Disorder effects in NbTiN superconducting resonators

Disordered superconducting materials like NbTiN possess a high kinetic inductance fraction and an adjustable critical temperature, making them a good choice for low-temperature detectors. Their energy gap(D), critical temperature(T_(c)),and quasiparticle density of states(QDOS) distribution, however, deviate from the classical BCS theory due to the disorder effects. The Usadel equation, which takes account of elastic scattering, non-elastic scattering, and electro–phonon coupling,can be applied to explain and describe these deviations. This paper presents numerical simulations of the disorder effects based on the Usadel equation to investigate their effects on the △, Tc, QDOS distribution, and complex conductivity of the NbTiN film. Furthermore, NbTiN superconducting resonators with coplanar waveguide(CPW) structures are fabricated and characterized at different temperatures to validate our numerical simulations. The pair-breaking parameter α and the critical temperature in the pure state T_(c)^(P) of our NbTiN film are determined from the experimental results and numerical simulations. This study has significant implications for the development of low-temperature detectors made of disordered superconducting materials.

星系金属丰度的研究进展(Ⅰ):定标方法

金属丰度是表征星系特征的重要参量,对于理解星系的形成与演化具有重要意义。随着观测设备的不断完善与发展,已经获得越来越多的星系(包括近邻星系、中等红移及高红移星系)金属丰度的观测资料。在光致电离模型方面也取得了很大进展．这些对于理解星系中金属及恒星成分的累积历史有非常重要的作用。有多种方法可以用来估计星系的金属丰度(主要是星际介质中气相的O丰度),介绍和评述了估计星系的O丰度的多种方法,包括电子温度的方法、R23方法以及其他一些“强线”比值的方法,并给出了相应的解析公式,同时介绍了电离星云的物理本质及由光致电离模型估计星系金属丰度的方法,还给出了估计星系的C和N元素丰度的方法。

星系金属丰度的研究进展(Ⅱ):光度-金属丰度关系

金属丰度与星系光度是星系的重要特征参量,研究它们之间的关系有助于理解星系中恒星质量与金属成分的累积过程。评述了星系的光度-金属丰度关系的最新研究进展,包括对近邻星系、中等红移星系(0．4<z<1)及高红移星系(z>2)的研究结果．由于观测样本跨越较宽的宇宙学时标,可以由此来探讨这一关系的演化过程,从而帮助理解星系演化的整体图景。

Multiwavelength study of nearly face-on low surface brightness disk galaxies

We study the ages of a large sample （1802） of nearly face-on disk low surface brightness galaxies （LSBGs） using the evolutionary population synthesis （EPS） model PEGASE with an exponentially decreasing star formation rate to fit their mul- tiwavelength spectral energy distributions （SEDs） from far-ultraviolet （FUV） to nearinfrared （NIR）. The derived ages of LSBGs are 1-5 Gyr for most of the sample no matter if constant or varying dust extinction is adopted, which are similar to most of the previous studies on smaller samples. This means that these LSBGs formed the majority of their stars quite recently. However, a small part of the sample （~2%-3%） has larger ages of 5-8 Gyr, meaning their major star forming process may have occurred earlier. At the same time, a large sample （5886） of high surface brightness galaxies （HSBGs） are selected and studied using the same method for comparisons. The de- rived ages are 1-5 Gyr for most of the sample （97%） as well. These results probably mean that these LSBGs have not much different star formation histories from their HSBGs counterparts. However, we should notice that the HSBGs are generally about 0.2 Gyr younger, which could mean that the HSBGs may have undergone more recent star forming activities than the LSBGs.

Chemical abundance analysis of 19 barium stars

We aim at deriving accurate atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances of 19 barium（Ba） stars, including both strong and mild Ba stars, based on the high signal-to-noise ratio and high resolution Echelle spectra obtained from the 2.16 m telescope at Xinglong station of National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The chemical abundances of the sample stars were obtained from an LTE, plane-parallel and line-blanketed atmospheric model by inputting the atmospheric parameters（effective temperatures Teff, surface gravities log g, metallicity [Fe/H] and microturbulence velocity ξt） and equivalent widths of stellar absorption lines. These samples of Ba stars are giants as indicated by atmospheric parameters, metallicities and kinematic analysis about UVW velocity. Chemical abundances of 17 elements were obtained for these Ba stars. Their Na, Al, α- and iron-peak elements（O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca,Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni） are similar to the solar abundances. Our samples of Ba stars show obvious overabundances of neutron-capture（n-capture） process elements relative to the Sun. Their median abundances of[Ba/Fe], [La/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] are 0.54, 0.65 and 0.40, respectively. The Y I and Zr I abundances are lower than Ba, La and Eu, but higher than the α- and iron-peak elements for the strong Ba stars and similar to the iron-peak elements for the mild stars. There exists a positive correlation between Ba intensity and [Ba/Fe].For the n-capture elements（Y, Zr, Ba, La）, there is an anti-correlation between their [X/Fe] and [Fe/H]. We identify nine of our sample stars as strong Ba stars with [Ba/Fe]〉0.6 where seven of them have Ba intensity Ba=2-5, one has Ba=1.5 and another one has Ba=1.0. The remaining ten stars are classified as mild Ba stars with 0.17〈[Ba/Fe]〈0.54.

The properties of a large volume-limited sample of face-on low surface brightness disk galaxies

We select a large volume-limited sample of low surface brightness galax- ies （LSBGs, 2021） to investigate in detail their statistical properties and their dif- ferences from high surface brightness galaxies （HSBGs, 3639）. The distributions of stellar masses of LSBGs and HSBGs are nearly the same and they have the same me- dian values. Thus this volume-limited sample has good completeness and is further removed from the effect of stellar masses on their other properties when we compare LSBGs to HSBGs. We found that LSBGs tend to have lower stellar metallicities and lower effective dust attenuations, indicating that they have lower dust than HSBGs. The LSBGs have relatively higher stellar mass-to-light ratios, higher gas fractions, lower star forming rates （SFRs）, and lower specific SFRs than HSBGs. Moreover, with the decreasing surface brightness, gas fraction increases, but the SFRs and spe- cific SFRs decrease rapidly for the sample galaxies. This could mean that the star formation histories between LSBGs and HSBGs are different, and HSBGs may have stronger star forming activities than LSBGs.

HⅠ emission from the red giant Y CVn with the VLA and FAST

Imaging studies with the Very Large Array（VLA） have revealed H I emission associated with the extended circumstellar shells of red giants. We analyze the spectral map obtained on Y CVn, a J-type carbon star on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. The H I line profiles can be interpreted with a model of a detached shell resulting from the interaction of a stellar outflow with the local interstellar medium.We reproduce the spectral map by introducing a distortion along a direction corresponding to the star＇s motion in space. We then use this fitting to simulate observations expected from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope（FAST）, and discuss its potential for improving our description of the outer regions of circumstellar shells.

On the central symmetry of the circumstellar envelope of RS Cnc

We present a phenomenological study of CO（1-0） and CO（2-1） emission from the circumstellar envelope （CSE） of the Asymptotic Giant Branch （AGB） star RS Cnc. It reveals departures from central symmetry that turn out to be efficient tools for the exploration of some of the properties of the CSE. We use a wind model including a bipolar flow with a typical wind velocity of ～8 km s^-1 that decreases to ～2 km s^-1 near the equator. This wind model is used to describe Doppler velocity spectral maps obtained by merging data collected at the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer and Pico Veleta single dish radio telescope. Parameters describing the wind morphology and kinematics are obtained, together with the radial dependence of the gas temperature in the domain of the CSE probed by the CO observations. Significant north-south central asymmetries are revealed by the analysis, which we quantify using a simple phenomenological description. The origin of such asymmetries is unclear.

Searching for Multiple Populations in Star Clusters Using the China Space Station Telescope

Multiple stellar populations(MPs) in most star clusters older than 2 Gyr, as seen by lots of spectroscopic and photometric studies, have led to a significant challenge to the traditional view of star formation. In this field, spacebased instruments, in particular the Hubble Space Telescope(HST), have made a breakthrough as they significantly improved the efficiency of detecting MPs in crowded stellar fields by images. The China Space Station Telescope(CSST) and the HST are sensitive to a similar wavelength interval, but the CSST covers a field of view which is about 5–8 times wider than that of HST. One of its instruments, the Multi-Channel Imager(MCI),will have multiple filters covering a wide wavelength range from NUV to NIR, making the CSST a potentially powerful tool for studying MPs in clusters. In this work, we evaluate the efficiency of the designed filters for the MCI/CSST in revealing MPs in different color–magnitude diagrams(CMDs). We find that CMDs made with MCI/CSST photometry in appropriate UV filters are powerful tools to disentangle stellar populations with different abundances of He, C, N, O and Mg. On the contrary, the traditional CMDs are blind to multiple populations in globular clusters(GCs). We show that CSST has the potential of being the spearhead instrument for investigating MPs in GCs in the next decades.

Relations between stellar mass and electron temperature-based metallicity for star-forming galaxies in a wide mass range

We select 947 star-forming galaxies from SDSS-DR7 with [O III]λ4363emission lines detected at a signal-to-noise ratio larger than 5σ. Their electron temperatures and direct oxygen abundances are then determined. We compare the results from different methods. t2, the electron temperature in the low ionization region, estimated from t3, that in the high ionization region, is compared using three analysis relations between t2- t3. These show obvious differences, which result in some different ionic oxygen abundances. The results of t3, t2, O＋＋/H＋and O＋/H＋derived by using methods from IRAF and literature are also compared. The ionic abundances O＋＋/H＋are higher than O＋/H＋for most cases. The different oxygen abundances derived from Teand the strong-line ratios show a clear discrepancy, which is more obvious following increasing stellar mass and strong-line ratio R23. The sample of galaxies from SDSS with detected [O III]λ4363 have lower metallicites and higher star formation rates, so they may not be typical representatives of the whole population of galaxies. Adopting data objects from Andrews ＆ Martini, Liang et al. and Lee et al. data, we derive new relations of stellar mass and metallicity for star-forming galaxies in a much wider stellar mass range： from 106 M to 1011 M.

New HⅠObservations Toward the NGC 5055 Galaxy Group with FAST

We report a new high-sensitivity HⅠmapping observation of the NGC 5055 galaxy group over an area of 1°.5×0°.75 with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST).Our observation reveals that the warped HⅠdisk of NGC 5055 is more extended than what was previously observed by WSRT,out to239(61.7 kpc).The total HⅠmass of NGC 5055 is determined to be~1.1×10^(10)M_Θ.We identified three HⅠclouds with HⅠmasses of the order of~10^(7)M_Θat the southeastern edge of the HⅠdisk,as well as a candidate high-velocity cloud with an HⅠmass of(1.2±0.5)×10^(6)M_Θto the north of NGC 5055.The HⅠcontent of UGCA337 is robustly detected for the first time by the FAST observations.It has a narrow HⅠlinewidth of W_(50)=17.4±3.8 km s^(-1)with a total HⅠmass of(3.5±0.3)×10^(6)M_Θ.Comparing the gas content and g-r color of UGCA 337 with typical low-mass dwarf galaxies,UGCA 337 appears relatively gas-poor despite its blue color.This suggests that UGCA 337 may have undergone gas stripping in the past.We also analyzed the possible origin of the diffuse HⅠclouds located at the outskirts of NGC 5055,and speculate that they might be the remnant features of a merger event in the past.

Laboratory radiative accretion shocks on GEKKO XⅡlaser facility for POLAR project

A new target design is presented to model high-energy radiative accretion shocks in polars. In this paper, we present the experimental results obtained on the GEKKO XII laser facility for the POLAR project. The experimental results are compared with 2 D FCI2 simulations to characterize the dynamics and the structure of plasma flow before and after the collision. The good agreement between simulations and experimental data confirms the formation of a reverse shock where cooling losses start modifying the post-shock region. With the multi-material structure of the target,a hydrodynamic collimation is exhibited and a radiative structure coupled with the reverse shock is highlighted in both experimental data and simulations. The flexibility of the laser energy produced on GEKKO XII allowed us to produce high-velocity flows and study new and interesting radiation hydrodynamic regimes between those obtained on the LULI2000 and Orion laser facilities.

Analytical modelling of the expansion of a solid obstacle interacting with a radiative shock

In this paper, we present a model characterizing the interaction of a radiative shock(RS) with a solid material, as described in a recent paper(Koenig et al., Phys. Plasmas, 24, 082707(2017)), the new model is then related to recent experiments performed on the GEKKO XII laser facility. The RS generated in a xenon gas cell propagates towards a solid obstacle that is ablated by radiation coming from the shock front and the radiative precursor, mimicking processes occurring in astrophysical phenomena. The model presented here calculates the dynamics of the obstacle expansion,which depends on several parameters, notably the geometry and the temperature of the shock. All parameters required for the model have been obtained from experiments. Good agreement between experimental data and the model is found when spherical geometry is taken into account. As a consequence, this model is a useful and easy tool to infer parameters from experimental data(such as the shock temperature), and also to design future experiments.

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection(GRAND):Science and design

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection(GRAND)is a planned large-scale observatory of ultra-high-energy(UHE)cosmic particles,with energies exceeding 10~8 Ge V.Its goal is to solve the long-standing mystery of the origin of UHE cosmic rays.To do this,GRAND will detect an unprecedented number of UHE cosmic rays and search for the undiscovered UHE neutrinos and gamma rays associated to them with unmatched sensitivity.GRAND will use large arrays of antennas to detect the radio emission coming from extensive air showers initiated by UHE particles in the atmosphere.Its design is modular:20 separate,independent sub-arrays,each of 10000 radio antennas deployed over 10000 km^2.A staged construction plan will validate key detection techniques while achieving important science goals early.Here we present the science goals,detection strategy,preliminary design,performance goals,and construction plans for GRAND.