-test significances of 32.36 sigma and 11.59 sigma, respectively, but is not significantly detected in the 30 to 300 GeV band. Phase-resolved likelihood analysis was performed over 100 MeV to 30 GeV using 14 phase bins with comparable pulsed statistics. The fixed-window fractional fluxes show that the contribution of Peak 1 (P1) decreases steadily with energy, while those of Peak 2 (P2) and the Bridge increase, with P2 exceeding P1 above 10 GeV. Finally, the same phase-assignment framework also enables an off-pulse analysis from 100 MeV to 1 TeV, confirming the synchrotron and inverse-Compton components that dominate the emission in the selected off-pulse interval.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Possible GeV gamma-ray emission from the pulsar wind nebula in CTA 1

We report a detection of GeV $γ$-ray emission potentially originating from the pulsar wind nebula in CTA 1 by analyzing about 15 yr of Fermi Large Area Telescope data. By selecting an energy range from 50 GeV to 1 TeV to remove contamination from the $γ$-ray pulsar PSR J0007+7303, we have discovered an extended $γ$-ray source with a TS value of $\sim$ 44.94 in the region of CTA 1. The obtained flux is measured to be 6.71 $\pm$ 2.60 $\times$ $10^{-12}$ erg $\mathrm{cm}^{-2}$ $\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ with a spectral index of 1.61 $\pm$ 0.36, which allows for a smooth connection with the flux in the TeV band. CTA 1 is also considered to be associated with 1LHAASO J0007+7303u, which is an Ultra-High-Energy source listed in the recently published catalog of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory. We assume that the radiation originates from the pulsar wind nebula and that its multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution can be explained well with a time-dependent one-zone model.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Two Transient Quasi-periodic Oscillations in $γ$-Ray Emission from the Blazar S4 0954+658

In this work, we report periodicity search analyses in the gamma-ray light curve of the blazar S4 0954+658 monitoring undertaken by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Four analytical methods and a tool are adopted to detect any periodic flux modulation and corresponding significance level, revealing that (i) a 66 d quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) with the significance level of $> 5σ$ spanning over 600 d from 2015 to 2016 (MJD 57145--57745), resulting in continuous observation of nine cycles, which is one of the highest cycles discerned in blazar gamma-ray light curve; (ii) a possible QPO of 210 d at a moderate significance of $\sim3.5σ$ lasted for over 880 d from 2020 to 2022 (MJD 59035--59915), which lasted for four cycles. In addition, we discuss several physical models to explain the origin of the two transient QPOs and conclude that a geometrical scenario involving a plasma blob moving helically inside the jet can explain the time scale of the QPO.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Investigating the radiative properties of LHAASO J1908+0621

LHAASO J1908+0621 has been recently detected as a source emitting $γ$-rays with energies above 100 TeV, and the multiband observations show that a break around 1 TeV appears in the $γ$-ray spectrum. We have reanalyzed the GeV $γ$-ray properties for the 100 TeV source using 14 years of data recorded by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). The spectrum in the energy range range 30-500 GeV has an index of 1.50 $\pm$ 0.26, which is much smaller than that detected in the TeV $γ$-rays. Additionally, the radiation properties of this source are investigated based on a one-zone time-dependent model. In the model, LHAASO J1908+0621 is associated with a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by the pulsar PSR J1907$+$0602. High-energy particles composed of electrons and positrons are injected into the nebula. Multiband nonthermal emission is produced via synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering (ICS). Taking the effect of radiative energy losses and adiabatic cooling into account, the spectral energy distribution from the model with a broken power-law for the distribution of the injected particles can explain the detected fluxes in the $γ$-ray bands. The results support that LHAASO J1908+0621 originates from the PWN powered by PSR J1907$+$0602, and the $γ$-rays with energy above 100 TeV are produced by the electrons/positrons in the nebula via ICS.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Quasi-periodic behaviour in the $γ$-ray light curve of the blazar PKS 0405-385

We analyze the quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) of the historical light curve of FSRQs PKS 0405-385 detected by the Fermi LAT from August 2008 to November 2021. To identify and determine the QPO signal of PKS 0405-385 in the $γ$-ray light curve, we use four time series analysis techniques based on frequency and time domains, i.e., the Lomb-Scargle periodogram (LSP), the weighted wavelet z-transform (WWZ), the REDFIT and the epoch folding. The results show that PKS 0405-385 has a quasi-periodic behavior of $\sim$2.8 yr with the significance of $\sim$4.3$σ$ in Fermi long-term monitoring. Remarkably, we also performed QPO analysis in the G-band light curve observed from October 2014 to October 2021 using LSP and WWZ technology, and the results ($\sim$4$σ$ of significance) are consistent with the periodic detection in $γ$-ray. This may imply that the optical emission is radiated by an electron population same as the \gr\ emission. In discussing the possible mechanism of quasi-periodic behavior, either the helical motion within a jet or the supermassive black hole binary system provides a viable explanation for the QPO of 2.8 yr, and the relevant parameters have been estimated.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Kinetic Simulation on Electron, Proton and Helium Acceleration in a Nonrelativistic Quasiparallel shock

In addition to electrons and protons, nonrelativistic quasiparallel shocks are expected to possess the ability to accelerate heavy ions. The shocks in supernova remnants are generally supposed to be accelerators of the Galactic cosmic rays, which consist of many species of particles. We investigate diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of electrons, protons and helium ions in a nonrelativistic quasiparallel shock through 1D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation with a helium-to-proton number density ratio of $0.1$, which is relevant for the Galactic cosmic rays. The simulation indicates that waves can be excited by the flow of the energetic protons and helium ions upstream of the nonrelativistic quasiparallel shock with a sonic Mach number of 14 and an alfvén Mach number of 19.5 in the shock rest frame, and the charged particles are scattered by the self-generated waves and accelerated gradually. Moreover, the spectra of the charged particles downstream of the shock are thermal plus a nonthermal tail, and the acceleration is efficient with about $7\%$ and $5.4\%$ of the bulk kinetic energy transferred into the nonthermal protons and helium ions in the near downstream region at the end of the simulation, respectively.

astro-ph.HE↗