Detection of Gamma-Rays from the Protostellar Jet in the HH 80–81 System

Considering that the existence of relativistic particles in the protostellar jet has been confirmed by the detection of linearly polarized radio emission from the HH 80–81 jet,we search for gamma-rays from the HH 80–81 system using ten-year Fermi-LAT observations.A significant point-likeγ-ray excess is found in the direction of the HH80–81 system with the Test-Statistic value>100,which is likely produced in the HH 80–81 jet.Theγ-ray spectrum extends only to 1 Ge V with a photon index of 3.5.No significant variability is found in the gamma-ray emission.It is discussed that the properties of HH 80–81 jet suffice for producing the observedγ-rays.

Evaluation of Major Factors Affecting Spatial Resolution of Gamma-Rays Camera

The spatial resolution of the gamma-rays camera was measured on a60Co gamma-rays source with edge method. The gamma-rays camera is consisting with rays-fluorescence convertor, optical imaging system, MCP image intensifier, CCD camera, electronic control system and other devices, and is mainly used in the image diagnostics of the intense pulse radiation sources [1]. Due to the relatively big quantum detective efficiency (DQE) and quantum gain of the gamma-rays, etc., the experimental data were processed by averaging multiple images and fitting curves. According to the experimental results, the spatial resolution MTF (modulation transfer function) at the 10% intensity was about 2lp/mm. Meanwhile, because of the relatively big dispersion effects of the fluorescence transmissions in the scintillator and the optical imaging system, the maximal single-noise ratio (SNR) of the camera was found to be about 5:1. In addition, the spatial resolution of the camera was measured with pulse X-rays with 0.3MeV in average energy and exclusion of the effects of secondary electrons from consideration. Accordingly, the spatial resolution MTF at the 10% intensity was about 5lp/mm. This could be an additional evidence to verify the effects of secondary electrons induced by the 1.25MeV gamma-rays in the scintillator upon the spatial resolution. Based on our analysis, the dispersion sizes of the secondary electrons in the scintillator are about 0.4mm-0.6mm. Comparatively, as indicated by the detailed analysis of the spatial resolutions of the MCP image intensifier and CCD devices, both of them have little effect on the spatial resolution of the gamma-rays camera that could be well neglected.

Diffuse emission of TeV neutrinos and gamma-rays from young pulsars by photomeson interaction in the Galaxy

It is generally believed that young, rapidly rotating pulsars are important sites of particle acceleration, in which protons can be accelerated to relativistic energy above the polar cap region if the magnetic moment is antiparallel to the spin axis （μ·Ω 〈 0）. To obtain diffuse neutrinos and gamma-rays at TeV that originate in our Galaxy, we use the Monte Carlo method to generate a sample of young pulsars with ages less than 106 yr in our galaxy; the neutrinos and high-energy gamma-rays can be produced through a photomeson process with the interaction of energetic protons and soft X-ray photons （p ＋γ→△＋→n＋π＋/p＋π0） for a single pulsar, and these X-ray photons come from the surface of the neutron star. The results suggest that the flux of diffuse neutrinos at TeV energies is lower than the background flux, indicating they are difficult to detect using current neutrino telescopes.

Measurement of Gamma-Rays Using Smartphones

The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor of a smartphone has been known for its sensitivity to gamma-rays. In this research, some smartphones were selected and tested for measurement of gamma-rays emitted from Cesium-137 and Iridium-192 sources. During measurements, the phones were set in video mode while the camera lenses were covered with black adhesive tape to prevent light exposure. Interaction of gamma-rays with the CMOS appeared as flashing bright spots on the image. The bright spots were then counted by using the freely available ImageJ software. Preliminary results indicated that the number of bright spots increased linearly with increase of gamma-ray dose rate. An in-house Android application software was then developed for real-time counting of the bright spots. The application software also allowed users to input a calibration equation so that the phones could simultaneously convert the count rate to display in dose rate. This research demonstrated that, after appropriate calibration, smartphones could be used as gamma-ray measuring devices for radiation safety control involving high activity sources such as in industrial radiography, gamma-ray irradiation facility and medical treatment.

Gamma-Rays in Association with the Rocket-Triggered Lightning Caused by Neutron Bursts

In this work, it shows that nuclear reactions in lightning channel, which are produced by the deuterium-deuterium (D-D) and deuterium-tritium (D-T) nuclear reactions, represent a plausible mechanism for gamma-ray bursts observed at ground. Gamma-ray emissions from lightning can be explained by neutron inelastic scattering in the air. Neutrons (produced in lightning channel) will delay a definitive time (~33 ms) to cover the atmosphere before hitting a molecule and producing gamma rays, which is somewhat longer than the gamma-ray time delay (~20 ms) observed at ground.

Observation and Analysis of VLF Nocturnal Multimode Interference Phenomenon based on Waveguide Mode Theory

Very low frequency(VLF)signals are propagated between the ground-ionosphere.Multimode interference will cause the phase to show oscillatory changes with distance while propagating at night,leading to abnormalities in the received VLF signal.This study uses the VLF signal received in Qingdao City,Shandong Province,from the Russian Alpha navigation system to explore the multimode interference problem of VLF signal propagation.The characteristics of the effect of multimode interference phenomena on the phase are analyzed according to the variation of the phase of the VLF signal.However,the phase of VLF signals will also be affected by the X-ray and energetic particles that are released during the eruption of solar flares,therefore the two phenomena are studied in this work.It is concluded that the X-ray will not affect the phase of VLF signals at night,but the energetic particles will affect the phase change,and the influence of energetic particles should be excluded in the study of multimode interference phenomena.Using VLF signals for navigation positioning in degraded or unavailable GPS conditions is of great practical significance for VLF navigation systems as it can avoid the influence of multimode interference and improve positioning accuracy.

Optical Transient Source AT2021lfa:A Possible“Dirty Fireball”

AT2021lfa,also known as ZTF21aayokph,was detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 2021 May 4,a 05:34:48 UTC.Follow-up observations were conducted using a range of ground-based optical telescopes,as wel as Swift/XRT and VLA instruments.AT2021lfa is classified as an“orphan afterglow”candidate due to its rapid flux decline and its reddened color(g-r=0.17±0.14 mag).For an optical transient source without promp gamma-ray detection,one key point is to determine its burst time.Here we measure the burst time through fitting the initial bump feature of AT2021lfa and obtain its burst time as 2021 May 3,at 22:09:50 UTC.Using afterglowpy,we model the multi-band afterglow of AT2021lfa and find that the standard model canno reproduce the late radio observations well.Considering that the microphysical parameters ε_(e),ε_(B)(the energy fraction given to electrons and magnetic field),andξN(the fraction of accelerated electrons)may vary with time we then model the afterglow of AT2021lfa taking into account the temporal evolution of the physical parameters ε_(e),ε^(B),and ξ_(N) and find in this case the multi-wavelength observations can be reproduced well.The initial Lorentz factor of AT2021lfa can be estimated from the peak time of the early afterglow,which yields a value of about 18 suggesting that AT2021lfa should be classified as a“dirty fireball.”From the upper limit for the prompt emission energy of AT2021lfa,we obtain that the radiation efficiency is less than 0.02%,which is much smaller than that of ordinary gamma-ray bursts(GRBs).It is also interesting that the fitted values of jet angle and viewing angle are very large,θ_(c)~0.66 rad,θ_(v)~0.53 rad,which may lead to the low Lorentz factor and radiation efficiency.When compared with GRB afterglow samples,it is evident that the onset bump timescale of AT2021lfa satisfies the empirical relationships observed in GRB samples.Additionally,the luminosity of AT2021lfa falls within the range of observations for GRB samples;however,approximately 1 day after the burst,its luminosity exceeds that of the majority of GRB samples.

A Possible γ-Ray Pulsation from PSR J1740-5340B in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397

Recently, a new radio millisecond pulsar(MSP) J1740-5340B, hosted in the globular cluster(GC) NGC 6397,was reported with a 5.78 ms spin period in an eclipsing binary system with a 1.97 days orbital period. Based on a modified radio ephemeris updated by tool tempo2, we analyze the ~15 yr γ-ray data obtained from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and detect PSR J1740-5340B's γ-ray pulsation at a confidence level of ~4σ with a weighted H-test value of ~26. By performing a phase-resolved analysis, the γ-ray luminosity in on-pulse interval of PSR J1740-5340B is L_(γ)~ 3.8 × 10^(33) erg s^(-1) using NGC 6397's distance of 2.48 kpc. And γ-rays from the on-pulse part of PSR J1740-5340B contribute ~90% of the total observed γ-ray emissions from NGC 6397. No significant γ-ray pulsation of another MSP J1740-5340A in the GC is detected.Considering that the previous four cases of MSPs in GCs, more data in γ-ray, X-ray, and radio are encouraged to finally confirm the γ-ray emissions from MSP J1740-5340B, especially starving for a precise ephemeris.

GRB 200612A:An Ultralong Gamma-Ray Burst Powered by Magnetar Spinning Down

GRB 200612A could be classified as an ultralong gamma-ray burst due to its prompt emission lasting up to~1020 s and the true timescale of the central engine activity t_(burst)≥4×10^(4) s.The late X-ray light curve with a decay index ofα=7.53 is steeper than the steepest possible decay from an external shock model.We propose that this X-ray afterglow can be driven by dipolar radiation from the magnetar spindown during its early stage,while the magnetar collapsed into the black hole before its spindown,resulting in a very steep decay of the late X-ray light curve.The optical data show that the light curve is still rising after 1.1 ks,suggesting a late onset.We show that GRB 200612A’s optical afterglow light curve is fitted with the forward shock model by Gaussian structured off-axis jet.This is a special case among GRBs,as it may be an ultralong gamma-ray burst powered by a magnetar in an off-axis observation scenario.

Rotating Massive Strangeon Stars and X-Ray Plateau of Short GRBs

Strangeon stars,which are proposed to describe the nature of pulsar-like compact stars,have passed various observational tests.The maximum mass of a non-rotating strangeon star could be high,which implies that the remnants of binary strangeon star mergers could even be long-lived massive strangeon stars.We study rigidly rotating strangeon stars in the slowly rotating approximation,using the Lennard-Jones model for the equation of state.Rotation can significantly increase the maximum mass of strangeon stars with unchanged baryon numbers,enlarging the mass-range of long-lived strangeon stars.During spin-down after merger,the decrease of radius of the remnant will lead to the release of gravitational energy.Taking into account the efficiency of converting the gravitational energy luminosity to the observed X-ray luminosity,we find that the gravitational energy could provide an alternative energy source for the plateau emission of X-ray afterglow.The fitting results of X-ray plateau emission of some short gamma-ray bursts suggest that the magnetic dipole field strength of the remnants can be much smaller than that of expected when the plateau emission is powered only by spin-down luminosity of magnetars.

Application of deep learning methods combined with physical background in wide field of view imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes

The High Altitude Detection of Astronomical Radiation(HADAR)experiment,which was constructed in Tibet,China,combines the wide-angle advantages of traditional EAS array detectors with the high-sensitivity advantages of focused Cherenkov detectors.Its objective is to observe transient sources such as gamma-ray bursts and the counterparts of gravitational waves.This study aims to utilize the latest AI technology to enhance the sensitivity of HADAR experiments.Training datasets and models with distinctive creativity were constructed by incorporating the relevant physical theories for various applications.These models can determine the type,energy,and direction of the incident particles after careful design.We obtained a background identification accuracy of 98.6%,a relative energy reconstruction error of 10.0%,and an angular resolution of 0.22°in a test dataset at 10 TeV.These findings demonstrate the significant potential for enhancing the precision and dependability of detector data analysis in astrophysical research.By using deep learning techniques,the HADAR experiment’s observational sensitivity to the Crab Nebula has surpassed that of MAGIC and H.E.S.S.at energies below 0.5 TeV and remains competitive with conventional narrow-field Cherenkov telescopes at higher energies.In addition,our experiment offers a new approach for dealing with strongly connected,scattered data.

Time-resolved Spectral Properties of Fermi-GBM Bright Long Gamma-Ray Bursts

The prompt emission mechanism of gamma-ray bursts(GRBs)is still unclear,and the time-resolved spectral analysis of GRBs is a powerful tool for studying their underlying physical processes.We performed a detailed time-resolved spectral analysis of 78 bright long GRB samples detected by Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor.A total of 1490 spectra were obtained and their properties were studied using a typical Band-shape model.First,the parameter distributions of the time-resolved spectrum are given as follows:the low-energy spectral indexα~-0.72,high-energy spectral indexβ~2.42,the peak energy E_(p)~221.69 keV,and the energy flux F~7.49×10^(-6)erg cm^(-2)s^(-1).More than 80%of the bursts exhibit the hardest low-energy spectral indexα_(max),exceeding the synchrotron limit(-2/3).Second,the evolution patterns of a and E_(p)were statistically analyzed.The results show that for multi-pulse GRBs the intensity-tracking pattern is more common than the hard-to-soft pattern in the evolution of both E_(p)andα.The hard-to-soft pattern is generally shown in single-pulse GRBs or in the initial pulse of multi-pulse GRBs.Finally,we found a significant positive correlation between F and E_(p),with half of the samples exhibiting a positive correlation between F andα.We discussed the spectral evolution of different radiation models.The diversity of spectral evolution patterns indicates that there may be more than one radiation mechanism occurring in the GRB radiation process,including photo spheric radiation and synchrotron radiation.However,it may also involve only one radiation mechanism,but more complicated physical details need to be considered.

A Comparative Study of the Power-law Relationship between the Pulse width and Energy of Precursor and Main Burst

In gamma-ray burst prompt emission,there is still no consistent conclusion if the precursor and main burst share the same origin.In this paper,we try to study this issue based on the relationship between pulse width and energy of the precursor and main burst.We systematically search the light curve data observed by Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM,and find 13 long bursts with well-structured precursors and main bursts.After fitting the precursor light curve of each different energy channel with the Norris function,we find that there is not only a power-law relationship between precursor width and energy,but also a power-law relationship between the ratio of the rising width to the decaying width and energy.By comparing the relationship between the precursors and the main burst pulses,we find that the distribution of the precursors and the relationship between the power-law indices are roughly the same as those of the main burst.In addition,it is found that the precursor width distribution as well as the upper limit of the pulse width ratio does not exceed 1 and both are asymmetric,which are also consistent with the main burst.These indicate that the precursor and the main burst are indistinguishable,and the precursor and the main burst may have the same physical origin.

Free Energy of Anisotropic Strangeon Stars

Can pulsar-like compact objects release further huge free energy besides the kinematic energy of rotation?This is actually relevant to the equation of state of cold supra-nuclear matter,which is still under hot debate.Enormous energy is surely needed to understand various observations,such asγ-ray bursts,fast radio bursts and softγ-ray repeaters.In this paper,the elastic/gravitational free energy of solid strangeon stars is revisited for strangeon stars,with two anisotropic models to calculate in general relativity.It is found that huge free energy(>10^(46)erg)could be released via starquakes,given an extremely small anisotropy((p_(t)-p_(r))/p_(r)~10^(-4),with pt/pr the tangential/radial pressure),implying that pulsar-like stars could have great potential of free energy release without extremely strong magnetic fields in the solid strangeon star model.

The Precursor of GRB211211A:A Tide-induced Giant Quake?

The equilibrium configuration of a solid strange star in the final inspiral phase with another compact object is generally discussed,and the starquake-related issue is revisited,for a special purpose to understand the precursor emission of binary compact star merger events(e.g.,that of GRB211211A).As the binary system inspirals inward due to gravitational wave radiation,the ellipticity of the solid strangeon star increases due to the growing tidal field of its compact companion.Elastic energy is hence accumulated during the inspiral stage which might trigger a starquake before the merger when the energy exceeds a critical value.The energy released during such starquakes is calculated and compared to the precursor observation of GRB211211 A.The result shows that the energy might be insufficient for binary strangeon-star case unless the entire solid strangeon star shatters,and hence favors a black hole-strangeon star scenario for GRB211211A.The timescale of the precursor as well as the frequency of the observed quasi-periodic-oscillation have also been discussed in the starquake model.

Experiment studies on the polarized gamma-rays generation at KEK-ATF

Polarized positrons can be created through electron-positron pair creation from circularly polarized gamma-rays. Laser-Compton scattering is an effcient method to generate circularly polarized gamma-rays. A high finesse 2-mirror optical stacking cavity had been installed on the straight section of the electron storage ring at KEK-ATF. A 1064 nm circularly polarized pulsed laser beam was stacked in the cavity. Polarized gamma-rays with a maximum energy of 28.3 MeV were produced via inverse Compton scattering of the enhanced laser pulse off an electron beam of 1.28 GeV. The number of generated gamma photons per collision was estimated by a photon detector. It was found that the experimental result was in agreement with the simulated value.

Simulation studies on the polarized positron generation from circularly polarized gamma-rays

Polarized positrons can be generated through the electron-positron pair creation from circularly polarized gamma-rays hitting a conversion target. Laser-Compton scattering is an efficient method to generate circularly polarized gamma-rays. Simulation studies on these two processes have been done with the Monte Carlo codes, CAIN and GEANT4. Using CAIN to simulate the Laser-Compton scattering process, the energy spectrum of the generated polarized photons could be obtained. GEANT4 was used to study the yield, energy spectrum and the mean polarization of the positrons emanating from the conversion target. To increase the yield of the generated positrons, an optimization study on the thickness of conversion target was also performed.

Does the Redshift Distribution of Swift Long GRBs Trace the Star-Formation Rate?

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely powerful explosions that have been traditionally classified into two categories: long bursts (LGRBs) with an observed duration T90 > 2 s, and short bursts (SGRBs) with an observed duration T90 T90 is the time interval during which 90% of the fluence is detected. LGRBs are believed to emanate from the core-collapse of massive stars, while SGRBs are believed to result from the merging of two compact objects, like two neutron stars. Because LGRBs are produced by the violent death of massive stars, we expect that their redshift distribution should trace the star-formation rate (SFR). The purpose of our study is to investigate the extent to which the redshift distribution of LGRBs follows and reflects the SFR. We use a sample of 370 LGRBs taken from the Swift catalog, and we investigate different models for the LGRB redshift distribution. We also carry out Monte Carlo simulations to check the consistency of our results. Our results indicate that the SFR can describe the LGRB redshift distribution well for high redshift bursts, but it needs an evolution term to fit the distribution well at low redshift.

Solar hard X-rays and gamma-rays

We briefly introduce our recent work on the spectral evolution of energetic protons, the beam property of accelerated electrons, the gamma-ray flare classification, the temporal features of the annihilation line, the hard X-ray delayed events, the hydrodynamic process, and the continuum emission in solar flares.

On the detectability of Galactic dark matter annihilation into monochromatic gamma-rays

Monochromatic y-rays are thought to be the smoking gun signal for identifying dark matter annihilation. However, the flux of monochromatic y-rays is usually suppressed by virtual quantum effects since dark matter should be neutral and does not couple with y-rays directly. In this work, we study the detection strategy of the monochromatic y-rays in a future space-based detector. The flux of monochromatic y-rays between 50 GeV and several TeV is calculated by assuming the supersymmetric neutralino as a typical dark matter candidate. The detection both by focusing on the Galactic center and in a scan mode that detects y-rays from the whole Galactic halo are compared. The detector performance for the purpose of monochromatic y-ray detection, with different energy and angular resolution, field of view, and background rejection efficiencies, is carefully studied with both analytical and fast Monte-Carlo methods.