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  • Quantum gravity might restrict a cyclic evolution

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: It is generally expected that in a non-singular cosmological model a cyclic evolution is straightforward to obtain on introduction of a suitable choice of a scalar field with a negative potential or a negative cosmological constant which causes a recollapse at some time in the evolution. We present a counter example to this conventional wisdom. Working in the realm of loop cosmological models with non-perturbative quantum gravity modifications we show that a modified version of standard loop quantum cosmology based on Thiemann's regularization of the Hamiltonian constraint while generically non-singular does not allow a cyclic evolution unless some highly restrictive conditions hold. Irrespective of the energy density of other matter fields, a recollapse and hence a cyclic evolution is only possible if one chooses an almost Planck sized negative potential of the scalar field or a negative cosmological constant. Further, cycles when present do not occur in the classical regime. Surprisingly, a necessary condition for a cyclic evolution, not singularity resolution, turns out to be a violation of the weak energy condition. These results are in a striking contrast to standard loop quantum cosmology where obtaining a recollapse at large volumes and a cyclic evolution is straightforward, and, there is no violation of weak energy condition. On one hand our work shows that some quantum cosmological models even though non-singular and bouncing are incompatible with a cyclic evolution, and on the other hand demonstrates that differences in various quantization prescriptions in loop cosmology need not be faint and buried in the pre-bounce regime, but can be striking and profound even in the post-bounce regime.

  • On a close relationship between the dressed metric and the hybrid approach to perturbations in effective loop quantum cosmology

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The dressed metric and the hybrid approach to perturbations are the two main approaches to capture the effects of quantum geometry in the primordial power spectrum in loop quantum cosmology. Both consider Fock quantized perturbations over a loop quantized background and result in very similar predictions except for the modes which exit the horizon in the effective spacetime in the Planck regime. Understanding precise relationship between both approaches has so far remained obscured due to differences in construction and technical assumptions. We explore this issue at the classical and effective spacetime level for linear perturbations, ignoring backreaction, which is the level at which practical computations of the power spectrum in both of the approaches have so far been performed. We first show that at the classical level both the approaches lead to the same Hamiltonian up to the second order in perturbations and result in the same classical mass functions in the Mukhanov-Sasaki equation on the physical solutions. At the effective spacetime level, the difference in phenomenological predictions between the two approaches in the Planck regime can be traced to whether one uses the Mukhanov-Sasaki variable $Q_{\vec k}$ (the dressed metric approach) or its rescaled version $\nu_{\vec k}=aQ_{\vec k}$ (the hybrid approach) to write the Hamiltonian of the perturbations, and associated polymerization ambiguities. It turns out that if in the dressed metric approach one chooses to work with $\nu_{\vec{k}}$, the effective mass function can be written exactly as in the hybrid approach, thus leading to identical phenomenological predictions in all regimes. Our results explicitly show that the dressed metric and the hybrid approaches for linear perturbations, at a practical computational level, can be seen as two sides of the same coin.

  • Phenomenological implications of modified loop cosmologies: an overview

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: In this paper, we first provide a brief review of the effective dynamics of two recently well-studied models of modified loop quantum cosmologies (mLQCs), which arise from different regularizations of the Hamiltonian constraint and show the robustness of a generic resolution of the big bang singularity, replaced by a quantum bounce due to non-perturbative Planck scale effects. As in loop quantum cosmology (LQC), in these modified models the slow-roll inflation happens generically. We consider the cosmological perturbations following the dressed and hybrid approaches and clarify some subtle issues regarding the ambiguity of the extension of the effective potential of the scalar perturbations across the quantum bounce, and the choice of initial conditions. Both of the modified regularizations yield primordial power spectra that are consistent with current observations for the Starobinsky potential within the framework of either the dressed or the hybrid approach. But differences in primordial power spectra are identified among the mLQCs and LQC. In addition, for mLQC-I, striking differences arise between the dressed and hybrid approaches in the infrared and oscillatory regimes. While the differences between the two modified models can be attributed to differences in the Planck scale physics, the permissible choices of the initial conditions and the differences between the two perturbation approaches have been reported for the first time. All these differences, due to either the different regularizations or the different perturbation approaches in principle can be observed in terms of non-Gaussianities.

  • First Order Color Symmetry Breaking and Restoration Triggered by Electroweak Symmetry Non-restoration

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: In this paper we propose a new approach for the spontaneous breaking and restoration of the $SU(3)_C$ color symmetry in the framework of electroweak symmetry non-restoration (EWSNR) at high temperature, which provides an alternative approach for the Baryogenesis. Due to the exotic high vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the SM Higgs doublet in EWSNR, the color symmetry can be spontaneous broken succeeding the electroweak phase transition whenever there is a negative quartic coupling between the SM Higgs and a scalar color triplet. The color symmetry is then restored at low temperature as the VEV of SM Higgs evolving to small value. We show that the phase transitions related to color breaking and restoration can be first order, and the stochastic gravitational wave (GW) signals are smoking-gun of these processes. We demonstrate the possibility of detecting these GW signals in future GW experiments such as DECIGO and BBO.

  • Unified generation and fast emission of arbitrary single-photon multimode $W$ states

    分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We propose a unified and deterministic scheme to generate arbitrary single-photon multimode $W$ states in circuit QED. A three-level system (qutrit) is driven by a pump-laser pulse and coupled to $N$ spatially separated resonators. The coupling strength for each spatial mode $g_i$ totally decide the generated single-photon N-mode $W$ state $\vert W_N \rangle=\frac{1}{A}\sum_{i=1}^N g_i|0_1 0_2 \cdots 1_i 0_{i+1}\cdots 0_N\rangle$, so arbitrary $\vert W_N \rangle$ can be generated just by tuning $g_i$. We could not only generate $W$ states inside resonators but also release them into transmission lines on demand. The time and fidelity for generating (or emitting) $\vert W_N \rangle$ can both be the same for arbitrary $N$. Remarkably, $\vert W_N\rangle$ can be emitted with probability reaching $98.9\%$ in $20-50$ ns depending on parameters, comparable to the recently reported fastest two-qubit gate ($30-45$ ns). Finally, the time evolution process is convenient to control since only the pump pulse is time-dependent.

  • Design, characterization, and sensitivity of the supernova trigger system at Daya Bay

    分类: 物理学 >> 核物理学 提交时间: 2016-09-13

    摘要: Providing an early warning of galactic supernova explosions from neutrino signals is important in studying supernova dynamics and neutrino physics. A dedicated supernova trigger system has been designed and installed in the data acquisition system at Daya Bay and integrated into the worldwide Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS). Daya Bay's unique feature of eight identically-designed detectors deployed in three separate experimental halls makes the trigger system naturally robust against cosmogenic backgrounds, enabling a prompt analysis of online triggers and a tight control of the false-alert rate. The trigger system is estimated to be fully sensitive to 1987A-type supernova bursts throughout most of the Milky Way. The significant gain in sensitivity of the eight-detector configuration over a mass-equivalent single detector is also estimated. The experience of this online trigger system is applicable to future projects with spatially distributed detectors.

  • Characteristics and close-range exploration methods of near- Earth asteroid 2016HO3

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文仪器与技术 提交时间: 2024-02-07 合作期刊: 《天文技术与仪器(英文)》

    摘要:The characteristics of asteroids are vital parameters for planning asteroid exploration missions. These characteristics have been explored in close range for some typical asteroids, and are summarized in the article. This allows estimates of the characteristics of asteroid 2016HO3, the target of the first Chinese asteroid exploration mission, Tianwen 2. We obtain 80 characteristic parameters in 9 categories and analyze their impacts on the mission. By comparing three close-range exploration modes, we provide advantages and disadvantages of each, and propose suitable methods for the exploration of 2016HO3. Owing to the weak gravity and small size of 2016HO3, a combination of multiple hovering positions and active orbiting is recommended for scientific exploration.

  • Resolved frustrated tunneling ionization in asymmetrical fast oscillation of above-threshold ionization spectrum

    分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Tunneling ionization is one of the fundamental electron dynamics, which has wide applications in ultrafast physics. When frustrated tunneling ionization (FTI) is considered, the tunneling rate is not equivalent to ionization rate. However, it is hard to resolve the effects of FTI and direct tunneling ionization (DTI) in ionization spectrum experimentally. Here we report the first observation of the asymmetrical fast oscillation in above-threshold ionization (ATI) spectrum of Argon as function of carrier-envelope phase (CEP), to the best of our knowledge. Simulation results identify that in the experimental ATI spectrum, the {\pi}/5 oscillation originates from the quantum interference of electrons in FTI, while DTI is responsible for the asymmetry. Our results provide clear evidence to resolve the effects of direct tunneling and FTI in a new physical regime.

  • Observation of fractional topological numbers at photonic edges and corners

    分类: 光学 >> 量子光学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Topological phases of matter are featured with exotic edge states. However, the fractional topological numbers at edges, though predicted long ago by Jackiw and Rebbi, remain elusive in topological photonic systems. Here, we report on the observation of fractional topological numbers at the topological edges and corners in one- and two-dimensional photonic crystals. The fractional topological numbers are determined via the measurements of the photonic local density-of-states. In one-dimensional photonic crystals, we witness a rapid change of the fractional topological number at the edges rising from 0 to 1/2 when the photonic band gap experiences a topological transition, confirming the well-known prediction of Jackiw and Rebbi. In two-dimensional systems, we discover that the fractional topological number in the corner region varies from 0 to 1/2 and 1/4 in different photonic band gap phases. Our study paves the way toward topological manipulation of fractional quantum numbers in photonics.

  • Lithospheric loading model for large impact basin where mantle plug presents

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Lithosphere is an outer rigid part of the terrestrial body, usually consisting of the crust and part of the mantle. Characterizing the physical properties of the lithosphere is critical in investigating its evolution. By modeling mass-related loads within the lithosphere, physical parameters such as the elastic thickness of the lithosphere can be inferred from gravity and topography data. In the impact basin region, however, the low topography-gravity correlation and the sharp change in admittance from negative to positive within a narrow spheric harmonic degree make this model inapplicable. In this work, we incorporated mantle uplift structures commonly formed in impact basin regions into the lithospheric loading model. The crustal-mantle boundary of this mantle uplift structure is inferred from the global crustal thickness model. The gravity anomaly of the deflected lithosphere is calculated at the surface and crustal-mantle boundary, then the theoretical gravity admittance and correlation can be compared with the observed data. We sampled parameters using this mantle loading model at Argyre and Isidis basin on Mars with a novel crustal thickness model from the InSight mission. Our work suggests that proper modelling of the impact-induced load is critical to understanding the physical properties of the planetary lithosphere in the basin region.

  • Properties of dense molecular gas along the major axis of M 82

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Dense gas is important for galaxy evolution and star formation. Optically-thin dense-gas tracers, such as isotopologues of HCN, HCO+, etc., are very helpful to diagnose excitation conditions of dense molecular gas. However, previous studies of optically-thin dense-gas tracers were mostly focusing on average properties of galaxies as a whole, due to limited sensitivity and angular resolution. M82, a nearby prototype starburst galaxy, offers a unique case for spatially-resolved studies with single-dish telescopes. With the IRAM 30-m telescope, we observed the J = 1 - 0 transition of H13CN, HC15N, H13CO+, HN13C, H15NC, and SiO J = 2 - 1, HC3N J= 10 - 9, H2CO J = 2 - 1 toward five positions along the major axis of M82. The intensity ratios of I(HCN)/I(H13CN) and I(HCO+)/I(H13CO+) show a significant spatial variation along the major axis, with lower values in the central region than those on the disk, indicating higher optical depths in the central region. The optical depths of HCO+ lines are found to be systematically higher than those of HCN lines at all positions. Futhermore, we find that the 14N/15N ratios have an increasing gradient from the center to the outer disk.

  • Lithospheric loading model for large impact basin where mantle plug presents

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Lithosphere is an outer rigid part of the terrestrial body, usually consisting of the crust and part of the mantle. Characterizing the physical properties of the lithosphere is critical in investigating its evolution. By modeling mass-related loads within the lithosphere, physical parameters such as the elastic thickness of the lithosphere can be inferred from gravity and topography data. In the impact basin region, however, the low topography-gravity correlation and the sharp change in admittance from negative to positive within a narrow spheric harmonic degree make this model inapplicable. In this work, we incorporated mantle uplift structures commonly formed in impact basin regions into the lithospheric loading model. The crustal-mantle boundary of this mantle uplift structure is inferred from the global crustal thickness model. The gravity anomaly of the deflected lithosphere is calculated at the surface and crustal-mantle boundary, then the theoretical gravity admittance and correlation can be compared with the observed data. We sampled parameters using this mantle loading model at Argyre and Isidis basin on Mars with a novel crustal thickness model from the InSight mission. Our work suggests that proper modelling of the impact-induced load is critical to understanding the physical properties of the planetary lithosphere in the basin region.

  • Ultrahigh-Pressure Magnesium Hydrosilicates as Reservoirs of Water in Early Earth

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The origin of water on the Earth is a long-standing mystery, requiring a comprehensive search for hydrous compounds, stable at conditions of the deep Earth and made of Earth-abundant elements. Previous studies usually focused on the current range of pressure-temperature conditions in the Earth's mantle and ignored a possible difference in the past, such as the stage of the core-mantle separation. Here, using ab initio evolutionary structure prediction, we find that only two magnesium hydrosilicate phases are stable at megabar pressures, $\alpha$-Mg$_2$SiO$_5$H$_2$ and $\beta$-Mg$_2$SiO$_5$H$_2$, stable at 262-338 GPa and >338 GPa,respectively (all these pressures now lie within the Earth's iron core). Both are superionic conductors with quasi-one-dimensional proton diffusion at relevant conditions. In the first 30 million years of Earth's history, before the Earth's core was formed, these must have existed in the Earth, hosting much of Earth's water. As dense iron alloys segregated to form the Earth's core, Mg$_2$SiO$_5$H$_2$ phases decomposed and released water. Thus, now-extinct Mg$_2$SiO$_5$H$_2$ phases have likely contributed in a major way to the evolution of our planet.

  • The ALMA Survey of 70 $\mu \rm m$ Dark High-mass Clumps in Early Stages (ASHES). VII: Chemistry of Embedded Dense Cores

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a study of chemistry toward 294 dense cores in 12 molecular clumps using the data obtained from the ALMA Survey of 70 $\mu \rm m$ dark High-mass clumps in Early Stages (ASHES). We identified 97 protostellar cores and 197 prestellar core candidates based on the detection of outflows and molecular transitions of high upper energy levels ($E_{u}/k > 45$ K). The detection rate of the N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ emission toward the protostellar cores is 38%, which is higher than 9% for the prestellar cores, indicating that N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ does not exclusively trace prestellar cores. The detection rates of the DCO$^{+}$ emission are 35% for the prestellar cores and 49% for the protostellar cores, which are higher than those of N$_{2}$D$^{+}$, implying that DCO$^{+}$ appears more frequently than N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ in both prestellar and protostellar cores. Both N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ and DCO$^{+}$ abundances appear to decrease from the prestellar to protostellar stage. The DCN, C$_{2}$D and $^{13}$CS emission lines are rarely seen in the dense cores of early evolutionary phases. The detection rate of the H$_{2}$CO emission toward dense cores is 52%, three times higher than that of CH$_{3}$OH (17%). In addition, the H$_{2}$CO detection rate, abundance, line intensities, and line widths increase with the core evolutionary status, suggesting that the H$_{2}$CO line emission is sensitive to protostellar activity.

  • CHES: a space-borne astrometric mission for the detection of habitable planets of the nearby solar-type stars

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of the nearby solar-type stars ($\sim 10~\mathrm{pc}$ away from our solar system) via micro-arcsecond relative astrometry. The major scientific objectives of CHES are: to search for Earth Twins or terrestrial planets in habitable zones orbiting 100 FGK nearby stars; further to conduct a comprehensive survey and extensively characterize the nearby planetary systems. The primary payload is a high-quality, low-distortion, high-stability telescope. The optical subsystem is a coaxial three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) with a $1.2 \mathrm{~m}$-aperture, $0.44^{\circ} \times 0.44^{\circ}$ field of view and $500 \mathrm{~nm}-900 \mathrm{~nm}$ working waveband. The camera focal plane is composed of 81 MOSAIC scientific CMOS detectors each with $4 \mathrm{~K} \times 4 \mathrm{~K}$ pixels. The heterodyne laser interferometric calibration technology is employed to ensure micro-arcsecond level (1 $\mu$as) relative astrometry precision to meet the requirements for detection of Earth-like planets. CHES satellite operates at the Sun-Earth L2 point and observes the entire target stars for 5 years. CHES will offer the first direct measurements of true masses and inclinations of Earth Twins and super-Earths orbiting our neighbor stars based on micro-arcsecond astrometry from space. This will definitely enhance our understanding of the formation of diverse nearby planetary systems and the emergence of other worlds for solar-type stars, and finally to reflect the evolution of our own solar system.

  • ALMA observations of NGC 6334S. II. Subsonic and Transonic Narrow Filaments in a High-mass Star Formation Cloud

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a study of narrow filaments toward a massive infrared dark cloud, NGC 6334S, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Thirteen gas filaments are identified using the H$^{13}$CO$^{+}$ line, while a single continuum filament is revealed by the continuum emission. The filaments present a compact radial distribution with a median filament width of $\sim$0.04 pc narrower than the previously proposed `quasi-universal' 0.1~pc filament width. The higher spatial resolution observations and higher-density gas tracer tend to identify even narrower and lower mass filaments. The filament widths are roughly twice the size of embedded cores. The gas filaments are largely supported by thermal motions. The nonthermal motions are predominantly subsonic and transonic in both identified gas filaments and embedded cores, which may imply that stars are likely born in environments of low turbulence. A fraction of embedded objects show a narrower velocity dispersion compared with their corresponding natal filaments, which may indicate that the turbulent dissipation is taking place in these embedded cores. The physical properties (mass, mass per unit length, gas kinematics, and width) of gas filaments are analogous to those of narrow filaments found in low- to high-mass star-forming regions. The more evolved sources are found to be farther away from the filaments, a situation that may have resulted from the relative motions between the YSOs and their natal filaments.

  • A Low-mass Cold and Quiescent Core Population in a Massive Star Protocluster

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Pre-stellar cores represent the initial conditions of star formation. Although these initial conditions in nearby low-mass star-forming regions have been investigated in detail, such initial conditions remain vastly unexplored for massive star-forming regions. We report the detection of a cluster of low-mass starless and pre-stellar core candidates in a massive star protocluster forming cloud, NGC6334S. With the ALMA observations at a $\sim$0.02 pc spatial resolution, we identified 17 low-mass starless core candidates that do not show any evidence of protostellar activity. These candidates present small velocity dispersions, high fractional abundances of NH$_{2}$D, high NH$_{3}$ deuterium fractionations, and are completely dark in the infrared wavelengths from 3.6 up to 70~$\mu$m. Turbulence is significantly dissipated and the gas kinematics are dominated by thermal motions toward these candidates. Nine out of the 17 cores are gravitationally bound, and therefore are identified as pre-stellar core candidates. The embedded cores of NGC6334S show a wide diversity in masses and evolutionary stages.

  • East Asian VLBI Network Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei Jets: Imaging with KaVA+Tianma+Nanshan

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The East Asian very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) Network (EAVN) is a rapidly evolving international VLBI array that is currently promoted under joint efforts among China, Japan, and Korea. EAVN aims at forming a joint VLBI Network by combining a large number of radio telescopes distributed over East Asian regions. After the combination of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) into KaVA, further expansion with the joint array in East Asia is actively promoted. Here we report the first imaging results (at 22 and 43 GHz) of bright radio sources obtained with KaVA connected to Tianma 65-m and Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescopes in China. To test the EAVN imaging performance for different sources, we observed four active galactic nuclei (AGN) having different brightness and morphology. As a result, we confirmed that Tianma 65-m Radio Telescope (TMRT) significantly enhances the overall array sensitivity, a factor of 4 improvement in baseline sensitivity and 2 in image dynamic range compared to the case of KaVA only. The addition of Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescope (NSRT) further doubled the east-west angular resolution. With the resulting high-dynamic-range, high-resolution images with EAVN (KaVA+TMRT+NSRT), various fine-scale structures in our targets, such as the counter-jet in M87, a kink-like morphology of the 3C273 jet and the weak emission in other sources, are successfully detected. This demonstrates the powerful capability of EAVN to study AGN jets and to achieve other science goals in general. Ongoing expansion of EAVN will further enhance the angular resolution, detection sensitivity and frequency coverage of the network.

  • Model Independent Approach of the JUNO $^8$B Solar Neutrino Program

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The physics potential of detecting $^8$B solar neutrinos is exploited at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), in a model independent manner by using three distinct channels of the charged-current (CC), neutral-current (NC) and elastic scattering (ES) interactions. Due to the largest-ever mass of $^{13}$C nuclei in the liquid-scintillator detectors and the potential low background level, $^8$B solar neutrinos would be observable in the CC and NC interactions on $^{13}$C for the first time. By virtue of optimized event selections and muon veto strategies, backgrounds from the accidental coincidence, muon-induced isotopes, and external backgrounds can be greatly suppressed. Excellent signal-to-background ratios can be achieved in the CC, NC and ES channels to guarantee the $^8$B solar neutrino observation. From the sensitivity studies performed in this work, we show that one can reach the precision levels of 5%, 8% and 20% for the $^8$B neutrino flux, $\sin^2\theta_{12}$, and $\Delta m^2_{21}$, respectively, using ten years of JUNO data. It would be unique and helpful to probe the details of both solar physics and neutrino physics. In addition, when combined with SNO, the world-best precision of 3% is expected for the $^8$B neutrino flux measurement.