Search

Sr2IrO4 hosts a novel Jeff =1/2 Mott state and quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnetic order, providing a unique avenue of exploring emergent states of matter and functions that are extraordinarily sensitive to any structural variations. While the correlation between the physical property and lattice structure in Sr2IrO4 has been a focused issue in the past decade, a common perception assumes that the magnetic ordering is essentially determined by the Ir-O-Ir bond angle. Therefore, a delicate modulation of this angle and consequently a major modulation of the magnetic ordering, by chemical doping such as Ga at Ir site, has been extensively investigated and well believed. In this work, however, we present a whole package of structure and magnetism data on a series of single crystal and polycrystalline Sr2Ir1-xGaxO4 samples, revealing the substantial difference in the N\'eel temperature TN between the two types of samples, and the TN value for the polycrystalline sample x = 0.09 is even 64 K higher than that of the single crystal sample x = 0.09 (deltaTN ~ 64 K at x = 0.09). Our systematic investigations demonstrate the crucial role of the c/a ratio in tuning the interlayer coupling and thereby the Neel point TN, i.e. a higher TN can be achieved as c/a is reduced. The notable differences in structural parameters between the two groups of samples are probably caused by additional strain due to the massive grain boundaries in polycrystalline samples. The present work suggests an additional ingredient of physics that is essential in modulating the emergent properties in Sr2IrO4 and probably other iridates.

In this paper, we discuss the inflationary magnetogenesis scenario, in which the coupling function is introduced to break the conformal invariance of electromagnetic action. Unlike in conventional models, we deduce the Maxwell's equations under the perturbed FRW metric. We found that, the self-consistency of the action depends on the form of the coupling function when the scalar mode perturbations have been considered. Therefore, this self-consistency can be seen as a restriction on the coupling function. In this paper, we give the restrictive equation for coupling function then obtain the specific form of the coupling function in a simple model. We found that the coupling function depends on the potential of the inflaton and thus is model dependent. We obtain the power spectrum of electric field and magnetic field in large-field inflation model. We also found that the coupling function is a incresing function of time during slow-roll era as most of inflationary magnetogenesis models, it will lead to strong coupling problem. This issue is discussed qualitatively by introducing a correction function during the preheating.

The $^{13}$C($\alpha$,$n$)$^{16}$O reaction is the main neutron source for the slow-neutron-capture (s-) process in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars and for the intermediate (i-) process. Direct measurements at astrophysical energies in above-ground laboratories are hindered by the extremely small cross sections and vast cosmic-ray induced background. We performed the first consistent direct measurement in the range of $E_{\rm c.m.}=$0.24 MeV to 1.9 MeV using the accelerators at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) and Sichuan University. Our measurement covers almost the entire i-process Gamow window in which the large uncertainty of the previous experiments has been reduced from 60\% down to 15\%, eliminates the large systematic uncertainty in the extrapolation arising from the inconsistency of existing data sets, and provides a more reliable reaction rate for the studies of the s- and i-processes along with the first direct determination of the alpha strength for the near-threshold state.

Multiple isotopes of samarium element are the isotopes produced by the s process, and 154Sm is produced by the r process. In addition, 144Sm is p nuclei in nuclear astrophysics. The measurement of these can help us to better understand the results of relevant photonuclear reaction experiments. On the other hand, 149Sm is a 235U fission product with a 1% yield, its cross sections are important to reactor neutronics. In this work, the neutron capture yield of the natural samarium target was measured at the back-streaming white neutron beamline (Back-n) of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), and the resonance parameters were analyzed by SAMMY code. The resonance peaks and the neutron separation energies contributed by the different isotopes are considered individually. The results of the capture yield found signs of the possibility of two resonance peaks at 8 eV, which awaits further experimental examination. Cross-section was calculated according to resonance parameters and was compared with other experimental results and evaluation databases of ENDF/B-VIII.0 and CENDL-3.2. A clear difference between ENDF/B VIII.0 and CENDL-3.2 database appears at 23.2 eV, the experimental result at this energy is smaller than data of ENDF/B VIII.0 database but CENDL-3.2 database. Most of the controversial experimental results invariably come from the samarium 149 isotope., Comment: 10 pages,7 figures

Type II radio bursts are thought to be produced by shock waves in the solar atmosphere. However, what magnetic conditions are needed for the generation of type II radio bursts is still a puzzling issue. Here, we quantify the magnetic structure of a coronal shock associated with a type II radio burst. Based on the multi-perspective extreme-ultraviolet observations, we reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) shock surface. By using a magnetic field extrapolation model, we then derive the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the normal of the shock front ($\theta_{\rm Bn}$) and Alfv\'{e}n Mach number ($M_A$) on the shock front. Combining the radio observations from Nancay Radio Heliograph, we obtain the source region of the type II radio burst on the shock front. It is found that the radio burst is generated by a shock with $M_A \gtrsim 1.5$ and a bimodal distribution of $\theta_{Bn}$. We also use the Rankine-Hugoniot relations to quantify the properties of the shock downstream. Our results provide a quantitative 3D magnetic structure condition of a coronal shock that produces a type II radio burst., Comment: 18 Pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Using the short-cadence data (1-min interval) of the Kepler space telescope, we conducted a statistical analysis for the characteristic time of stellar flares on Sun-like stars (SLS). Akin to solar flares, stellar flares show rise and decay light-curve profiles, which reflect the two distinct phases (rise phase and decay phase) of the flare process. We derived characteristic times of the two phases for the stellar flares of SLS, resulting in a median rise time of about 5.9 min and a median decay time of 22.6 min. It is found that both the rise time and the decay time of the stellar flares follow a lognormal distribution. The peak positions of the lognormal distributions for flare rise time and decay time are 3.5 min and 14.8 min, respectively. These time values for stellar flares are similar to the time-scale of solar flares, which supports the idea that stellar flares and solar flares have the same physical mechanism. The statistical results obtained in this work for SLS can be a benchmark of flare characteristic times when comparing with other types of stars., Comment: Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, 3 ancillary files

Spin density waves, based on modulated local moments, are usually associated with metallic materials, but have recently been reported in insulators which display coupled magnetic and structural order parameters. We discuss one such example, the multiferroic Cu$_3$Nb$_2$O$_8$, which is reported to undergo two magnetic phase transitions, first to a spin density wave phase at $T_N \approx 26.5K$, and then to a helicoidal structure coupled to an electric polarization below $T_2 \approx 24K$ [R. D. Johnson, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 107, 137205 (2011)] which breaks the crystallographic inversion symmetry. We apply spherical polarimetry to confirm the low-temperature magnetic structure, yet only observe a single magnetic phase transition to helicoidal order. We argue that the reported spin density wave originates from a decoupling of the components of the magnetic order parameter, as allowed by symmetry and driven by thermal fluctuations. This provides a mechanism for the magnetic, but not nuclear, structure to break inversion symmetry thereby creating an intermediate phase where the structure imitates a spin density wave. As the temperature is reduced, this intermediate structure destabilizes the crystal such that a structural chirality is induced, as reflected by the emergence of the electric polarization, and the imitation spin density wave relaxes into a generic helicoid. This provides a situation where the magnetic structure breaks inversion symmetry while the crystal structure remains centrosymmetric., Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures

Longitudinal oscillations of solar filament have been investigated via numerical simulations continuously, but mainly in one dimension (1D), where the magnetic field line is treated as a rigid flux tube. Whereas those one-dimensional simulations can roughly reproduce the observed oscillation periods, implying that gravity is the main restoring force for filament longitudinal oscillations, the decay time in one-dimensional simulations is generally longer than in observations. In this paper, we perform a two-dimensional (2D) non-adiabatic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of filament longitudinal oscillations, and compare it with the 2D adiabatic case and 1D adiabatic and non-adiabatic cases. It is found that, whereas both non-adiabatic processes (radiation and heat conduction) can significantly reduce the decay time, wave leakage is another important mechanism to dissipate the kinetic energy of the oscillating filament when the magnetic field is weak so that gravity is comparable to Lorentz force. In this case, our simulations indicate that the pendulum model might lead to an error of ~100% in determining the curvature radius of the dipped magnetic field using the longitudinal oscillation period when the gravity to Lorentz force ratio is close to unity., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (X-STM) is used to experimentally study the influence of isovalent Bi atoms on the electronic structure of InP. We map the spatial pattern of the Bi impurity state, which originates from Bi atoms down to the sixth layer below the surface, in topographic, filled state X-STM images on the natural $\{110\}$ cleavage planes. The Bi impurity state has a highly anisotropic bowtie-like structure and extends over several lattice sites. These Bi-induced charge redistributions extend along the $\left\langle 110\right\rangle$ directions, which define the bowtie-like structures we observe. Local tight-binding calculations reproduce the experimentally observed spatial structure of the Bi impurity state. In addition, the influence of the Bi atoms on the electronic structure is investigated in scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements. These measurements show that Bi induces a resonant state in the valence band, which shifts the band edge towards higher energies. This is in good agreement to first principles calculations. Furthermore, we show that the energetic position of the Bi induced resonance and its influence on the onset of the valence band edge depend crucially on the position of the Bi atoms relative to the cleavage plane.

the main physics goal for Back-n white neutron facility at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is to measure nuclear data. The energy of neutrons is one of the most important parameters for measuring nuclear data. Method of time of flight (TOF) is used to obtain the energy of neutrons. The time when proton bunches hit the thick tungsten target is considered as the start point of TOF. T0 signal, generated from the CSNS accelerator, represents this start time. Besides, the T0 signal is also used as the gate control signal that triggers the readout electronics. Obviously, the timing precision of T0 directly affects the measurement precision of TOF and controls the running or readout electronics. In this paper, the T0 fan-out for Back-n white neutron facility at CSNS is proposed. The T0 signal travelling from the CSNS accelerator is fanned out to the two underground experiment stations respectively over long cables. To guarantee the timing precision, T0 signal is conditioned with good signal edge. Furthermore, techniques of signal pre-emphasizing and equalizing are used to improve signal quality after T0 being transmitted over long cables with about 100 m length. Experiments show that the T0 fan-out works well, the T0 signal transmitted over 100 m remains a good time resolution with a standard deviation of 25 ps. It absolutely meets the required accuracy of the measurement of TOF., Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, the 21st IEEE Real Time Conference

Back-n is a white neutron experimental facility at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). The time structure of the primary proton beam make it fully applicable to use TOF (time-of-flight) method for neutron energy measuring. We implement the electronics of TOF measurement on the general-purpose readout electronics designed for all of the seven detectors in Back-n. The electronics is based on PXIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express eXtensions for Instrumentation) platform, which is composed of FDM (Field Digitizer Modules), TCM (Trigger and Clock Module), and SCM (Signal Conditioning Module). T0 signal synchronous to the CSNS accelerator represents the neutron emission from the target. It is the start of time stamp. The trigger and clock module (TCM) receives, synchronizes and distributes the T0 signal to each FDM based on the PXIe backplane bus. Meantime, detector signals after being conditioned are fed into FDMs for waveform digitizing. First sample point of the signal is the stop of time stamp. According to the start, stop time stamp and the time of signal over threshold, the total TOF can be obtained. FPGA-based (Field Programmable Gate Array) TDC is implemented on TCM to accurately acquire the time interval between the asynchronous T0 signal and the global synchronous clock phase. There is also an FPGA-based TDC on FDM to accurately acquire the time interval between T0 arriving at FDM and the first sample point of the detector signal, the over threshold time of signal is obtained offline. This method for TOF measurement is efficient and not needed for additional modules. Test result shows the accuracy of TOF is sub-nanosecond and can meet the requirement for Back-n at CSNS., Comment: 4 pages, 13 figures, 21st IEEE Real Time Conference

China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) will start commissioning in early 2018. The neutron spectra from the tungsten target bombarding by 1.6 GeV proton beam are very wide, namely white neutron spectra. Two white neutron beams schemed by CSNS are simulated by FLUKA. And the beam spectrum and intensity comparisons with other neutron sources in service are made. The fidelity of neutron spectra of these two white-neutron beam lines for chip irradiation experiments are estimated. The CSNS atmospheric-like neutron beams will be the first white neutron beam lines in China and the most intensive ones in a few years suitable to carry out the accelerated test experiments of neutron single event effect in the world.

The POLAR detector is a space based Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) polarimeter with a wide field of view, which covers almost half the sky. The instrument uses Compton scattering of gamma rays on a plastic scintillator hodoscope to measure the polarization of the incoming photons. The instrument has been successfully launched on board of the Chinese space laboratory Tiangong~2 on September 15, 2016. The construction of the instrument components is described in this article. Details are provided on problems encountered during the construction phase and their solutions. Initial performance of the instrument in orbit is as expected from ground tests and Monte Carlo simulation.

The thermonuclear $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha_0$)$^{16}$O reaction rate in a temperature region of 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 up to about 30\% compared to the previous ones, although all rates are consistent within the uncertainties. At very low temperature (e.g. 0.01 GK) our reaction rate is about 20\% smaller 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 entering in the calculation of the reaction rate. At temperatures above $\sim$1 GK, our rate is smaller, for instance, by about 20\% around 1.75 GK, because we have re-evaluated in a meticulous way the previous data (Isoya et al., Nucl. Phys. 7, 116 (1958)). 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, which are mainly caused by the lack of low-energy experimental data and the large uncertainties of the existing data. The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star evolves at temperatures below 0.2 GK, where the $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha$)$^{16}$O 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, for the fluorine overabundances phenomenon observed in AGB stars. Precise cross section (or $S$ factor) data in the low energy region are therefore mandatory for astrophysical nucleosynthesis studies., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures

POLAR is a new satellite-born detector aiming to measure the polarization of an unprecedented number of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the 50-500 keV energy range. The instrument, launched on-board the Tiangong-2 Chinese Space lab on the 15th of September 2016, is designed to measure the polarization of the hard X-ray flux by measuring the distribution of the azimuthal scattering angles of the incoming photons. A detailed understanding of the polarimeter and specifically of the systematic effects induced by the instrument's non-uniformity are required for this purpose. In order to study the instrument's response to polarization, POLAR underwent a beam test at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France. In this paper both the beam test and the instrument performance will be described. This is followed by an overview of the Monte Carlo simulation tools developed for the instrument. Finally a comparison of the measured and simulated instrument performance will be provided and the instrument response to polarization will be presented., Comment: Preprint Accepted for Publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A

A white neutron beam line using the back-streaming neutrons from the spallation target at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is under construction. Different spectrometers mainly for nuclear data measurements to be installed in the so-called Back-n beam line are also under development in phases. The physics design of the beam line includes the overview of the characteristics of the neutron beam including energy spectrum, flux and time structure, and the optimizations of neutron beam spots and in-hall background with the help of a complicated collimation system and a sophisticated neutron dump. The wide neutron energy range of 1 eV~100 MeV is very good to support different applications, especially for nuclear data measurements. At Endstation#2 where is about 80 m from the target, the main properties include neutron flux of 106 n/cm2/s, time resolution of a few per mille over almost the whole energy range, in-hall background about 0.01 /cm2/s for both neutron and gamma. With its completion in late 2017, Back-n will be not only the first high-performance white neutron source in China, but also among the best white neutron sources in the world., Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 16 references

POLAR is space-borne detector designed for a precise measurement of gamma-ray polarization of the prompt emissions of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the energy range 50 keV - 500 keV. POLAR is a compact Compton polarimeter consisting of 40$\times$ 40 plastic scintillator bars read out by 25 multi-anode PMTs. In May 2015, we performed a series of tests of the POLAR flight model with 100\% polarized x-rays beams at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility beam-line ID11 aming to study thresholds, crosstalk between channels and responses of POLAR flight model to polarized X-ray beams. In this paper we present the data analysis method and some analysis results. According the results, POLAR FM has good polarimetric capabilities., Comment: The paper was withdrawn by authors because the work has not yet finshed

As a space-borne detector POLAR is designed to conduct hard X-ray polarization measurements of gamma-ray bursts on the statistically significant sample of events and with an unprecedented accuracy. During its development phase a number of tests, calibrations runs and verification measurements were carried out in order to validate instrument functionality and optimize operational parameters. In this article we present results on gain optimization togeter with verification data obtained in the course of broad laboratory and environmental tests. In particular we focus on exposures to the $^{137}$Cs radioactive source and determination of the gain dependence on the high voltage for all 1600 detection channels of the polarimeter. Performance of the instrument is described in detail with respect to the dynamic range, energy resolution and temperature dependence. Gain optimization algorithms and response non-uniformity studies are also broadly discussed. Results presented below constitute important parts for development of the POLAR calibration and operation database., Comment: There still some disagreement about one of the conclusions presented in the paper among all the authors

The molecular dynamics of solid benzene are extremely complex; especially below 77 K, its inner mechanics remain mostly unexplored. Benzene is also a prototypical molecular crystal that becomes energetically frustrated at low temperatures and usually unusual phenomena accompanies such scenarios. We performed dielectric constant measurements on solid benzene down to 5 K and observed a previously unidentified minimum in the imaginary part of the dielectric constant at Tm=17.9 K. Results obtained on deuterated solid benzene (C6D6, where D is deuterium) show an isotope effect in the form of a shift of the critical temperature to Tm'=18.9 K. Our findings indicate that at Tm, only the protons without the carbon atoms continue again to undergo rotational tunneling about the hexad axes. The deuterons appear to do the same accounting for an indirect observation of a continued and sustained 12-body tunneling event. We discuss how similar experiments performed on hydrogen-based molecular crystals can be exploited to help us obtain more insight on the quantum mechanics of many-body tunneling., Comment: 8 pages (12 font, single spaced), 4 figures

Background: Type I x-ray bursts are the most frequent thermonuclear explosions in the galaxy, resulting from thermonuclear runaway on the surface of an accreting neutron star. The $^{30}$S($\alpha$,p) reaction plays a critical role in burst models, yet insufficient experimental information is available to calculate a reliable, precise rate for this reaction. Purpose: Our measurement was conducted to search for states in $^{34}$Ar and determine their quantum properties. In particular, natural-parity states with large $\alpha$-decay partial widths should dominate the stellar reaction rate. Method: We performed the first measurement of $^{30}$S+$\alpha$ resonant elastic scattering up to a center-of-mass energy of 5.5 MeV using a radioactive ion beam. The experiment utilized a thick gaseous active target system and silicon detector array in inverse kinematics. Results: We obtained an excitation function for $^{30}$S($\alpha$,$\alpha$) near $150^{\circ}$ in the center-of-mass frame. The experimental data were analyzed with an $R$-Matrix calculation, and we observed three new resonant patterns between 11.1 and 12.1 MeV, extracting their properties of resonance energy, widths, spin, and parity. Conclusions: We calculated the resonant thermonuclear reaction rate of $^{30}$S($\alpha$,p) based on all available experimental data of $^{34}$Ar and found an upper limit about one order of magnitude larger than a rate determined using a statistical model. The astrophysical impact of these two rates has been investigated through one-zone postprocessing type I x-ray burst calculations. We find that our new upper limit for the $^{30}$S($\alpha$,p)$^{33}$Cl rate significantly affects the predicted nuclear energy generation rate during the burst., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures

Gamma-ray polarimetry is a new powerful tool to study the processes responsible for the emission from astrophysical sources and the environments in which this emission takes place. Few successful polarimetric measurements have however been performed thus far in the gamma-ray energy band due to the difficulties involved. POLAR is a dedicated polarimeter designed to perform high precision measurements of the polarization of the emission from gamma-ray burst in the 50-500 keV energy range. This new polarimeter is expected to detect approximately 50 gamma-ray bursts per year while performing high precision polarization measurements on approximately 10 bursts per year. The instrument was launched into lower earth orbit as part of the second Chinese space lab, the Tiangong-2, on September 15th 2016 and has been taking data successfully since being switched on one week after. The instrument uses a segmented scintillator array consisting of 1600 plastic scintillator bars, read out by 25 flat-panel multi-anode photomultipliers, to measure the Compton scattering angles of incoming photons. The small segmentation and relatively large uniform effective area allow the instrument to measure the polarization of a large number of transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts, with an unprecedented precision during its two year life-time. The final flight model underwent detailed calibration prior to launch as well as intensive space qualification tests, a summary of which will be presented in this paper. The instrument design will be discussed first followed by an overview of the on-ground tests, finally the in-orbit behavior as measured during the first weeks of the mission will be presented.

The thermonuclear rate of the 50Fe(p,gamma)51Co reaction in the Type I X-ray bursts (XRBs) temperature range has been reevaluated based on a recent precise mass measurement at CSRe lanzhou, where the proton separation energy Sp=142+/-77 keV has been determined firstly for the 51Co nucleus. Comparing to the previous theoretical predictions, the experimental Sp value has much smaller uncertainty. Based on the nuclear shell model and mirror nuclear structure information, we have calculated two sets of thermonuclear rates for the 50Fe(p,gamma)51Co reaction by utilizing the experimental Sp value. It shows that the statistical-model calculations are not ideally applicable for this reaction primarily because of the low density of low-lying excited states in 51Co. In this work, we recommend that a set of new reaction rate based on the mirror structure of 51Cr should be incorporated in the future astrophysical network calculations., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures and 5 tables

In 2014, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) approved the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics laboratory (JUNA) project, which aims at direct cross-section measurements of four key stellar nuclear reactions right down to the Gamow windows. In order to solve the observed fluorine overabundances in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, measuring the key $^{19}$F($p$,$\alpha$)$^{16}$O reaction at effective burning energies (i.e., at Gamow window) is established as one of the scientific research sub-projects. The present paper describes this sub-project in details, including motivation, status, experimental setup, yield and background estimation, aboveground test, as well as other relevant reactions., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables

Combined with magnetotransport measurements and first-principles calculations, we systematically investigated the effects of Bi incorporation on the electrical properties of the undoped InP1-xBix epilayers with 0

We have systematically investigated the optical properties of the InP1-xBix ternary alloys with 0

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the strongest explosions in the universe which might be associated with creation of black holes. Magnetic field structure and burst dynamics may influence polarization of the emitted gamma-rays. Precise polarization detection can be an ultimate tool to unveil the true GRB mechanism. POLAR is a space-borne Compton scattering detector for precise measurements of the GRB polarization. It consists of a 40$\times$40 array of plastic scintillator bars read out by 25 multi-anode PMTs (MaPMTs). It is scheduled to be launched into space in 2016 onboard of the Chinese space laboratory TG2. We present a dedicated methodology for POLAR calibration and some calibration results based on the combined use of the laboratory radioactive sources and polarized X-ray beams from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. They include calibration of the energy response, computation of the energy conversion factor vs. high voltage as well as determination of the threshold values, crosstalk contributions and polarization modulation factors., Comment: 2015 IEEE NSS conference proceedings

All the 16F levels are unbound by proton emission. To date the four low-lying 16F levels below 1 MeV have been experimentally identified with well established spin-parity values and excitation energies with an accuracy of 4 - 6 keV. However, there are still considerable discrepancies for their level widths. The present work aims to explore these level widths through an independent method. The angular distributions of the 15N(7Li, 6Li)16N reaction leading to the first four states in 16N were measured using a high-precision Q3D magnetic spectrograph. The neutron spectroscopic factors and the asymptotic normalization coefficients for these states in 16N were then derived based on distorted wave Born approximation analysis. The proton widths of the four low-lying resonant states in 16F were obtained according to charge symmetry of strong interaction., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables

The $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na reaction is thought to be one of the key breakout reactions from the hot CNO cycles to the rp-process in type I x-ray bursts. In this work, the resonant properties of the compound nucleus $^{22}$Mg have been investigated by measuring the resonant elastic scattering of $^{21}$Na+$p$. An 89 MeV $^{21}$Na radioactive beam delivered from the CNS Radioactive Ion Beam Separator bombarded an 8.8 mg/cm$^2$ thick polyethylene (CH$_{2}$)$_{n}$ target. The $^{21}$Na beam intensity was about 2$\times$10$^{5}$ pps, with a purity of about 70% on target. The recoiled protons were measured at the center-of-mass scattering angles of $\theta_{c.m.}$$\approx$175.2${^\circ}$, 152.2${^\circ}$, and 150.5${^\circ}$ by three sets of $\Delta E$-$E$ telescopes, respectively. The excitation function was obtained with the thick-target method over energies $E_x$($^{22}$Mg)=5.5--9.2 MeV. In total, 23 states above the proton-threshold in $^{22}$Mg were observed, and their resonant parameters were determined via an $R$-matrix analysis of the excitation functions. We have made several new $J^{\pi}$ assignments and confirmed some tentative assignments made in previous work. The thermonuclear $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na rate has been recalculated based on our recommended spin-parity assignments. The astrophysical impact of our new rate has been investigated through one-zone postprocessing x-ray burst calculations. We find that the $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na rate significantly affects the peak nuclear energy generation rate, reaction fluxes, as well as the onset temperature of this breakout reaction in these astrophysical phenomena.

Fluorine is a key element for nucleosynthetic studies since it is extremely sensitive to the physical conditions within stars. The astrophysical site to produce fluorine is suggested to be asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. In these stars the 15N(n, g)16N reaction could affect the abundance of fluorine by competing with 15N(a, g)19F. The 15N(n, g)16N reaction rate depends directly on the neutron spectroscopic factors of the low-lying states in 16N. The angular distributions of the 15N(7Li, 6Li)16N reaction populating the ground state and the first three excited states in 16N are measured using a Q3D magnetic spectrograph and are used to derive the spectroscopic factors of these states based on distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) analysis. The spectroscopic factors of these four states are extracted to be 0.96+-0.09, 0.69+-0.09, 0.84+-0.08 and 0.65+-0.08, respectively. Based on the new spectroscopic factors we derive the 15N(n,g)16N reaction rate. The accuracy and precision of the spectroscopic factors are enhanced due to the first application of high-precision magnetic spectrograph for resolving the closely-spaced 16N levels which can not be achieved in most recent measurement. The present result demonstrates that two levels corresponding to neutron transfers to the 2s1/2 orbit in 16N are not so good single-particle levels although 15N is a closed neutron-shell nucleus. This finding is contrary to the shell model expectation. The present work also provides an independent examination to shed some light on the existing discrepancies in the spectroscopic factors and the 15N(n, g)16N rate., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables

For the M active catalogue of Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST), 933 sources are presented in at least two exposures. We found that many M active stars show chromospheric variabilities in the Ca H, H$_{\alpha}$, H$_{\beta}$, and H$_{\gamma}$ lines on short or long timescales., Comment: 1 page, 1 figure, To appear in Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 298, "Setting the scene for Gaia and LAMOST", eds. S. Feltzing, G. Zhao, N. A. Walton, and P. A. Whitelock

We present a spectroscopic catalog of 67082 M dwarfs from the LAMOST pilot survey. For each spectrum of the catalog, spectral subtype, radial velocity, equivalent width of H${\alpha}$, a number of prominent molecular band indices and the metal sensitive parameter $\zeta$ are provided . Spectral subtype have been estimated by a remedied Hammer program (Original Hammer: Covey et al. 2007), in which indices are reselected to obtain more accurate auto-classified spectral subtypes. All spectra in this catalog have been visually inspected to confirm the spectral subtypes. Radial velocities have been well measured by our developed program which uses cross-correlation method and estimates uncertainty of radial velocity as well. We also examine the magnetic activity properties of M dwarfs traced by H${\alpha}$ emission line. The molecular band indices included in this catalog are temperature or metallicity sensitive and can be used for future analysis of the physical properties of M dwarfs. The catalog is available on the website \url{http://sciwiki.lamost.org/MCatalogPilot/}., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures,submitted to AJ

We present chromospheric activity index $S\rm_{HK}$ measurements for over 13,000 F, G and K disk stars with high signal-to-noise ratio ($>$ 60) spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) spectroscopic sample. A parameter $\delta$S is defined as the difference between $S\rm_{HK}$ and a `zero' emission line fitted by several of the most inactive stars. The $S\rm_{HK}$ indices of subgiant stars tend to be much lower than dwarfs, which provide a way to distinguish dwarfs and giants with relatively low resolution spectra. Cooler stars are generally more active and display a larger scatter than hotter stars. Stars associated with the thick disk are in general less active than those of the thin disk. The fraction of K dwarfs that are active drops with vertical distance from the Galactic plane. Metallicity affects $S\rm_{HK}$ measurements differently among F, G and K dwarfs in this sample. Using the open clusters NGC 2420, M67 and NGC6791 as calibrations, ages of most field stars in this SDSS sample range from 3-8 Gyr., Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, AJ, 2013, 145, 140

The $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na reaction provides a pathway for breakout from the hot CNO cycles to the $rp$-process in type I x-ray bursts. To better determine this astrophysical reaction rate, the resonance parameters of the compound nucleus $^{22}$Mg have been investigated by measuring the resonant elastic scattering of $^{21}$Na+$p$. An 89 MeV $^{21}$Na radioactive ion beam was produced at the CNS Radioactive Ion Beam Separator and bombarded an 8.8 mg/cm$^2$ thick polyethylene target. The recoiled protons were measured at scattering angles of $\theta_{c.m.}$$\approx 175 {^\circ}$ and 152${^\circ}$ by three $\Delta E$-$E$ silicon telescopes. The excitation function was obtained with a thick-target method over energies $E_x$($^{22}$Mg)=5.5--9.2 MeV. The resonance parameters have been determined through an $R$-matrix analysis. For the first time, the $J^{\pi}$ values for ten states above the alpha threshold in $^{22}$Mg have been experimentally determined in a single consistent measurement. We have made three new $J^{\pi}$ assignments and confirmed seven of the ten tentative assignments in the previous work. The $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na reaction rate has been recalculated, and the astrophysical impact of our new rate has been investigated through one-zone postprocessing x-ray burst calculations. We find that the $^{18}$Ne($\alpha$,$p$)$^{21}$Na rate significantly affects the peak nuclear energy generation rate and the onset temperature of this breakout reaction in these phenomena., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Properties of proton resonances in $^{18}$Ne have been investigated efficiently by utilizing a technique of proton resonant elastic scattering with a $^{17}$F radioactive ion (RI) beam and a thick proton target. A 4.22~MeV/nucleon $^{17}$F RI beam was produced via a projectile-fragmentation reaction, and subsequently separated by a Radioactive Ion Beam Line in Lanzhou ({\tt RIBLL}). Energy spectra of the recoiled protons were measured by two sets of $\Delta$E-E silicon telescope at center-of-mass scattering angles of $\theta_{c.m.}$$\approx$175${^\circ}$$\pm$5${^\circ}$, $\theta_{c.m.}$$\approx$152${^\circ}$$\pm$8${^\circ}$, respectively. Several proton resonances in $^{18}$Ne were observed, and their resonant parameters have been determined by an $R$-matrix analysis of the differential cross sections in combination with the previous results. The resonant parameters are related to the reaction-rate calculation of the stellar $^{14}$O($\alpha$,$p$)$^{17}$F reaction, which was thought to be the breakout reaction from the hot CNO cycles into the $rp$-process in x-ray bursters. Here, $J^\pi$=(3$^-$, 2$^-$) are tentatively assigned to the 6.15-MeV state which was thought the key 1$^-$ state previously. In addition, a doublet structure at 7.05 MeV are tentatively identified, and its contribution to the resonant reaction rate of $^{14}$O($\alpha$,$p$)$^{17}$F could be enhanced by at least factors of about 4$\sim$6 in comparison with the previous estimation involving only a singlet. The present calculated resonant rates are much larger than those previous values, and it may imply that this breakout reaction could play a crucial role under x-ray bursters conditions., Comment: 8 figures, 2 tables

The reaction rates of the key stellar reaction of $^{14}$O($\alpha$,p)$^{17}$F have been reexamined. The previous conclusion, the 6.15-MeV state ($J^{\pi}$=1$^-$) dominating this reaction rate, has been overthrown by a careful reanalysis of the previous experimental data [J. G\'{o}mez del Campo {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 86}, 43 (2001)]. According to the present $R$-matrix analysis, the previous 1$^-$ assignment for the 6.15-MeV state is definitely wrong. Most probably, the 6.286-MeV state is the 1$^-$ state and the 6.15-MeV state is a 3$^-$ one, and hence the resonance at $E_x$=6.286 MeV ($J^{\pi}$=1$^-$) dominates the reaction rates in the temperature region of astrophysical interests. The newly calculated reaction rates for the $^{14}$O($\alpha$,p)$^{17}$F reaction are quite different from the previous ones, for instance, it's only about 1/6 of the previous value around 0.4 GK, while it's about 2.4 times larger than the previous value around 2 GK. The astrophysical implications have been discussed based on the present conclusions., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

Ensuring the radiation hardness of PbWO4 crystals was one of the main priorities during the construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at CERN. The production on an industrial scale of radiation hard crystals and their certification over a period of several years represented a difficult challenge both for CMS and for the crystal suppliers. The present article reviews the related scientific and technological problems encountered., Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures, available on CMS information server at http://cms.cern.ch/iCMS/

We present measurements of mesoscopic resistance fluctuations in cobalt nanoparticles and study how the fluctuations with bias voltage, bias fingerprints, respond to magnetization reversal processes. Bias fingerprints rearrange when domains are nucleated or annihilated. The domain-wall causes an electron wavefunction phase-shift of $\approx 5\pi$. The phase-shift is not caused by the Aharonov-Bohm effect; we explain how it arises from the mistracking effect, where electron spins lag in orientation with respect to the moments inside the domain-wall. Dephasing time in Co at $0.03K$ is short, $\tau_\phi\sim ps$, which we attribute to the strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy., Comment: 5 pages 3 figs colour