arXiv subjects

S. Chen

Publications and source records attributed to S. Chen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

Photolithography-Only Fabrication of Transmons Using Double-Oblique Evaporation

We investigate a photolithography-only fabrication process for transmon Josephson junctions using a modified double-oblique evaporation geometry. Using a bilayer resist process and Al shadow evaporation, we fabricate junction structures and confirm by optical and scanning electron microscopy that the resulting narrowed crossing region reaches a geometrical area on the order of $10^4~\mathrm{nm}^2$, which lies in the size range relevant to qubit junction fabrication. Room-temperature resistance screening shows that the junction resistance falls within the target range for the present transmon design over a usable process window and exhibits a clear design dependence. We further implement fabricated junctions in transmon devices and evaluate them in a three-dimensional Al cavity at $20 \, \mathrm{mK}$, where we observe basic transmon qubit operation with $f_{01}$=4.865 GHz, $T_1 \sim 9 \, μ\mathrm{s}$, and $T_2^* \sim 0.4 \, μ\mathrm{s}$. These results demonstrate the feasibility of realizing functional transmon devices in a photolithography-only process using double-oblique evaporation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

TeV-scale neutrino cross-section measurement using upward through-going muons in Super-Kamiokande

Neutrinos provide a unique probe of both particle physics and the high-energy universe, traversing astronomical distances with minimal interaction. Their charged-current scattering cross section encodes fundamental information about weak interactions and nucleon structure across a vast energy range, yet measurements at TeV energies remain sparse. Here we report the first determination of the flux-averaged muon neutrino and anti-neutrino charged-current total cross section using high-energy atmospheric neutrinos observed in Super-Kamiokande. Using 3989 upward through-going muon events collected over 4269 days, together with a Bayesian fit to atmospheric flux and detector simulations, we measure the flux-averaged charged-current cross section in the 500-5000 GeV range to be $σ/E_ν=(0.51\pm 0.11)\times 10^{-38}$ cm$^2$GeV$^{-1}$, with the highest precision to date in the TeV regime. Our results are consistent with accelerator-based measurements at lower energies and collider-based measurements at higher energies, bridging a critical gap between accelerator experiments and neutrino telescopes. This work demonstrates the capability of large underground detectors to perform precision cross-section measurements with atmospheric neutrinos, opening a new window for probing Standard Model physics and potential new physics searches at multi-TeV energies.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

An X-ray and optical spectral study of the changing-look narrow-line Seyfert 1 2MASX J0413-0050

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) showing dramatic spectral and flux variations, either due to changes in the accretion rate (changing-state, CS-AGN) of the supermassive black hole or in the line-of-sight column density (changing-obscuration, CO-AGN), have been classified as changing-look (CL) AGN. Here we present a peculiar source, 2MASX J0413-0050, first identified as a narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1s) galaxy in 2004. When re-observed twice in 2021, it showed a transition in the spectral type (towards a Seyfert 1.9) and the complete and mysterious disappearance of the Hbeta line while source was in a high accretion state. In the meantime, the X-ray flux decreased between observations taken in 2020 and 2022, and again in the most recent spectrum of 2023. Shortly after this, another optical spectrum revealed the re-emergence of both the narrow and broad Hbeta components (Seyfert 1.8). Despite the fact that it was not possible to retrieve the line-of-sight column density from the X-ray spectra, which would have helped in assessing whether this event could be attributed to a CO AGN scenario, the observational evidence does not necessarily support such an interpretation. J0413-0050 may have undergone several switch-on switch-off phases over the past 20 years, on an unknown timescale, which could have affected the accretion power and, consequently, the optical continuum and so the emission lines coming from the broad-line region (BLR). For these reasons, it is reasonable to classify this source as a CS-AGN. The case of J0413-0050 supports the hypothesis that NLS1s can indeed experience CL phenomena.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Ultra-high-energy $γ$-ray imprints from PeV particles accelerated by supernova remnants

The quest for the origin of cosmic ray (CRs) is a fundamental issue in astrophysics. Shocks of supernova remnants (SNRs) have been considered as the dominant contributors to Galactic CRs below the spectral knee near $\sim 3$ petaelectronvolt (PeV). Whether SNRs are efficient accelerators of particles beyond PeV energies has long been debated. Here we report observations of very-high-energy $γ$-ray emission up to hundreds of TeV from two middle age shell-type SNRs, G150.3$+$4.5 and $γ$-Cygni, with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Two (or three) distinct morphological/spectral components with convex spectral shapes are observed in both sources, with the low-energy one being more extended than the high-energy one. %Although it is possible that these high-energy components may be driven by powerful pulsars, The likely association of the high-energy component with molecular clouds at similar distances, and the weakness/absence of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) inside these SNRs clearly indicate for the first time that the highest energy emission is produced by collision of hadronic CRs up to PeV energies with the clouds. These results are compatible with the classic model prediction that PeV particles accelerated near the end of the free expansion phase of SNR evolution can illuminate nearby molecular clouds (MCs) to produce strong $γ$-ray emission.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Search for proton decay via $p \to e^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ and $p \to μ^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ in 0.401 megaton-years exposure of Super-Kamiokande I-V

We searched for proton decay via $p \to e^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ and $p \to μ^{+}π^{0}π^{0}$ in 0.401 megaton-years of data collected in all pure water detector phases of Super-Kamiokande (SK) I-V. A theoretical study predicts proton decay rates without assuming a particular grand unified theory and suggests that three-body proton decays involving two pions can have decay rates comparable to those of $p \to e^{+}π^{0}$ and $p \to μ^{+}π^{0}$. This is the first search for proton decay into a charged anti-lepton and two neutral pions in SK. One data candidate event was found for each of the two decay modes, which is consistent with the expected atmospheric neutrino background. We set lower limits on the lifetime of $τ/B(p \to e^{+}π^{0}π^{0}) > 7.2 \times 10^{33}$ years and $τ/B(p \to μ^{+}π^{0}π^{0}) > 4.5 \times 10^{33}$ years at 90 $\%$ confidence level. These limits are more than one order of magnitude higher than those of the previous experiment.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Cygnus X-3: A variable petaelectronvolt gamma-ray source

We report the discovery of variable $γ$-rays up to petaelectronvolt from Cygnus X-3, an iconic X-ray binary. The $γ$-ray signal was detected with a statistical significance of approximately 10 $σ$ by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Its intrinsic spectral energy distribution (SED), extending from 0.06 to 3.7 PeV, shows a pronounced rise toward 1 PeV after accounting for absorption by the cosmic microwave background radiation. We find variability on month-long timescales at a significance of $8.6 σ$, coinciding with a high state of the GeV gamma-ray flux detected by the Fermi-LAT. This,together with a 3.2$σ$ evidence for orbital modulation, suggests that the PeV $γ$-rays originate within, or in close proximity to, the binary system itself. The observed energy spectrum and temporal modulation can be naturally explained by $γ$-ray production through photomeson processes in the innermost region of the relativistic jet, where protons need to be accelerated to tens of PeV energies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Development of Faster and More Accurate Supernova Localization at Super-Kamiokande

The next nearby core-collapse supernova (SN) promises to yield a treasure of scientific information through multi-messenger astronomy. Early observations of the shock breakout (SBO) emissions are especially critical to understand the SN explosive mechanism as well as the properties of the progenitor star. Neutrino observatories are able to provide an early alert of a SN before the arrival of the SBO radiation. Super-Kamiokande (SK) has the unique capability to independently reconstruct an accurate SN pointing direction as part of its real-time monitoring system, ``SNWATCH.'' Recent upgrades to SK by adding gadolinium (Gd) to the detection volume have been accompanied by efforts to improve the speed and accuracy of SN direction reconstruction. A new, novel HEALPix-based approach (``HP-Fitter'') can calculate the SN direction from the reconstructed burst event directions in less than one second. As well, the previous maximum-likelihood direction fitter (``ML-Fitter'') was upgraded by incorporating event information from Gd neutron-capture as well as using the HP-Fitter for the initial fit parameters and from code refactoring and optimization. The improved ML-Fitter has better angular resolution but direction reconstruction time is $\mathcal{O}$(sec). Together with improvements in burst detection and event reconstruction times, SNWATCH is now able to generate an SN alert with pointing information in about 90 seconds. These upgrades have been implemented at SK and integrated into a new automated system to provide GCN notices.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Experimental Results from Early Non-Planar NI-HTS Magnet Prototypes for the Columbia Stellarator eXperiment (CSX)

The Columbia Stellarator eXperiment (CSX) is an upgrade of the Columbia Non-neutral Torus (CNT) that aims to demonstrate a university-scale, quasi-axisymmetric stellarator using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technology at an on-axis magnetic field target of 0.5 T. Due to the strain sensitivity of ReBCO (Rare-earth Barium Copper Oxides), adapting it to non-planar stellarator geometries requires new winding, structural, and cooling strategies. We report on the results of a staged prototype program (P1, P2, P3) employing 3D-printed, sectional aluminum coil frames with winding channels, gimballed constant-tension winding mechanics, and solder potting for radial current redistribution and passive quench mitigation. The first prototype, P1 (planar elliptical, double-pancake) tested additive manufacture, sectional joining and baseline winding, achieving predicted fields at 77 K. P2 (non-planar, higher strain) was wound to 42 turns, energized at 30-40 K to produce expected magnetic fields, and studied thermal gradients and resistance at up to 4.5 kAt. Design evolution in P3 introduces concave geometry with dual double-pancakes, 200 turns, and approaches the 70 kAt target at 20 K. In parallel, sub-microhm lap joints have been developed. Together, these results de-risk manufacturing, cooling interfaces, quench management, and diagnostics, paving the way for full-size non-planar HTS stellarator coils for CSX.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2026

Precise Measurement of the Cosmic Ray Helium Spectrum above 0.1 PeV

We report a measurement of the cosmic ray helium energy spectrum in the energy interval 0.16 -- 13~PeV, derived by subtracting the proton spectrum from the light component~(proton and helium) spectrum obtained with observations made by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory~(LHAASO) under a consistent energy scale. The helium spectrum shows a significant hardening centered at $E \simeq$ 1.1~PeV, followed by a softening at $\sim$ 7 PeV, indicating the appearance of a helium `knee'. Comparing the proton and helium spectra in the LHAASO energy range reveals some remarkable facts. In the lower part of this range, in contrast to the behavior at lower energies, the helium spectrum is significantly softer than the proton spectrum. This results in protons overtaking helium nuclei and becoming the largest cosmic ray component at $E \simeq$ 0.7 PeV. A second crossing of the two spectra is observed at $E \simeq$ 5 PeV, above the proton knee, when helium nuclei overtake protons to become the largest cosmic ray component again. These results have important implications for our understanding of the Galactic cosmic ray sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Measurement of coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering on germanium by COHERENT

The COHERENT collaboration reports the most precise measurement of the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering cross section to date. This measurement was performed with COHERENT's germanium detector array, Ge-Mini, at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A cumulative exposure of $4.68\times10^{22}$ protons on target yielded a total number of observed counts of $124^{+14}_{-12}$ and a flux-averaged cross section of $1.00 \pm 0.10 \mathrm{(statistical)} \pm 0.10 \mathrm{(systematic)}$ relative to the standard-model expectation of $5.9\times10^{-39} \mathrm{cm}^2$. The well-understood energy and timing distributions of the neutrino source allow for independent measurements of muon- and electron-neutrino scattering rates. This information is used to improve constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions mediated by heavy particles.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

First detection of ultra-high energy emission from gamma-ray binary LS I +61 303

We report the first detection of gamma-ray emission up to ultra-high-energy (UHE; $>$100 TeV) emission from the prototypical gamma-ray binary system LS I +61 303 using data from the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). It is detected with significances of 9.2$σ$ in WCDA (1.4--30.5 TeV) and 6.2$σ$ in KM2A (25--267 TeV); in KM2A alone we identify 16 photon-like events above 100 TeV against an estimated 5.1 background events, corresponding to a 3.8$σ$ detection. These results provide compelling evidence of extreme particle acceleration in LS I +61 303. Furthermore, we observe orbital modulation at 3.9$σ$ confidence level, between 25 and 100 TeV, with a hint that the orbital modulation is energy-dependent. These features can be understood in a composite scenario in which leptonic and hadronic processes jointly contribute.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Direct observation of three-neutron emission from $^7$He$^*$ and the search for the trineutron

Three-neutron emission from $^7$He has been directly measured for the first time, following neutron knockout from a $^8$He beam at 156 MeV/nucleon. A resonance-like structure at $2.08(4)$ MeV above the $^4$He+$3n$ threshold [$E_x=2.68(4)$ MeV] with a width of $3.9(2)$ MeV was observed and deduced to arise predominately from the predicted $J^π=3/2^{-}_2$ level. The three-neutron invariant-mass spectrum was reconstructed and found to peak at around 1 MeV and could, through complete simulations incorporating neutron-neutron correlations, be very well described by the sequential decay of $^7$He$^*$ via the $2_1^+$ excited state of $^6$He. No evidence was found for any significant three-neutron correlations beyond those expected from well-established two-body interactions, including a trineutron resonance.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Evidence of cosmic-ray acceleration up to sub-PeV energies in the supernova remnant IC 443

Supernova remnants (SNRs) have been considered as the primary contributors to cosmic rays (CRs) in our Galaxy. However, the maximum energy of particles that can be accelerated by shocks of SNRs is uncertain, and SNRs' contribution to CRs around PeV energies is unclear. In this study, we present observations of high-energy $γ$-ray emission from the SNR IC 443 using the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). The morphological analysis reveals a pointlike source whose location and spectrum are consistent with those of the Fermi-LAT-detected compact source with $π^0$-decay signature, and a more extended source that is associated with a newly discovered Fermi source. The spectrum of the point source can be described by a power-law function with an index of $\sim3.0$, extending beyond $\sim 30$ TeV without apparent cutoff. Assuming a hadronic origin of the $γ$-ray emission, the $95\%$ lower limit of accelerated protons reaches about 300 TeV. The extended source might be associated with IC 443, SNR G189.6+3.3 or the putative pulsar wind nebula CXOU J061705.3+222127, and can be explained by either a hadronic or a leptonic model with particles reaching hundreds of TeV. These LHAASO results provide compelling evidence that sub-PeV CRs can be accelerated efficiently by shocks of SNRs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Data Release 1 of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

In 2021 May the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration began a 5-year spectroscopic redshift survey to produce a detailed map of the evolving three-dimensional structure of the universe between $z=0$ and $z\approx4$. DESI's principle scientific objectives are to place precise constraints on the equation of state of dark energy, the gravitationally driven growth of large-scale structure, and the sum of the neutrino masses, and to explore the observational signatures of primordial inflation. We present DESI Data Release 1 (DR1), which consists of all data acquired during the first 13 months of the DESI main survey, as well as a uniform reprocessing of the DESI Survey Validation data which was previously made public in the DESI Early Data Release. The DR1 main survey includes high-confidence redshifts for 18.7M objects, of which 13.1M are spectroscopically classified as galaxies, 1.6M as quasars, and 4M as stars, making DR1 the largest sample of extragalactic redshifts ever assembled. We summarize the DR1 observations, the spectroscopic data-reduction pipeline and data products, large-scale structure catalogs, value-added catalogs, and describe how to access and interact with the data. In addition to fulfilling its core cosmological objectives with unprecedented precision, we expect DR1 to enable a wide range of transformational astrophysical studies and discoveries.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Extensive analysis of reconstruction algorithms for DESI 2024 baryon acoustic oscillations

Reconstruction of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) signal has been a standard procedure in BAO analyses over the past decade and has helped to improve the BAO parameter precision by a factor of ~2 on average. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) BAO analysis for the first year (DR1) data uses the ``standard'' reconstruction framework, in which the displacement field is estimated from the observed density field by solving the linearized continuity equation in redshift space, and galaxy and random positions are shifted in order to partially remove nonlinearities. There are several approaches to solving for the displacement field in real survey data, including the multigrid (MG), iterative Fast Fourier Transform (iFFT), and iterative Fast Fourier Transform particle (iFFTP) algorithms. In this work, we analyze these algorithms and compare them with various metrics including two-point statistics and the displacement itself using realistic DESI mocks. We focus on three representative DESI samples, the emission line galaxies (ELG), quasars (QSO), and the bright galaxy sample (BGS), which cover the extreme redshifts and number densities, and potential wide-angle effects. We conclude that the MG and iFFT algorithms agree within 0.4% in post-reconstruction power spectrum on BAO scales with the RecSym convention, which does not remove large-scale redshift space distortions (RSDs), in all three tracers. The RecSym convention appears to be less sensitive to displacement errors than the RecIso convention, which attempts to remove large-scale RSDs. However, iFFTP deviates from the first two; thus, we recommend against using iFFTP without further development. In addition, we provide the optimal settings for reconstruction for five years of DESI observation. The analyses presented in this work pave the way for DESI DR1 analysis as well as future BAO analyses.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

The COHERENT Experiment: 2026 Update

The COHERENT experiment measures neutrino-induced recoils from coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) with multiple nuclear targets at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), USA. Several successful CEvNS measurements have been achieved in recent years with tens-of-kg detector masses, with a CsI scintillating crystal, a liquid argon single-phase detector, and high-purity germanium spectrometers. For the next phase, COHERENT aims at high-statistics detection of CEvNS events for precision tests of the standard model of particle physics, and to probe new physics beyond-the-standard model. Percent-level precision can be achieved by lowering thresholds, reducing backgrounds, and by scaling up the detector masses. It goes hand in hand with benchmarking the neutrino flux from the SNS. Further detectors will measure CEvNS in additional nuclei, including lighter target nuclei such as sodium and neon, to continue to test the expected neutron-number-squared dependence of the cross section. COHERENT can furthermore study charged-current and neutral-current inelastic neutrino-nucleus cross sections on various nuclei at neutrino energies below $\sim$50 MeV. Many of these cross sections have never been measured before, but are critical input for the interpretation of core-collapse supernova detection in large-scale neutrino experiments such as DUNE, Super-K, Hyper-K, and HALO.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

LHAASO observation of Mrk 421 during 2021 March - 2024 March: a comprehensive VHE catalog of multi-timescale outbursts and its time average behavior

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) monitors sources within its field of view for up to 7 hours daily, achieving a duty cycle exceeding 98% and an annual point-source sensitivity of 1.5% Crab Units (CU) in the very high energy (VHE) band. This unbiased sky-survey mode facilitates systematic monitoring and investigation of outburst phenomena. In this paper, we present results from an unprecedented three-year monitoring campaign (March 2021--March 2024) of Mrk421 using LHAASO, spanning energies from 0.4 TeV to 20 TeV. We find that the blazar stayed in a quiescent state in 2021 and became active starting in 2022 with a total of 23 VHE outburst events identified, where the highest observed daily significance reaches $20\,σ$ with a flux equivalent to approximately 3.3~CU. LHAASO's continuous monitoring suggests the flaring occupancy of Mrk~421 to be around 14%. During long-term monitoring, multiwavelength (MWL) variability and correlation analyses are conducted using complementary data from Fermi-LAT, MAXI-GSC, Swift-XRT, and ZTF. A significant correlation ($>3\,σ$) is observed between X-ray and VHE bands with no detectable time lag, while the correlation between GeV and TeV bands is weaker. The flux distribution of the TeV emission during the quiescent state is different from that in the active state, implying the existence of two modes of energy dissipation in the blazar jet. Using simultaneous MWL data, we also analyzed both the long-term and outburst-period SEDs, and discussed the possible origin of the outburst events.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Stringent Tests of Lorentz Invariance Violation from LHAASO Observations of GRB 221009A

On October 9, 2022, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported the observation of the very early TeV afterglow of the brightest-of-all-time GRB 221009A, recording the highest photon statistics in the TeV band ever from a gamma-ray burst. We use this unique observation to place stringent constraints on an energy dependence of the speed of light in vacuum, a manifestation of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) predicted by some quantum gravity (QG) theories. Our results show that the 95% confidence level lower limits on the QG energy scales are $E_{\mathrm{QG},1}>10$ times of the Planck energy $E_\mathrm{Pl}$ for the linear, and $E_{\mathrm{QG},2}>6\times10^{-8}E_\mathrm{Pl}$ for the quadratic LIV effects, respectively. Our limits on the quadratic LIV case improve previous best bounds by factors of 5--7.

astro-ph.HE↗