arXiv subjects

M. Xiao

Publications and source records attributed to M. Xiao.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

GOODS-ALMA 2.0: Starbursts in the main sequence reveal compact star formation regulating galaxy evolution prequenching

Compact star formation appears to be generally common in dusty star-forming galaxies (SFGs). However, its role in the framework set by the scaling relations in galaxy evolution remains to be understood. In this work we follow up on the galaxy sample from the GOODS-ALMA 2.0 survey, an ALMA blind survey at 1.1mm covering a continuous area of 72.42arcmin$^2$ using two array configurations. We derived physical properties, such as star formation rates, gas fractions, depletion timescales, and dust temperatures for the galaxy sample built from the survey. There exists a subset of galaxies that exhibit starburst-like short depletion timescales, but they are located within the scatter of the so-called main sequence of SFGs. These are dubbed starbursts in the main sequence and display the most compact star formation and they are characterized by the shortest depletion timescales, lowest gas fractions, and highest dust temperatures of the galaxy sample, compared to typical SFGs at the same stellar mass and redshift. They are also very massive, accounting for $\sim 60\%$ of the most massive galaxies in the sample ($\log (M_{\rm{*}}/M_{\odot}) > 11.0$). We find trends between the areas of the ongoing star formation regions and the derived physical properties for the sample, unveiling the role of compact star formation as a physical driver of these properties. Starbursts in the main sequence appear to be the extreme cases of these trends. We discuss possible scenarios of galaxy evolution to explain the results drawn from our galaxy sample. Our findings suggest that the star formation rate is sustained in SFGs by gas and star formation compression, keeping them within the main sequence even when their gas fractions are low and they are presumably on the way to quiescence.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

GOODS-ALMA 2.0: Source catalog, number counts, and prevailing compact sizes in 1.1 mm galaxies

Submillimeter/millimeter observations of dusty star-forming galaxies with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have shown that dust continuum emission generally occurs in compact regions smaller than the stellar distribution. However, it remains to be understood how systematic these findings are. Studies often lack homogeneity in the sample selection, target discontinuous areas with inhomogeneous sensitivities, and suffer from modest $uv$ coverage coming from single array configurations. GOODS-ALMA is a 1.1mm galaxy survey over a continuous area of 72.42arcmin$^2$ at a homogeneous sensitivity. In this version 2.0, we present a new low resolution dataset and its combination with the previous high resolution dataset from the survey, improving the $uv$ coverage and sensitivity reaching an average of $σ= 68.4μ$Jy beam$^{-1}$. A total of 88 galaxies are detected in a blind search (compared to 35 in the high resolution dataset alone), 50% at $S/N_{peak} \geq 5$ and 50% at $3.5 \leq S/N_{peak} \leq 5$ aided by priors. Among them, 13 out of the 88 are optically dark or faint sources ($H$- or $K$-band dropouts). The sample dust continuum sizes at 1.1mm are generally compact, with a median effective radius of $R_{e} = 0"10 \pm 0"05$ (a physical size of $R_{e} = 0.73 \pm 0.29$kpc at the redshift of each source). Dust continuum sizes evolve with redshift and stellar mass resembling the trends of the stellar sizes measured at optical wavelengths, albeit a lower normalization compared to those of late-type galaxies. We conclude that for sources with flux densities $S_{1.1mm} > 1$mJy, compact dust continuum emission at 1.1mm prevails, and sizes as extended as typical star-forming stellar disks are rare. The $S_{1.1mm} < 1$mJy sources appear slightly more extended at 1.1mm, although they are still generally compact below the sizes of typical star-forming stellar disks.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The antinucleus annihilation reconstruction algorithm of the GAPS experiment

The General AntiParticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is an Antarctic balloon-borne detector designed to measure low-energy cosmic antinuclei (< 0.25 GeV/n), with a specific focus on antideuterons, as a distinctive signal from dark matter annihilation or decay in the Galactic halo. The instrument consists of a tracker, made up of ten planes of lithium-drifted Silicon Si(Li) detectors, surrounded by a plastic scintillator Time-of-Flight system. GAPS uses a novel particle identification method based on exotic atom capture and decay with the emission of pions, protons, and atomic X-rays from a common annihilation vertex. An important ingredient for the antinuclei identification is the reconstruction of the "annihilation star" topology. A custom antinucleus annihilation reconstruction algorithm, called the "star-finding" algorithm, was developed to reconstruct the annihilation star fully, determining the annihilation vertex position and reconstructing the tracks of the primary and secondary charged particles. The reconstruction algorithm and its performances were studied on simulated data obtained with the Geant4-based GAPS simulation software, which fully reproduced the detector geometry. This custom algorithm was found to have better performance in the vertex resolution and reconstruction efficiency compared with a standard Hough-3D algorithm.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

Ultralow-power all-optical switching via a chiral Mach-Zehnder interferometer

All-optical switching increasingly plays an important role in optical information processing. However, simultaneous achievement of ultralow power consumption, broad bandwidth and high extinction ratio remains challenging. We experimentally demonstrate an ultralow-power all-optical switching by exploiting chiral interaction between light and optically active material in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). We achieve switching extinction ratio of 20.0(3.8) and 14.7(2.8) dB with power cost of 66.1(0.7) and 1.3(0.1) fJ/bit, respectively. The bandwidth of our all-optical switching is about 4.2 GHz. Our theoretical analysis shows that the switching bandwidth can, in principle, exceed 110 GHz. Moreover, the switching has the potential to be operated at few-photon level. Our all-optical switching exploits a chiral MZI made of linear optical components. It excludes the requisite of high-quality optical cavity or large optical nonlinearity, thus greatly simplifying realization. Our scheme paves the way towards ultralow-power and ultrafast all-optical information processing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Cosmic antihelium-3 nuclei sensitivity of the GAPS experiment

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is an Antarctic balloon experiment designed for low-energy (0.1$-$0.3 GeV/$n$) cosmic antinuclei as signatures of dark matter annihilation or decay. GAPS is optimized to detect low-energy antideuterons, as well as to provide unprecedented sensitivity to low-energy antiprotons and antihelium nuclei. The novel GAPS antiparticle detection technique, based on the formation, decay, and annihilation of exotic atoms, provides greater identification power for these low-energy antinuclei than previous magnetic spectrometer experiments. This work reports the sensitivity of GAPS to detect antihelium-3 nuclei, based on full instrument simulation, event reconstruction, and realistic atmospheric influence simulations. The report of antihelium nuclei candidate events by AMS-02 has generated considerable interest in antihelium nuclei as probes of dark matter and other beyond the Standard Model theories. GAPS is in a unique position to detect or set upper limits on the cosmic antihelium nuclei flux in an energy range that is essentially free of astrophysical background. In three 35-day long-duration balloon flights, GAPS will be sensitive to an antihelium flux on the level of $1.3^{+4.5}_{-1.2}\cdot 10^{-6}\mathrm{m^{-2}sr^{-1}s^{-1}}(\mathrm{GeV}/n)^{-1}$ (95% confidence level) in the energy range of 0.11$-$0.3 GeV/$n$, opening a new window on rare cosmic physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

GOODS-ALMA: Using IRAC and VLA to probe fainter millimeter galaxies

In this paper, we extend the source detection in the GOODS-ALMA field (69 arcmin$^2$, rms sensitivity $σ$ $\simeq$ 0.18 mJy.beam$^{-1}$), to deeper levels than presented in Franco et al. (2018). Using positional information at 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m (from Spitzer-IRAC), we explore the presence of galaxies detected at 1.1 mm with ALMA below our original blind detection limit of 4.8-$σ$ at which the number of spurious sources starts to dominate over that of real sources. In this Supplementary Catalog, we find a total of 16 galaxies, including 2 galaxies with no counterpart in HST images (also known as optically-dark galaxies) down to a 5$σ$ limiting depth of H = 28.2 AB (HST/WFC3 F160W). This brings the total sample of GOODS-ALMA 1.1 mm sources to 35 galaxies. Galaxies in the new sample cover a wider dynamic range in redshift ($z$ = 0.65 - 4.73), are on average twice as large (1.3 vs 0.65 kpc) and and have lower stellar mass (M$_{\star}^{\rm SC}$ = 7.6$\times$10$^{10}$M$_\odot$ vs M$_{\star}^{\rm MC}$ = 1.2$\times$10$^{11}$M$_\odot$). Although exhibiting larger physical sizes, these galaxies have still far-infrared sizes significantly more compact than inferred from their optical emission. We show that the astrometry of the HST image does not only suffer from a global astrometric shift, as already discussed in previous papers, but also from local shifts. These distortions were artificially introduced in the process of building the mosaic of the GOODS-South HST image. By comparing the positions of almost 400 galaxies detected by HST, Pan-STARRS and ALMA, we create a distortion map which can be used to correct for these astrometric issues.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

GOODS-ALMA: The slow downfall of star-formation in $z$ = 2-3 massive galaxies

We investigate the properties of a sample of 35 galaxies, detected with ALMA at 1.1 mm in the GOODS-ALMA field (area of 69 arcmin$^2$, resolution = 0.60", RMS $\simeq$ 0.18 mJy beam$^{-1}$). Using the UV-to-radio deep multiwavelength coverage of the GOODS-South field, we fit the spectral energy distributions of these galaxies to derive their key physical properties. The galaxies detected by ALMA are among the most massive at $z$ = 2-4 (M$_{\star,med}$ = 8.5$ \times$ 10$^{10}$ M$_\odot$) and are either starburst or located in the upper part of the galaxy star-forming main sequence. A significant portion of our galaxy population ($\sim$ 40%), located at $z\sim$ 2.5-3, exhibits abnormally low gas fractions. The sizes of these galaxies, measured with ALMA, are compatible with the trend between $H$-band size and stellar mass observed for $z\sim2$ elliptical galaxies suggesting that they are building compact bulges. We show that there is a strong link between star formation surface density (at 1.1 mm) and gas depletion time: the more compact a galaxy's star-forming region is, the shorter its lifetime will be (without gas replenishment). The identified compact sources associated with relatively short depletion timescales ($\sim$100 Myr), are the ideal candidates to be the progenitors of compact elliptical galaxies at $z$ $\sim$ 2.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Non-Gaussian Nature and Entanglement of Spontaneous Parametric Nondegenerate Triple-Photon Generation

How to prepare deterministically non-Gaussian entangled states is a fundamental question for continuous-variable quantum information technology. Here, we theoretically demonstrate through numerical methods that the triple-photon state generated by three-photon spontaneous parametric down-conversion is a pure super-Gaussian resource of non-Gaussian entanglement. Interestingly, the degree of entanglement between the modes of the triple-photon state is stronger than that corresponding to the two-mode squeezed vacuum state produced by a quadratic Hamiltonian with the same parameters. Furthermore, we propose a model to prepare two-mode non-Gaussian entangled states with tunable non-Gaussianity based on quadrature projection measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Spectroscopic Monitoring of Blazar S5 0716+714: Brightness-Dependent Spectral Behavior

In this paper, we report the new results of spectroscopic observations of $γ$-ray blazar S5 0716+714 from 2019 September to 2020 March with the 2.4 m optical telescope at Lijiang Observatory of Yunnan Observatories. The median cadence of observations is $\sim$ 1 day. During the second observation period (Epoch2), the observational data reveal an extremely bright state and a bluer-when-brighter (BWB) chromatism. The BWB trend of Epoch2 differs significantly from that of the first observation period (Epoch1). A significantly brightness-dependent BWB chromatism emerges in the total data of Epoch1 and Epoch2. The BWB trend becomes weaker towards the brighter states, and likely becomes saturated at the highest state. Based on a log-parabolic function, a power-law of synchrotron peak flux and frequency $ν_{\rm{p}}$, and a power-law of the curvature of synchrotron spectrum and its $ν_{\rm{p}}$, simulation well reproduces the brightness-dependent BWB trend of S5 0716+714. The BWB trend is seemingly controlled by the shift of $ν_{\rm{p}}$ with respect to the observational window, and effectively may be dominated by the variations of electron average energy and magnetic field in emitting region.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Cosmic-ray Antinuclei as Messengers of New Physics: Status and Outlook for the New Decade

The precise measurement of cosmic-ray antinuclei serves as an important means for identifying the nature of dark matter and other new astrophysical phenomena, and could be used with other cosmic-ray species to understand cosmic-ray production and propagation in the Galaxy. For instance, low-energy antideuterons would provide a "smoking gun" signature of dark matter annihilation or decay, essentially free of astrophysical background. Studies in recent years have emphasized that models for cosmic-ray antideuterons must be considered together with the abundant cosmic antiprotons and any potential observation of antihelium. Therefore, a second dedicated Antideuteron Workshop was organized at UCLA in March 2019, bringing together a community of theorists and experimentalists to review the status of current observations of cosmic-ray antinuclei, the theoretical work towards understanding these signatures, and the potential of upcoming measurements to illuminate ongoing controversies. This review aims to synthesize this recent work and present implications for the upcoming decade of antinuclei observations and searches. This includes discussion of a possible dark matter signature in the AMS-02 antiproton spectrum, the most recent limits from BESS Polar-II on the cosmic antideuteron flux, and reports of candidate antihelium events by AMS-02; recent collider and cosmic-ray measurements relevant for antinuclei production models; the state of cosmic-ray transport models in light of AMS-02 and Voyager data; and the prospects for upcoming experiments, such as GAPS. This provides a roadmap for progress on cosmic antinuclei signatures of dark matter in the coming years.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Quasi-simultaneous Spectroscopic and Multi-band Photometric Observations of Blazar S5 0716+714 during 2018-2019

In order to study short timescale optical variability of $γ$-ray blazar S5 0716+714, quasi-simultaneous spectroscopic and multi-band photometric observations were performed from 2018 November to 2019 March with the 2.4 m optical telescope located at Lijiang Observatory of Yunnan Observatories. The observed spectra are well fitted with a power-law $F_λ=Aλ^{-α}$ (spectral index $α>0$). Correlations found between $\dotα$, $\dot{A}$, $\dot{A}/A$, $\dot{F_{\rmλ}}$, and $\dot{F_{\rmλ}}/F_{\rmλ}$ are consistent with the trend of bluer-when-brighter (BWB). \textbf{The same case is for colors, magnitudes, color variation rates, and magnitude variation rates of photometric observations.} The variations of $α$ lead those of $F_{\rmλ}$. Also, the color variations lead the magnitude variations. The observational data are mostly distributed in the I(+,+) and III(-,-) quadrants of coordinate system. Both of spectroscopic and photometric observations show BWB behaviors in S5 0716+714. The observed BWB may be explained by the shock-jet model, and its appearance may depend on the relative position of the observational frequency ranges with respect to the synchrotron peak frequencies, e.g., at the left of the peak frequencies. \textbf{Fractional variability amplitudes are $F_{\rm{var}}\sim 40\%$ for both of spectroscopic and photometric observations. Variations of $α$ indicate variations of relativistic electron distribution producing the optical spectra. }

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Developing a mass-production model of large-area Si(Li) detectors with high operating temperatures

This study presents a fabrication process for lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors that, compared to previous methods, allows for mass production at a higher yield, while providing a large sensitive area and low leakage currents at relatively high temperatures. This design, developed for the unique requirements of the General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment, has an overall diameter of 10 cm, with ~9 cm of active area segmented into 8 readout strips, and an overall thickness of 2.5 mm, with $\gtrsim$2.2 mm ($\gtrsim$90%) sensitive thickness. An energy resolution $\lesssim$4 keV full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) for 20-100 keV X-rays is required at the operating temperature ~-40C, which is far above the liquid nitrogen temperatures conventionally used to achieve fine energy resolution. High-yield production is also required for GAPS, which consists of $\gtrsim$1000 detectors. Our specially-developed Si crystal and custom methods of Li evaporation, diffusion and drifting allow for a thick, large-area and uniform sensitive layer. We find that retaining a thin undrifted layer on the p-side of the detector drastically reduces the leakage current, which is a dominant component of the energy resolution at these temperatures. A guard-ring structure and optimal etching of the detector surface are also confirmed to suppress the leakage current. We report on the mass production of these detectors that is ongoing now, and demonstrate it is capable of delivering a high yield of ~90%.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

GAPS: Searching for Dark Matter using Antinuclei in Cosmic Rays

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) will carry out a sensitive dark matter search by measuring low-energy ($\mathrm{E} < 0.25 \mathrm{GeV/nucleon}$) cosmic ray antinuclei. The primary targets are low-energy antideuterons produced in the annihilation or decay of dark matter. At these energies antideuterons from secondary/tertiary interactions are expected to have very low fluxes, significantly below those predicted by well-motivated, beyond the standard model theories. GAPS will also conduct low-energy antiproton and antihelium searches. Combined, these observations will provide a powerful search for dark matter and provide the best observations to date on primordial black hole evaporation on Galactic length scales. The GAPS instrument detects antinuclei using the novel exotic atom technique. It consists of a central tracker with a surrounding time-of-flight (TOF) system. The tracker is a one cubic meter volume containing 10 cm-diameter lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors. The TOF is a plastic scintillator system that will both trigger the Si(Li) tracker and enable better reconstruction of particle tracks. After coming to rest in the tracker, antinuclei will form an excited exotic atom. This will then de-excite via characteristic X-ray transitions before producing a pion/proton star when the antiparticle annihilates with the nucleus. This unique event topology will give GAPS the nearly background-free detection capability required for a rare-event search. Here we present the scientific motivation for the GAPS experiment, its design and its current status as it prepares for flight in the austral summer of 2021-22.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

Development of Large-area Lithium-drifted Silicon Detectors for the GAPS Experiment

We have developed large-area lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors to meet the unique requirements of the General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment. GAPS is an Antarctic balloon-borne mission scheduled for the first flight in late 2020. The GAPS experiment aims to survey low-energy cosmic-ray antinuclei, particularly antideuterons, which are recognized as essentially background-free signals from dark matter annihilation or decay. The GAPS Si(Li) detector design is a thickness of 2.5 mm, diameter of 10 cm and 8 readout strips. The energy resolution of <4 keV (FWHM) for 20 to 100 keV X-rays at temperature of -35 to -45 C, far above the liquid nitrogen temperatures frequently used to achieve fine energy resolution, is required. We developed a high-quality Si crystal and Li-evaporation, diffusion and drift methods to form a uniform Li-drifted layer. Guard ring structure and optimal etching of the surface are confirmed to suppress the leakage current, which is a main source of noise. We found a thin un-drifted layer retained on the p-side effectively suppresses the leakage current. By these developments, we succeeded in developing the GAPS Si(Li) detector. As the ultimate GAPS instrument will require >1000 10-cm diameter Si(Li) detectors to achieve high sensitivity to rare antideuteron events, high-yield production is also a key factor for the success of the GAPS mission.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Spin tracking of polarized protons in the Main Injector at Fermilab

The Main Injector (MI) at Fermilab currently produces high-intensity beams of protons at energies of 120 GeV for a variety of physics experiments. Acceleration of polarized protons in the MI would provide opportunities for a rich spin physics program at Fermilab. To achieve polarized proton beams in the Fermilab accelerator complex, detailed spin tracking simulations with realistic parameters based on the existing facility are required. This report presents studies at the MI using a single 4-twist Siberian snake to determine the depolarizing spin resonances for the relevant synchrotrons. Results will be presented first for a perfect MI lattice, followed by a lattice that includes the real MI imperfections, such as the measured magnet field errors and quadrupole misalignments. The tolerances of each of these factors in maintaining polarization in the Main Injector will be discussed.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Beam Extraction From The Recycler Ring To P1 Line At Fermilab

The transfer line for beam extraction from the Recycler ring to P1 line provides a way to deliver 8 GeV kinetic energy protons from the Booster to the Delivery ring, via the Recycler, using existing beam transport lines, and without the need for new civil construction. It was designed in 2012. The kicker magnets at RR520 and the lambertson magnet at RR522 in the RR were installed in 2014 Summer Shutdown, the elements of RR to P1 Stub (permanent quads, trim quads, correctors, BPMs, the toroid at 703 and vertical bending dipole at V703 (ADCW) were installed in 2015 Summer Shutdown. On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, beam line from the Recycler Ring to P1 line was commissioned. The detailed results will be presented in this report.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2015

Electrical and optical studies of GaMnAs/GaAs(001) thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

GaMnAs/GaAs films were grown via molecular beam epitaxy using both low and high substrate temperatures. The films were investigated using Hall effect and photoluminescence (PL) measurements from 8 to 300 K. The carrier concentrations in the samples grown at a low substrate temperature are greater than those in the samples grown at a high substrate temperature. The PL spectra show a GaAs exciton peak, a peak involving a carbon acceptor, a substitutional Mn acceptor-related peak and an optical phonon-related peak.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Growth of and optical emission from GaMnAs thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

GaMnAs thin films with different Mn doping concentrations were grown via molecular beam epitaxy using a substrate temperature of 250 °C. The thin films were investigated using photoluminescence (PL) measurements from 8 to 300 K. Transitions involving Mn acceptors were identified and a binding energy of ~0.1 eV was found. A Mn doping concentration dependent PL spectrum was found to lend insight into the film quality at a local level. Temperature dependent PL studies show that the doping related emissions drop faster in energy than other peaks with increasing temperature, indicating that they are more sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗