Design and prototyping of the readout electronics for the transition radiation detector in the high energy cosmic radiation detection facility

The high energy cosmic-radiation detection(HERD)facility is planned to launch in 2027 and scheduled to be installed on the China Space Station.It serves as a dark matter particle detector,a cosmic ray instrument,and an observatory for high-energy gamma rays.A transition radiation detector placed on one of its lateral sides serves dual purpose,(ⅰ)calibrating HERD's electromagnetic calorimeter in the TeV energy range,and(ⅱ)serving as an independent detector for high-energy gamma rays.In this paper,the prototype readout electronics design of the transition radiation detector is demonstrated,which aims to accurately measure the charge of the anodes using the SAMPA application specific integrated circuit chip.The electronic performance of the prototype system is evaluated in terms of noise,linearity,and resolution.Through the presented design,each electronic channel can achieve a dynamic range of 0–100 fC,the RMS noise level not exceeding 0.15 fC,and the integral nonlinearity was<0.2%.To further verify the readout electronic performance,a joint test with the detector was carried out,and the results show that the prototype system can satisfy the requirements of the detector's scientific goals.

Gas microchannel plate-pixel detector for X-ray polarimetry

POLAR-2 is a gamma-ray burst(GRB)polarimeter that is designed to study the polarization in GRB radiation emissions,aiming to improve our knowledge of related mechanisms.POLAR-2 is expected to utilize an on-board polarimeter that is sensitive to soft X-rays(2-10 keV),called low-energy polarization detector.We have developed a new soft X-ray polari-zation detector prototype based on gas microchannel plates(GMCPs)and pixel chips(Topmetal).The GMCPs have bulk resistance,which prevents charging-up effects and ensures gain stability during operation.The detector is composed of low outgassing materials and is gas-sealed using a laser welding technique,ensuring long-term stability.A modulation factor of 41.28%±0.64% is obtained for a 4.5 keV polarized X-ray beam.A residual modulation of 1.96%±0.58% at 5.9 keV is observed for the entire sensitive area.

Electronics system for the cosmic X-ray polarization detector

This study presents an electronics system for cosmic X-ray polarization detection(CXPD).The CXPD was designed as a high-sensitivity soft X-ray polarimeter with a measurement energy range of 2-10 keV carried by a CubeSat.A stable and functionally complete electronics system under power and space constraints is a key challenge.The complete CXPD electronics system(CXPDES)comprises hardware and firmware.CXPDES adopts a three-layer electronic board structure based on functionality and available space.Two gas pixel detectors(GPDs)were placed on the top layer board,and CXPDES provided the GPDs with voltages up to-4000 V.Each GPD signal was digitized,compressed,encoded,and stored before being transmitted to the ground.The CXPDES provided stable and high-speed communication based on a scheme that separated command and data transmission,and it supports the CXPDES in-orbit upgrade.In addition,environmental monitors,silicon photomultiplier(SiPM)triggers,power management,GPDs configuration,and mode switches were included in the overall operating logic of the CXPDES.The results obtained by testing the CXPDES showed that it satisfied all the requirements of CXPD.The CXPDES provides design experience and technological readiness for future large-area X-ray polarimetry missions.

Density Functional Theory Calculations on the Interstellar Formation of Biomolecules

Density functional theory(DFT)is the most versatile electronic structure method used in quantum chemical calculations,and is increasingly applied in astrochemical research.This mini-review provides an overview of the applications of DFT calculations in understanding the chemistry that occurs in star-forming regions.We survey investigations into the formation of biologically relevant compounds such as nucleobases in the interstellar medium,and also cover the formation of both achiral and chiral amino acids,as well as biologically relevant molecules such as sugars,and nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.Additionally,DFT calculations are used to estimate the potential barriers for chemical reactions in astronomical environments.We conclude by noting several areas that require more research,such as the formation pathways of chiral amino acids,complex sugars,and other biologically important molecules,and the role of environmental factors in the formation of interstellar biomolecules.

Prediction for the Multi-band Afterglows of FRB 200428 and its Implication

The physical mechanism of fast radio bursts(FRBs) is still unknown. On 2020 April 28, a special radio burst, FRB200428, was detected and believed to be associated with the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154. It confirms that at least some of the FRBs were generated by magnetars, although the radiation mechanism continues to be debated.To this end, we study in detail the multiband afterglows of FRB 200428 described by the synchrotron fireball shock model. We find the prediction for the optical and radio afterglows of FRB 200428 is consistent with the observations when considering the post-FRB optical and radio upper limits from the literature. We also show that the follow up detection of the afterglows from fast radio bursts like—FRB 200428 is possible at the radio band,though challenging. Based on our model, one can obtain information about the energy of the fireball, the radiation zone, and the nature of the surrounding medium. That may shed light on the physical mechanism of FRBs.

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.

Lobe-dominatedγ-Ray Emission of Compact Symmetric Objects

Theγ-ray emitting compact symmetric objects(CSOs)PKS 1718-649,NGC 3894,and TXS 0128+554 are lobedominated in the radio emission.In order to investigate theirγ-ray radiation properties,we analyze the~14yr Fermi/LAT observation data of the three CSOs.They all show the low luminosity(1041-1043 erg s-1)and no significant variability in theγ-ray band.Theirγ-ray average spectra can be well fitted by a power-law function.These properties ofγ-rays are clearly different from theγ-ray emitting CSOs CTD 135 and PKS 1413+135,for which theγ-rays are produced by a restarted aligned jet.In the L_(γ)-Γ_(γ)plane,the three CSOs are also located at the region occupied by radio galaxies(RGs)while CTD 135 and PKS 1413+135 display a similar feature to blazars.Together with a similar radio emission property toγ-ray emitting RGs Cen A and Fornax A,we speculate that theγ-rays of the three CSOs stem from their extended mini-lobes.The broadband spectral energy distributions of the three CSOs can be well explained by the two-zone leptonic model,where theirγ-rays are produced by the inverse Compton process of the relativistic electrons in extended regions.By extrapolating the observed Fermi/LAT spectra to the very high energy band,we find that TXS 0128+554 among the three CSOs may be detected by the Cherenkov Telescope Array in the future.

Robust autofocusing propagation in turbulence

Turbulence in complex environments such as the atmosphere and biological media has always been a great challenge to the application of beam propagation in optical communication, optical trapping and manipulation. To overcome this challenge, this study comprehensively investigates the robust propagation of traditional Gaussian and autofocusing beams in turbulent environments. In order to select stable beams that exhibit high intensity and high field gradient at the focal position in complex environments, Kolmogorov turbulence theory is used to simulate the propagation of beams in atmospheric turbulence based on the multi-phase screen method. We systematically analyze the intensity fluctuations, the variation of the coherence factor and the change in the scintillation index with propagation distance. The analysis reveals that the intensity fluctuations of autofocusing beams are significantly smaller than those of Gaussian beams, and the coherence of autofocusing beams is better than that of Gaussian beams under turbulence. Moreover, autofocusing beams exhibit less oscillation than Gaussian beams, indicating that autofocusing beams propagate in complex environments with less distortion and intensity fluctuation. Overall, this work clearly demonstrates that autofocusing beams exhibit higher stability in propagation compared with Gaussian beams, showing great promise for applications such as optical trapping and manipulation in complex environments.

View of thermodynamic phase transition of the charged Gauss-Bonnet AdS black hole via the shadow

We examine thermodynamic phase transition(PT)of the charged Gauss-Bonnet Ad S black hole(BH)by utilizing the shadow radius.In this system,we rescale the corresponding Gauss-Bonnet coefficientαby a factor of 1/(D-4),and ensure thatαis positive to avoid any singularity problems.The equation derived for the shadow radius indicates that it increases as the event horizon radius increases,making it an independent variable for determining BH temperature.By investigating the PT curve in relation to shadows,we can observe that the shadow radius can be used as an alternative to the event horizon radius in explaining the phenomenon of BH PT.Furthermore,the results indicate that an increase in the parameterαcorresponds to a decrease in the temperature of the BH.By utilizing the relationship between the temperature and the shadow radius,it is possible to obtain the thermal profile of the Gauss-Bonnet AdS BH.It is evident that there is an N-type variation in temperature for pressures P<P_(c).Additionally,as the parameterαincreases,the region covered by shadow expands while the temperature decreases.The utilization of BH shadows as a probe holds immense significance in gaining a deeper understanding of BH thermodynamic behavior.

Optical trapping capability of tornado circular Pearcey beams

We systemically investigate optical trapping capability of a kind of tornado waves on Rayleigh particles.Such tornado waves are named as tornado circular Pearcey beams(TCPBs)and produced by combining two circular Pearcey beams with different radii.Our theoretical exploration delves into various aspects,including the propagation dynamics,energy flux,orbital angular momentum,trapping force,and torque characteristics of TCPBs.The results reveal that the orbital angular momentum,trapping force,and torque of these beams can be finely tuned through the judicious manipulation of their topological charges(l_(1)and l_(2)).Notably,we observe a precise control mechanism wherein the force diminishes with|l_(1)+l_(2)|and|l_(1)-l_(2)|,while the torque exhibits enhancement by decreasing solely with|l_(1)+l_(2)|or increasing with|l_(1)-l_(2)|.These results not only provide quantitative insights into the optical trapping performance of TCPBs but also serve as a valuable reference for the ongoing development of innovative photonic tools.

The mini-GWAC optical follow-up of gravitational wave alerts – results from the O2 campaign and prospects for the upcoming O3 run

The second(O2)observational campaign of gravitational waves(GWs)organized by the LIGO/Virgo Collaborations has led to several breakthroughs such as the detection of GW signals from merger systems involving black holes or neutrons stars.During O2,14 GW alerts were sent to the astronomical community with sky regions mostly covering over hundreds of square degrees.Among them,six were finally confirmed as real astrophysical events.Since 2013,a new set of ground-based robotic telescopes called Ground-based Wide Angle Camera system(GWAC)project and its pathfinder mini-GWAC has been developed to contribute to the various challenges of multi-messenger and time domain astronomy.The GWAC system is built up in the framework of the ground-segment system of the SVOM mission that will be devoted to the study of the multi-wavelength transient sky in the next decade.During O2,only the mini-GWAC telescope network was fully operational.Due to the wide field of view and fast automatic follow-up capabilities of the mini-GWAC telescopes,they were adept to efficiently cover the sky localization areas of GW event candidates.In this paper,we present the mini-GWAC pipeline we have set up to respond to GW alerts and we report our optical follow-up observations of eight GW alerts detected during the O2 run.Our observations provided the largest coverage of the GW localization areas with a short latency made by any optical facility.We found tens of optical transient candidates in our images,but none of those could be securely associated with any confirmed black hole-black hole merger event.Based on this first experience and the near future technical improvements of our network system,we will be more competitive in detecting the optical counterparts from some GW events that will be identified during the upcoming O3 run,especially those emerging from binary neutron star mergers.

Lsyn-Esyn,p-δrelation in active galactic nucleus jets and implication for the physical origin of the Lp-Ep,z-Γ_0 relation of gamma-ray bursts

High energy photon radiations of gamma-ray bursts(GRBs)and active galactic nuclei(AGNs)are dominated by their jet radiations.We examine whether the synchrotron radiations of jets in BL Lacs,flat spectrum radio quasars(FSRQs),and Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies(NLS1s)follow the relation between the prompt gamma-ray emission and the initial Lorentz factor(Γ0)of GRBs.It is shown that the AGN sample does not agree with the Lp-Ep,z-Γ0 relation of GRBs.In addition,we obtain a tight relation of Lsyn∝Е0.45±0.15δ3.50±0.25 syn,p for FSRQs and NLS1 galaxies,where Lsyn is the luminosity at peak photon energy Esyn,p of the synchrotron radiations.This relation is different from the Lp-Ep,z-Γ0 relation of GRB s.The dependence of Lsyn toδis consistent with the expectation of the Doppler boosting effect for the FSRQs and NLS1 galaxies,but it is not for GRBs.We argue thatΓ0 may be a representative of the kinetic power of the radiating region and the tight Lp-Ep,z-Γ0 relation is shaped by the radiation physics and the jet power together.

Highly variable γ-ray emission of CTD 135 and implications for its compact symmetric structure

Theγ-ray emission properties of CTD 135,a typical compact symmetric object(CSO),are investigated with-11-year Fermi/LAT observations.We show that it has bright and significantly variable GeV emission,with theγ-ray luminosity of L_(γ)-10^(47) erg s^(-1) and a variation index of TS_(var)=1002.A quasi-periodic oscillation(QPO)with a periodicity of-460 days is detected in the global 95%false-alarm level.Theseγ-ray emission features are similar to that of blazars.Its broadband spectral energy distribution(SED)can be attributed to the radiations of the relativistic electrons accelerated in the core region and the extended region.The SED modeling shows that theγ-rays are from the core region,which has a Doppler boosting factor ofδ-10.8 and relativistically moves with a small viewing angle,being similar to blazar jets.On the base of the analysis results,we propose that the episodic activity of the central engine in CTD135 results in a blazar-like jet and the bubble-like lobes as the Fermi bubbles in the Galaxy.The strong 7-ray emission with obvious variability is from the jet radiations and the symmetric radio structure is attributed to the bubbles.The jet radiation power and disk luminosity in units of Eddington luminosity of CTD 135 follow the same relation as other young radio sources,indicating that its jet radiation may also be driven by the Eddington ratio.

A pilot study of catching high-z GRBs and exploring circumburst environment in the forthcoming SVOM era

Rapid spectroscopy of GRB afterglows is an important and hard task.Based on the archival XSGRB spectral database,we here perform a pilot study on the afterglow's spectroscopy in the forthcoming SVOM era in two aspects.First,our simulation indicates that the color acquired from the SVOM/VT blue and red channels is effective in discriminating between low-z(z≤3)and distant GRB candidates until z^6.Second,by doubling the sample size,we find that the previously proposed global photoionization response of the circumburst gas to the prompt emission(i.e.,the CIV/CII-L(iso)/E2peak relationship)is roughly confirmed.although the confirmation is dissatisfactory at the large L(iso)/E2peak end.We believe that this issue can be further addressed in the SVOM era by a larger spectroscopy sample,thanks to its capability of rapid identification of optical candidates of afterglow and its anti-solar pointing strategy.

Hypercritical Accretion for Black Hole High Spin in Cygnus X-1

Recent observations of Ad LIGO and Virgo have shown that the spin measurements in binary black hole(BH)systems are typically small, which is consistent with the predictions by the classical isolated binary evolution channel. In this standard formation channel, the progenitor of the first-born BH is assumed to have efficient angular momentum transport. The BH spins in high-mass X-ray binaries(HMXBs), however, have consistently been found to be extremely high. In order to explain the high BH spins, the inefficient angular momentum transport inside the BH progenitor is required. This requirement, however, is incompatible with the current understanding of conventional efficient angular momentum transport mechanism. We find that this tension can be highly alleviated as long as the hypercritical accretion is allowed. We show that, for a case study of Cygnus X-1, the hypercritical accretion cannot only be a good solution for the inconsistent assumption upon the angular momentum transport within massive stars, but match its other properties reported recently.

Advances in nuclear detection and readout techniques

“A Craftsman Must Sharpen His Tools to Do His Job,”said Confucius.Nuclear detection and readout techniques are the foundation of particle physics,nuclear physics,and particle astrophysics to reveal the nature of the universe.Also,they are being increasingly used in other disciplines like nuclear power generation,life sciences,environmental sciences,medical sciences,etc.The article reviews the short history,recent development,and trend of nuclear detection and readout techniques,covering Semiconductor Detector,Gaseous Detector,Scintillation Detector,Cherenkov Detector,Transition Radiation Detector,and Readout Techniques.By explaining the principle and using examples,we hope to help the interested reader underst and this research field and bring exciting information to the community.

Detection of Quasi-periodic Oscillations in SGR 150228213

The detection of quasi-periodic oscillations(QPOs)in magnetar giant flares(GFs)has brought a new perspective to studies of the mechanism of magnetar bursts.Due to the scarcity of GFs,searching for QPOs in magnetar short bursts is reasonable.Here we report the detection of a narrow QPO at approximately 110 Hz and a wide QPO at approximately 60 Hz in the short magnetar burst SGR 150228213,with a confidence level of 3.35σ.This burst was initially attributed to 4U 0142+61 by Fermi/GBM on location,but we have not detected such QPOs in other bursts from this magnetar.We also found that there was a repeating fast radio burst associated with SGR 150228213 on location.Finally,we discuss the possible origins of SGR 150228213.

Possible Detection of a Flare-associated Coronal Mass Ejection on an M-dwarf

We here report a probable detection of a stellar coronal mass ejection(CME)in active M dwarf KIC 8093473 by performing an analysis on its time resolved X-ray spectra observed by the XMM-Newton satellite.Compared to the value at the quiescent state and the interstellar one,our spectral modeling returns a marginal(and probably evolving)excess of hydrogen column density in the flare state at a significance level of 1σ,which can be understood by an additional absorption due to a flare-associate CME.The CME mass is then estimated to be∼7×10^(18)–2×10^(20)g according to the ice cream cone model.

The Study of the Physical Properties and Energy Sources of Five Luminous Type Ibc Supernovae

In this paper,we study five luminous supernovae(LSNe)Ibc(SN 2009ca,ASASSN-15mj,SN 2019omd,SN 2002ued,and SN 2021bmf)whose peak absolute magnitudes M_(peakare)≈-19.5 to-21 mag by fitting their multi-band light curves(LCs)with different energy source models.We find that SN 2009ca might be powered by the^(56)Ni model since the required^(56)Ni mass(0.56 M_(⊙))is comparable to those of energetic SNe Ic,while the rest four SNe cannot be accounted for the^(56)Ni model since their derived^(56)Ni masses are(?)1 M_(⊙)or the ratios of the^(56)Ni mass to the ejecta mass are larger than 0.2.This indicates that some LSNe might be powered by^(56)Ni decay,while most of them need additional energy sources.We then use the magnetar plus^(56)Ni model and the fallback plus^(56)Ni model to fit the LCs of the four LSNe that cannot be explained by the^(56)Ni model,finding that the two models can account for the four SNe,and the derived parameters are comparable to those of LSNe or superluminous SNe in the literature,if they were(mainly)powered by magnetars or fallback.We suggest that the magnetar plus^(56)Ni model is more reasonable than the fallback plus^(56)Ni model,since the validity of the fallback plus^(56)Ni model depends on the value of accretion efficiency(η)and favors a largeηvalue,and the magnetar plus^(56)Ni model yields smallerχ^(2)/dof values.It should be pointed out that,however,the fallback plus^(56)Ni model is still a promising model that can account for the four SNe in our sample as well as other LSNe.

First application of plutonium in soil erosion research on terraces

The spatial distributions of ^(239+240)Pu and ^(137)Cs in soils from Longji Rice Terraces were investigated to evaluate soil erosion.The activity concentrations of ^(239+240)Pu and ^(137)Cs in the surface soils of the paddy fields were in the range of 0.089–0.734 and1.80–7.88 mBq/g,respectively.The activities of ^(239+240)Pu and ^(137)Cs showed very similar distribution trends,first increasing and then decreasing with increasing elevation.The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in the surface soils ranged from 0.162 to 0.232.The activities of ^(239+240)Pu and ^(137)Cs in the soil cores tended to be uniformly distributed within the plowed layer and declined exponentially below this depth.The mean soil erosion rates of Longji Rice Terraces estimated by ^(239+240)Pu and ^(137)Cs tracer methods were 5.44 t/(ha·a)and 5.16 t/(ha·a),respectively,which demonstrated that plutonium can replace ^(137)Cs as an ideal tracer for soil erosion research in the future.Landform features are the main factors affecting the distribution of plutonium and ^(137)Cs as well as soil erosion in the Longji Rice Terraces.