arXiv subjects

W. Li

Publications and source records attributed to W. Li.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

The evolution of the broadband temporal features observed in the black-hole transient MAXI J1820+070 with Insight-HXMT

We study the evolution of the temporal properties of MAXI 1820+070 during the 2018 outburst in its hard state from MJD 58190 to 58289 with Insight-HXMT in a broad energy band 1-150 keV. We find different behaviors of the hardness ratio, the fractional rms and time lag before and after MJD 58257, suggesting a transition occurred at around this point. The observed time lags between the soft photons in the 1-5 keV band and the hard photons in higher energy bands, up to 150 keV, are frequency-dependent: the time lags in the low-frequency range, 2-10 mHz, are both soft and hard lags with a timescale of dozens of seconds but without a clear trend along the outburst; the time lags in the high-frequency range, 1-10 Hz, are only hard lags with a timescale of tens of milliseconds; first increase until around MJD 58257 and decrease after this date. The high-frequency time lags are significantly correlated to the photon index derived from the fit to the quasi-simultaneous NICER spectrum in the 1-10 keV band. This result is qualitatively consistent with a model in which the high-frequency time lags are produced by Comptonization in a jet.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Discovery of delayed spin-up behavior following two large glitches in the Crab pulsar, and the statistics of such processes

Glitches correspond to sudden jumps of rotation frequency ($ν$) and its derivative ($\dotν$) of pulsars, the origin of which remains not well understood yet, partly because the jump processes of most glitches are not well time-resolved. There are three large glitches of the Crab pulsar, detected in 1989, 1996 and 2017, which were found to have delayed spin-up processes before the normal recovery processes. Here we report two additional glitches of the Crab pulsar occurred in 2004 and 2011 for which we discovered delayed spin up processes, and present refined parameters of the largest glitch occurred in 2017. The initial rising time of the glitch is determined as $<0.48$ hour. We also carried out a statistical study of these five glitches with observed spin-up processes. The two glitches occurred in 2004 and 2011 have delayed spin-up time scales ($τ_{1}$) of $1.7\pm0.8$\,days and $1.6\pm0.4$\,days, respectively. We find that the $Δν$ vs. $|Δ{\dotν}|$ relation of these five glitches is similar to those with no detected delayed spin-up process, indicating that they are similar to the others in nature except that they have larger amplitudes. For these five glitches, the amplitudes of the delayed spin-up process ($|Δν_{\rm d1}|$) and recovery process ($Δν_{\rm d2}$), their time scales ($τ_{1}$, $τ_{2}$), and permanent changes in spin frequency ($Δν_{\rm p}$) and total frequency step ($Δν_{\rm g}$) have positive correlations. From these correlations, we suggest that the delayed spin-up processes are common for all glitches, but are too short and thus difficult to be detected for most glitches.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Merging ab initio theory and few-body approach for $(d,p)$ reactions

A new framework for $A(d,p)B$ reactions is introduced by merging the microscopic approach to computing the properties of the nucleon-target systems and the three-body $n+p+A$ reaction formalism, thus providing a consistent link between the reaction cross sections and the underlying microscopic structure. In this first step toward a full microscopic description, we focus on the inclusion of the neutron-target microscopic properties. The properties of the neutron-target subsystem are encapsulated in the Green's function which is computed with the Coupled Cluster theory using a chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Subsequently, this many-body information is introduced in the few-body Green's Function Transfer approach to $(d,p)$ reactions. Our benchmarks on stable targets $^{40,48}$Ca show an excellent agreement with the data. We then proceed to make specific predictions for $(d,p)$ on neutron rich $^{52,54}$Ca isotopes. These predictions are directly relevant to testing the new magic numbers $N=32,34$ and are expected to be feasible in the first campaign of the projected FRIB facility.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2020

A search for prompt gamma-ray counterparts to fast radio bursts in the Insight-HXMT data

No robust detection of prompt electromagnetic counterparts to fast radio bursts (FRBs) has yet been obtained, in spite of several multi-wavelength searches carried out so far. Specifically, X/gamma-ray counterparts are predicted by some models. We planned on searching for prompt gamma-ray counterparts in the Insight-Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) data, taking advantage of the unique combination of large effective area in the keV-MeV energy range and of sub-ms time resolution. We selected 39 FRBs that were promptly visible from the High-Energy (HE) instrument aboard Insight-HXMT. After calculating the expected arrival times at the location of the spacecraft, we searched for a significant excess in both individual and cumulative time profiles over a wide range of time resolutions, from several seconds down to sub-ms scales. Using the dispersion measures in excess of the Galactic terms, we estimated the upper limits on the redshifts. No convincing signal was found and for each FRB we constrained the gamma-ray isotropic-equivalent luminosity and the released energy as a function of emission timescale. For the nearest FRB source, the periodic repeater FRB180916.J0158+65, we find $L_{γ,iso}<5.5\times 10^{47}$ erg/s over 1 s, whereas $L_{γ,iso}<10^{49}-10^{51}$ erg/s for the bulk of FRBs. The same values scale up by a factor of ~100 for a ms-long emission. Even on a timescale comparable with that of the radio pulse itself no keV-MeV emission is observed. A systematic association with either long or short GRBs is ruled out with high confidence, except for subluminous events, as is the case for core-collapse of massive stars (long) or binary neutron star mergers (short) viewed off axis. Only giant flares from extra-galactic magnetars at least ten times more energetic than Galactic siblings are ruled out for the nearest FRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

The GlueX DIRC Program

The GlueX experiment is located in experimental Hall D at Jefferson Lab (JLab) and provides a unique capability to search for hybrid mesons in high-energy photoproduction, utilizing a ~9 GeV linearly polarized photon beam. The initial, low-intensity phase of GlueX was recently completed and a high-intensity phase has begun in 2020 which includes an upgraded kaon identification system, known as the DIRC (Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov light), utilizing components from the decommissioned BaBar DIRC. The identification of kaon final states will significantly enhance the GlueX physics program, to aid in inferring the quark flavor content of conventional (and potentially hybrid) mesons. In these proceedings we describe the installation of the GlueX DIRC and the analysis of initial commissioning data

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Switches between accretion structures during flares in 4U 1901+03

We report on our analysis of the 2019 outburst of the X-ray accreting pulsar 4U 1901+03 observed with Insight-HXMT and NICER. Both spectra and pulse profiles evolve significantly in the decaying phase of the outburst. Dozens of flares are observed throughout the outburst. They are more frequent and brighter at the outburst peak. We find that the flares, which have a duration from tens to hundreds of seconds, are generally brighter than the persistent emission by a factor of $\sim$ 1.5. The pulse profile shape during the flares can be significantly different than that of the persistent emission. In particular, a phase shift is clearly observed in many cases. We interpret these findings as direct evidence of changes of the pulsed beam pattern, due to transitions between the sub- and super-critical accretion regimes on a short time scale. We also observe that at comparable luminosities the flares' pulse profiles are rather similar to those of the persistent emission. This indicates that the accretion on the polar cap of the neutron star is mainly determined by the luminosity, i.e., the mass accretion rate.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Deep multi-redshift limits on Epoch of Reionisation 21cm Power Spectra from Four Seasons of Murchison Widefield Array Observations

We compute the spherically-averaged power spectrum from four seasons of data obtained for the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project observed with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). We measure the EoR power spectrum over $k= 0.07-3.0~h$Mpc$^{-1}$ at redshifts $z=6.5-8.7$. The largest aggregation of 110 hours on EoR0 high-band (3,340 observations), yields a lowest measurement of (43~mK)$^2$ = 1.8$\times$10$^3$ mK$^2$ at $k$=0.14~$h$Mpc$^{-1}$ and $z=6.5$ (2$σ$ thermal noise plus sample variance). Using the Real-Time System to calibrate and the CHIPS pipeline to estimate power spectra, we select the best observations from the central five pointings within the 2013--2016 observing seasons, observing three independent fields and in two frequency bands. This yields 13,591 2-minute snapshots (453 hours), based on a quality assurance metric that measures ionospheric activity. We perform another cut to remove poorly-calibrated data, based on power in the foreground-dominated and EoR-dominated regions of the two-dimensional power spectrum, reducing the set to 12,569 observations (419 hours). These data are processed in groups of 20 observations, to retain the capacity to identify poor data, and used to analyse the evolution and structure of the data over field, frequency, and data quality. We subsequently choose the cleanest 8,935 observations (298 hours of data) to form integrated power spectra over the different fields, pointings and redshift ranges.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The long-lived Type IIn SN 2015da: Infrared echoes and strong interaction within an extended massive shell

In this paper we report the results of the first $\sim$four years of spectroscopic and photometric monitoring of the Type IIn supernova SN 2015da (also known as PSN J13522411+3941286, or iPTF16tu). The supernova exploded in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5337 in a relatively highly extinguished environment. The transient showed prominent narrow Balmer lines in emission at all times and a slow rise to maximum in all bands. In addition, early observations performed by amateur astronomers give a very well-constrained explosion epoch. The observables are consistent with continuous interaction between the supernova ejecta and a dense and extended H-rich circumstellar medium. The presence of such an extended and dense medium is difficult to reconcile with standard stellar evolution models, since the metallicity at the position of SN 2015da seems to be slightly subsolar. Interaction is likely the mechanism powering the light curve, as confirmed by the analysis of the pseudo bolometric light curve, which gives a total radiated energy $\gtrsim10^{51}\,\rm{erg}$. Modeling the light curve in the context of a supernova shock breakout through a dense circumstellar medium allowed us to infer the mass of the prexisting gas to be $\simeq8\,\rm{M_{\odot}}$, with an extreme mass-loss rate for the progenitor star $\simeq0.6\,\rm{M_{\odot}}\,\rm{yr^{-1}}$, suggesting that most of the circumstellar gas was produced during multiple eruptive events. Near- and mid-infrared observations reveal a flux excess in these domains, similar to those observed in SN 2010jl and other interacting transients, likely due to preexisting radiatively heated dust surrounding the supernova. By modeling the infrared excess, we infer a mass $\gtrsim0.4\times10^{-3}\,\rm{M_{\odot}}$ for the dust.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Joint Analysis of Energy and RMS Spectra from MAXI J1535-571 with Insight-HXMT

A new black hole X-ray binary (BHXRB) MAXI J1535-571 was discovered by MAXI during its outburst in 2017. Using observations taken by the first Chinese X-ray satellite, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (dubbed as Insight-HXMT), we perform a joint spectral analysis (2-150 keV) in both energy and time domains. The energy spectra provide the essential input for probing the intrinsic Quasi-Periodic Oscillation (QPO) fractional rms spectra (FRS). Our results show that during the intermediate state, the energy spectra are in general consistent with those reported by Swift/XRT and NuSTAR. However, the QPO FRS become harder and the FRS residuals may suggest the presence of either an additional power-law component in the energy spectrum or a turn-over in the intrinsic QPO FRS at high energies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Oscillation-like diffusion of two-dimensional liquid dusty plasmas on one-dimensional periodic substrates with varied widths

The long-time diffusion of two-dimensional dusty plasmas on a one-dimensional periodic substrate with varied widths is investigated using Langevin dynamical simulations. When the substrate is narrow and the dust particles form a single row, the diffusion is the smallest in both directions. We find that as the substrate width gradually increases to twice its initial value, the long-time diffusion of the two-dimensional dusty plasmas first increases, then decreases, and finally increases again, giving an oscillation-like diffusion with varied substrate width. When the width increases to a specific value, the dust particles within each potential well arrange themselves in a stable zigzag pattern, greatly reducing the diffusion, and leading to the observed oscillation in the diffusion with the increasing width. In addition, the long-time oscillation-like diffusion is consistent with the number of dust particles that are hopping across the potential wells of the substrate.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2019

First Season MWA Phase II EoR Power Spectrum Results at Redshift 7

The compact configuration of Phase II of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) consists of both a redundant subarray and pseudo-random baselines, offering unique opportunities to perform sky-model and redundant interferometric calibration. The highly redundant hexagonal cores give improved power spectrum sensitivity. In this paper, we present the analysis of nearly 40 hours of data targeting one of the MWA's EoR fields observed in 2016. We use both improved analysis techniques presented in Barry et al. (2019) as well as several additional techniques developed for this work, including data quality control methods and interferometric calibration approaches. We show the EoR power spectrum limits at redshift 6.5, 6.8 and 7.1 based on our deep analysis on this 40-hour data set. These limits span a range in $k$ space of $0.18$ $h$ $\mathrm{Mpc^{-1}}$ $<k<1.6$ $h$ $\mathrm{Mpc^{-1}}$, with a lowest measurement of $Δ^2\leqslant2.39\times 10^3$ $\mathrm{mK}^2$ at $k=0.59$ $h$ $\mathrm{Mpc^{-1}}$ and $z=6.5$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Diagnostic of the spectral properties of Aquila X-1 by Insight-HXMT snapshots during the early propeller phase

We study the 2018 outburst of Aql X-1 via the monitor of all sky X-ray image (MAXI) data. We show that the outburst starting in February 2018 is a member of short-low class in the frame of outburst duration and the peak count rate although the outburst morphology is slightly different from the other fast-rise-exponential-decay (FRED) type outbursts with a milder rising stage. We study the partial accretion in the weak propeller stage of Aql X-1 via the MAXI data of the 2018 outburst. We report on the spectral analysis of 3 observations of Aquila X-1 obtained by Insight - hard X-ray modulation telescope (Insight-HXMT) during the late decay stage of the 2018 outburst. We discuss that the data taken by Insight-HXMT is just after the transition to the weak propeller stage. Our analysis shows the necessity of a comptonization component to take into account the existence of an electron cloud resulting photons partly up-scattered.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Electron Heating by Debye-Scale Turbulence in Guide-Field Reconnection

We report electrostatic Debye-scale turbulence developing within the diffusion region of asymmetric magnetopause reconnection with moderate guide field using observations by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. We show that Buneman waves and beam modes cause efficient and fast thermalization of the reconnection electron jet by irreversible phase mixing, during which the jet kinetic energy is transferred into thermal energy. Our results show that the reconnection diffusion region in the presence of a moderate guide field is highly turbulent, and that electrostatic turbulence plays an important role in electron heating.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2019

Beam Asymmetry $\mathbfΣ$ for the Photoproduction of $\mathbfη$ and $\mathbf{η^{\prime}}$ Mesons at $\mathbf{E_γ=8.8}$GeV

We report on the measurement of the beam asymmetry $Σ$ for the reactions $\vecγp\rightarrow pη$ and $\vecγp \rightarrow pη^{\prime}$ from the GlueX experiment, using an 8.2--8.8 GeV linearly polarized tagged photon beam incident on a liquid hydrogen target in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. These measurements are made as a function of momentum transfer $-t$, with significantly higher statistical precision than our earlier $η$ measurements, and are the first measurements of $η^{\prime}$ in this energy range. We compare the results to theoretical predictions based on $t$--channel quasi-particle exchange. We also compare the ratio of $Σ_η$ to $Σ_{η^{\prime}}$ to these models, as this ratio is predicted to be sensitive to the amount of $s\bar{s}$ exchange in the production. We find that photoproduction of both $η$ and $η^{\prime}$ is dominated by natural parity exchange with little dependence on $-t$.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2019

Strong-field double ionization dynamics of vibrating HeH$^+$ versus HeT$^+$

We study double ionization (DI) dynamics of vibrating HeH$^+$ versus its isotopic variant HeT$^+$ in strong laser fields numerically. Our simulations show that for both cases, these two electrons in DI prefer to release together along the H(T) side. At the same time, however, the single ionization (SI) is preferred when the first electron escapes along the He side. This potential mechanism is attributed to the interplay of the rescattering of the first electron and the Coulomb induced large ionization time lag. On the other hand, the nuclear motion increases the contributions of these two electrons releasing together along the He side. This effect differentiates DI of HeH$^+$ from HeT$^+$.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Insight-HXMT observation on 4U~1608--52: evolving spectral properties of a bright type-I X-ray burst

The evidences for the influence of thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray bursts upon the surrounding environments in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) were detected previously via spectral and timing analyses. Benefitting from a broad energy coverage of Insight-HXMT, we analyze one photospheric radius expansion (PRE) burst, and find an emission excess at soft X-rays. Our spectral analysis shows that, such an excess is not likely relevant to the disk reflection induced by the burst emission and can be attributed to an enhanced pre-burst/persistent emission. We find that the burst and enhanced persistent emissions sum up to exceed Eddington luminosity by $\sim$ 40 percentages. We speculate that the enhanced emission is from a region beyond the PRE radius, or through the Comptonization of the corona.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

$Insight$-HXMT study of the timing properties of Sco X-1

We present a detailed timing study of the brightest persistent X-ray source Sco X-1 using the data collected by the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope ($Insight$-HXMT) from July 2017 to August 2018. A complete $Z$-track hardness-intensity diagram (HID) is obtained. The normal branch oscillations (NBOs) at $\sim$ 6 Hz in the lower part of the normal branch (NB) and the flare branch oscillations (FBOs) at $\sim$ 16 Hz in the beginning part of the flaring branch (FB) are found in observations with the Low Energy X-ray Telescope (LE) and the Medium Energy X-ray Telescope (ME) of $Insight$-HXMT, while the horizontal branch oscillations (HBOs) at $\sim$ 40 Hz and the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) at $\sim$ 800 Hz are found simultaneously up to 60 keV for the first time on the horizontal branch (HB) by the High Energy X-ray Telescope (HE) and ME. We find that for all types of the observed QPOs, the centroid frequencies are independent of energy, while the root mean square (rms) increases with energy; the centroid frequencies of both the HBOs and kHz QPOs increase along the $Z$-track from the top to the bottom of the HB; and the NBOs show soft phase lags increasing with energy. A continuous QPO transition from the FB to NB in $\sim$ 200 s are also detected. Our results indicate that the non-thermal emission is the origin of all types of QPOs, the innermost region of the accretion disk is non-thermal in nature, and the corona is nonhomogeneous geometrically.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Insight-HXMT observations of 4U~1636-536: Corona cooling revealed with single short type-I X-ray burst

Corona cooling was detected previously from stacking a series of short type-I bursts occurred during the low/had state of atoll outburst. Type-I bursts are hence regarded as sharp probe to our better understanding on the basic property of the corona. The launch of the first Chinese X-ray satellite Insight-HXMT has large detection area at hard X-rays which provide almost unique chance to move further in this research field. We report the first detection of the corona cooling by Insight-HXMT from single short type-I burst showing up during {\bf flare} of 4U 1636-536. This type-I X-ray burst has a duration of $\sim$13 seconds and hard X-ray shortage is detected with significance 6.2~$σ$ in 40-70 keV. A cross-correlation analysis between the lightcurves of soft and hard X-ray band, shows that the corona shortage lag the burst emission by 1.6 $\pm$1.2~s. These results are consistent with those derived previously from stacking a large amount of bursts detected by RXTE/PCA within a series of {\bf flares} of 4U 1636-536. Moreover, the broad bandwidth of Insight-HXMT allows as well for the first time to infer the burst influence upon the continuum spectrum via performing the spectral fitting of the burst, which ends up with the finding that hard X-ray shortage appears at around 40 keV in the continuum spectrum. These results suggest that the evolution of the corona along with the outburst{\bf /flare} of NS XRB may be traced via looking into a series of embedded type-I bursts by using Insight-HXMT.

astro-ph.HE↗