W. Zhang

Mass Measurement of 45Cr and Its Impact on the Ca-Sc Cycle in X-Ray Bursts

Masses of neutron-deficient 58Ni projectile fragments have been measured at the HIRFL-CSR facility in Lanzhou, China employing the isochronous mass spectrometry technique. Masses of a series of short-lived Tz = –3/2 nuclides including the 45Cr nucleus have been measured with a relative uncertainty of about 10–6-10–7. The new 45Cr mass turned out to be essential for modeling the astrophysical rp-process. In particular, we find that the formation of the predicted Ca-Sc cycle in X-ray bursts can be excluded.

X-ray outbursts of ESO 243-49 HLX-1: comparison with galactic low-mass x-ray binary transients

We studied the outburst properties of the hyper-luminous X-ray source ESO 243-49 HLX-1, using the full set of Swift monitoring observations. We quantified the increase in the waiting time, recurrence time, and e-folding rise timescale along the outburst sequence, and the corresponding decrease in outburst duration, total radiated energy, and e-folding decay timescale, which confirms previous findings. HLX-1 spends less and less time in outburst and more and more time in quiescence, but its peak luminosity remains approximately constant. We compared the HLX-1 outburst properties with those of bright Galactic low-mass X-ray binary transients (LMXBTs). Our spectral analysis strengthens the similarity between state transitions in HLX-1 and those in Galactic LMXBTs. We also found that HLX-1 follows the nearly linear correlations between the hard-to-soft state transition luminosity and the peak luminosity, and between the rate of change of X-ray luminosity during the rise phase and the peak luminosity, which indicates that the occurrence of the hard-to-soft state transition of HLX-1 is similar to those of Galactic LMXBTs during outbursts. We found that HLX-1 does not follow the correlations between total radiated energy and peak luminosity, and between total radiated energy and e-folding rise/decay timescales we had previously identified in Galactic LMXBTs. HLX-1 would follow those correlations if the distance were several hundreds of kiloparsecs. However, invoking a much closer distance for HLX-1 is not a viable solution to this problem, as it introduces other, more serious inconsistencies with the observations.

ENERGY-DEPENDENT POWER SPECTRAL STATES AND ORIGIN OF APERIODIC VARIABILITY IN BLACK HOLE BINARIES

We found that the black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152 showed distinct power spectra, i.e., power-law noise (PLN) versus band-limited noise (BLN) plus quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) below and above about 2 keV, respectively, in observations with Swift and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer during the 2010 outburst, indicating a high energy cutoff of the PLN and a low energy cutoff of the BLN and QPOs around 2 keV. The emergence of the PLN and the fading of the BLN and QPOs initially took place below 2 keV when the source entered the hard intermediate state and settled in the soft state three weeks later. The evolution was accompanied by the emergence of the disk spectral component and decreases in the amplitudes of variability in the soft and hard X-ray bands. Our results indicate that the PLN is associated with an optically thick disk in both hard and intermediate states, and the power spectral state is independent of the X-ray energy spectral state in a broadband view. We suggest that in the hard or intermediate state, the BLN and QPOs emerge from the innermost hot flow subjected to Comptonization, while the PLN originates from the optically thick disk farther out. The energy cutoffs of the PLN and the BLN or QPOs then follow the temperature of the seed photons from the inner edge of the optically thick disk, while the high frequency cutoff of the PLN follows the orbital frequency of the inner edge of the optically thick disk as well.

The protective shell: sclereids and their mechanical function in corollas of some species of Camellia (Theaceae).

Studies of rain-wash effects on pollen have shown that flower structures can protect susceptible pollen from rain. It remains unclear, however, how a thin corolla can withstand external force and perform its protective function. The sclereids in petals of several species of Camellia (Theaceae) were anatomically investigated to determine their mechanical properties. To examine the effects of changing physical environment on the occurrence of sclereids in petals, sclereid density in petals of six species, including wild samples from different rainfall zones and samples from a greenhouse under mild conditions without wind and rain, were examined and statistically analysed. The results showed that the occurrence of sclereids in petals varied with physical environment. The number of sclereids in the same species increased with the increasing rainfall. There were abundant sclereids in petals of the wild species, but few or no sclereids in species cultivated in the greenhouse. Moreover, the anatomical features of sclereids, especially the unique distribution pattern that has not hitherto been described, were correlated with external environmental pressures. Our observations reveal a novel mechanical system in the corolla and provide further evidence for the hypothesis that flower structures may protect rain-susceptible pollen.

Spectroscopic factor and proton formation probability for the d3/2 proton emitter 151mLu

Abstract The quenching of the experimental spectroscopic factor for proton emission from the short-lived d 3 / 2 isomeric state in 151mLu was a long-standing problem. In the present work, proton emission from this isomer has been reinvestigated in an experiment at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyvaskyla. The proton-decay energy and half-life of this isomer were measured to be 1295(5) keV and 15.4(8) μs, respectively, in agreement with another recent study. These new experimental data can resolve the discrepancy in the spectroscopic factor calculated using the spherical WKB approximation. Using the R-matrix approach it is found that the proton formation probability indicates no significant hindrance for the proton decay of 151mLu.

Predictions for the Reverberating Spectral Line from a Newly Formed Black Hole Accretion Disk: Case of Tidal Disruption Flares

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) can be perfect probes of dormant supermassive black holes in normal galaxies. During the rising phase, the accretion luminosity can increase by orders of magnitude in several weeks, and the emergent ionizing radiation illuminates the fresh accretion flow. In this paper, we simulated the evolution of the expected spectral line profile of iron due to such a flare by using a ray-tracing code with effects of general relativity taken into account. We found that the time-dependent profile changes significantly with black hole spin, inclination angle with respect to the black hole equatorial plane, and the expansion velocity of the ionization front. At low values of spin, a loop feature appears in the line profile versus time plot when the inclination is no less than 30 degrees and the expansion velocity v(exp) is no less than half the speed of light, owing to a shadow in the emission of the truncated disk. In the light curve two peaks occur depending on the inclination angle. At large vexp, a shallow nose feature may develop ahead of the loop; its duration depends on the expansion velocity and the inclination angle. We explore the entire interval of black hole spin parameter ranging from extreme prograde to extreme retrograde rotation, -1 < a < 1. In the prograde case, a low-energy tail appears to be more pronounced in the evolving centroid energy of the line. Our results demonstrate the importance of searching for X-ray spectral lines in the early phase of TDE flares in order to constrain black hole mass and spin, as well as properties of the innermost accretion flow.

First isochronous mass measurements with two time-of-flight detectors at CSRe

Isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) established in heavy-ion storage rings has proven to be a powerful tool for mass measurements of short-lived nuclides. In IMS, the revolution times of stored ions should be independent of their velocity spread. However, this isochronous condition is fulfilled only in the first order and in a small range of revolution times. To correct for non-isochronicity, an additional measure of the velocity or magnetic rigidity of each stored ion is required. For this purpose two new time-of-flight (TOF) detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of the experimental cooler storage ring in Lanzhou. It is expected that the resolving power of the IMS will significantly be improved with such a double-TOF arrangement. The double-TOF system was tested in a recent experiment with the Kr-78 fragments. Some of the experimental results are presented in this contribution.

Simulations of the isochronous mass spectrometry at the HIRFL-CSR

A Monte-Carlo simulation code, named as SimCSR, has been developed for the isochronous mass spectrometry experiments in the experimental storage ring (CSRe). The revolution times of the fragments ions stored in the CSRe, which were produced in the fragmentation of Ni-58 primary beam are reproduced very well by the SimCSR, although only linear components are considered. The standard deviation of the revolution time is found to be strongly affected by the phase slip factor, the width of the relative momentum difference and the instability of magnetic field. Based on the simulations, we outline and discuss the methods to reduce the standard deviation of the revolution time.

Test of IMME in fp shell via direct mass measurements of TZ = -3/2 nuclides

Isochronous mass spectrometry has been applied to neutron-deficient Ni-58 projectile fragments at the HIRFL-CSR facility in Lanzhou, China. Masses of four short-lived T-z = -3/2 nuclides Ti-41, Cr-45, Fe-49, and Ni-53 have been measured with a precision of 20 - 40 keV. The new mass data enabled for the first time to test the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) in fp-shell nuclei. We observed that the IMME is inconsistent with the generally accepted quadratic form for the A = 53, T = 3/2 quartet. We performed full space shell model calculations and compared them with the new experimental results. The main results were published in Y.H. Zhang et al., Physical Review Letters 109 (2012). Here we give details on the experiment and data analysis as well as summarize the main findings.

Application of Isochronous Mass Spectrometry for the study of angular momentum population in projectile fragmentation reactions

Isochronous mass spectrometry was applied to measure isomeric yield ratios of fragmentation reaction prod- ucts. This approach is complementary to conventional g -ray spectroscopy in particular for measuring yield ratios for long-lived isomeric states. Isomeric yield ratios for the high-spin I = 19=2¯h states in the mirror nuclei 53Fe and 53Co are measured to study angular momentum population following the projectile fragmentation of 78Kr at energies of 480 A MeV on a beryllium target. The 19/2 state isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced from different projectiles in literature have also been extracted as a function of mass number difference between projectile and fragment (mass loss). The results are compared to ABRABLA07 model calculations. The isomeric ratios of 53Fe produced using different projectiles suggest that the theory underestimates not only the previously reported dependence on the spin but also the dependence on the mass loss.