Opal-Based Photonic Crystal Heterostructures

The fabrication of photonic crystal heterostructures is important for the applications in the fields of integrated photonic crystal chips and multi-frequency optical Bragg filters or mirrors;here we report on the fabrication and characterization of opal-based photonic crystal heterostructures. These heterostructures are created by using multilayer deposition of silica and polystyrene spheres. In the specific the fabricated structures involved both different lattice constant and dielectric function. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and VIS-NIR transmittance and reflectance spectroscopy are used to characterize the systems. The SEM images show good ordering of the two-layer colloidal crystals constituting the heterostructures. The transmittance and reflectance spectra measured from the (111) plane of the heterostructure show that the composite colloidal photonic crystals have double photonic stop bands that matches the stop bands of the individual photonic crystals. This behaviour can be seen as a superposition of the properties of each individual layer.

Thermonuclear ^19F(p,α0)^16O reaction rate

The thermonuclear^19F（p,α0）16O reaction rate in the temperature region 0.007–10 GK has been derived by re-evaluating the available experimental data, together with the low-energy theoretical R-matrix extrapolations.Our new rate deviates by up to about 30% compared to the previous results, although all rates are consistent within the uncertainties. At very low temperature（e.g. 0.01 GK） our reaction rate is about 20% lower than the most recently published rate, because of a difference in the low energy extrapolated S-factor and a more accurate estimate of the reduced mass used in the calculation of the reaction rate. At temperatures above ^1 GK, our rate is lower, for instance, by about 20% around 1.75 GK, because we have re-evaluated the previous data（Isoya et al., Nucl. Phys.7, 116（1958）） in a meticulous way. The present interpretation is supported by the direct experimental data. The uncertainties of the present evaluated rate are estimated to be about 20% in the temperature region below 0.2 GK,and are mainly caused by the lack of low-energy experimental data and the large uncertainties in the existing data.Asymptotic giant branch（AGB） stars evolve at temperatures below 0.2 GK, where the^19F（p,α）16O reaction may play a very important role. However, the current accuracy of the reaction rate is insufficient to help to describe, in a careful way, the fluorine over-abundances observed in AGB stars. Precise cross section（or S factor） data in the low energy region are therefore needed for astrophysical nucleosynthesis studies.

Latest results from GRAAL collaboration

The GRAAL experimental set-up consists of a polarized and tagged photon beam that covers an energy range from a minimum of 600 MeV up to a maximum of 1500 MeV, of a liquid Hydrogen or Deuterium target and of the 4π Lagrange detector optimized for photon detection. It allows the study of pseudo-scalar and vector meson photoproduCtion on the nucleon in the energy range corresponding to the second and the third resonance regions. In the following, the ∑ beam asymmetries in η and π0 photoproduction on quasi-free nucleon are shown. Also single and double polarization observables in K＋A photoproduction on free proton are shown; they are important to confirm the role of new or poorly known resonances in the 1900 MeV mass region.

Observatory science with eXTP

In this White Paper we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry(eXTP) mission for studies related to Observatory Science targets. These include flaring stars, supernova remnants, accreting white dwarfs, low and high mass X-ray binaries, radio quiet and radio loud active galactic nuclei, tidal disruption events, and gamma-ray bursts. eXTP will be excellently suited to study one common aspect of these objects: their often transient nature. Developed by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science, the eXTP mission is expected to be launched in the mid 2020s.