Search

We investigate the ability of the Euclid telescope to detect galaxy-scale gravitational lenses. To do so, we perform a systematic visual inspection of the $0.7\,\rm{deg}^2$ Euclid ERO data towards the Perseus cluster using both the high-resolution VIS $I_{\scriptscriptstyle\rm E}$ band, and the lower resolution NISP bands. We inspect every extended source brighter than magnitude $23$ in $I_{\scriptscriptstyle\rm E}$ with $41$ expert human classifiers. This amounts to $12\,086$ stamps of $10^{\prime\prime}\,\times\,10^{\prime\prime}$. We find $3$ grade A and $13$ grade B candidates. We assess the validity of these $16$ candidates by modelling them and checking that they are consistent with a single source lensed by a plausible mass distribution. Five of the candidates pass this check, five others are rejected by the modelling and six are inconclusive. Extrapolating from the five successfully modelled candidates, we infer that the full $14\,000\,{\rm deg}^2$ of the Euclid Wide Survey should contain $100\,000^{+70\,000}_{-30\,000}$ galaxy-galaxy lenses that are both discoverable through visual inspection and have valid lens models. This is consistent with theoretical forecasts of $170\,000$ discoverable galaxy-galaxy lenses in Euclid. Our five modelled lenses have Einstein radii in the range $0.\!\!^{\prime\prime}68\,<\,\theta_\mathrm{E}\,<1.\!\!^{\prime\prime}24$, but their Einstein radius distribution is on the higher side when compared to theoretical forecasts. This suggests that our methodology is likely missing small Einstein radius systems. Whilst it is implausible to visually inspect the full Euclid data set, our results corroborate the promise that Euclid will ultimately deliver a sample of around $10^5$ galaxy-scale lenses., Comment: 21 pages, 20 figures, submitted to A&A

We previously studied the inner crust and the pasta mantle of a neutron star within the 4th-order extended Thomas-Fermi (ETF) approach with consistent proton shell corrections added perturbatively via the Strutinsky integral (SI) theorem together with the contribution due to pairing. To speed up the computations and avoid numerical problems, we adopted parametrized nucleon density distributions. However, the errors incurred by the choice of the parametrization are expected to become more significant as the mean baryon number density is increased, especially in the pasta mantle where the differences in the energy per nucleon of the different phases are very small, typically a few keV. To improve the description of these exotic structures, we discuss the important features that a nuclear profile should fulfill and introduce two new parametrizations. Performing calculations using the BSk24 functional, we find that these parametrizations lead to lower ETF energy solutions for all pasta phases than the parametrization we adopted before and more accurately reproduce the exact equilibrium nucleon density distributions obtained from unconstrained variational calculations. Within the ETFSI method, all parametrizations predict the same composition in the region with quasi-spherical clusters. However, the two new parametrizations lead to a different mantle structure at mean baryon densities above about 0.07 fm^-3, at which point lasagna is energetically favored. Interestingly, spherical clusters reappear in the pasta region. The inverted pasta phases such as bucatini and Swiss cheese are still found in the densest region above the core in all cases., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, published in Phys. Rev. C

We present JWST spectral and photometric observations of the Type IIP supernova (SN) 2022acko at ~50 days past explosion. These data are the first JWST spectral observations of a core-collapse SN. We identify ~30 different H I features, other features associated with products produced from the CNO cycle, and s-process elements such as Sc II and Ba II. By combining the JWST spectra with ground-based optical and NIR spectra, we construct a full Spectral Energy Distribution from 0.4 to 25 microns and find that the JWST spectra are fully consistent with the simultaneous JWST photometry. The data lack signatures of CO formation and we estimate a limit on the CO mass of < 10^{-8} solar mass. We demonstrate how the CO fundamental band limits can be used to probe underlying physics during stellar evolution, explosion, and the environment. The observations indicate little mixing between the H envelope and C/O core in the ejecta and show no evidence of dust. The data presented here set a critical baseline for future JWST observations, where possible molecular and dust formation may be seen.

We present a JWST mid-infrared spectrum of the under-luminous Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) 2022xkq, obtained with the medium-resolution spectrometer on the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) $\sim130$ days post-explosion. We identify the first MIR lines beyond 14 $\mu$m in SN Ia observations. We find features unique to under-luminous SNe Ia, including: isolated emission of stable Ni, strong blends of [Ti II], and large ratios of singly ionized to doubly ionized species in both [Ar] and [Co]. Comparisons to normal-luminosity SNe Ia spectra at similar phases show a tentative trend between the width of the [Co III] 11.888 $\mu$m feature and the SN light curve shape. Using non-LTE-multi-dimensional radiation hydro simulations and the observed electron capture elements we constrain the mass of the exploding white dwarf. The best-fitting model shows that SN 2022xkq is consistent with an off-center delayed-detonation explosion of a near-Chandrasekhar mass WD (M$_{\rm ej}$ $\approx 1.37$ M$_{\odot}$) of high-central density ($\rho_c \geq 2.0\times10^{9}$ g cm$^{-3}$) seen equator on, which produced M($^{56}$Ni) $= 0.324$ M$_{\odot}$ and M($^{58}$Ni) $\geq 0.06$ M$_{\odot}$. The observed line widths are consistent with the overall abundance distribution; and the narrow stable Ni lines indicate little to no mixing in the central regions, favoring central ignition of sub-sonic carbon burning followed by an off-center DDT beginning at a single point. Additional observations may further constrain the physics revealing the presence of additional species including Cr and Mn. Our work demonstrates the power of using the full coverage of MIRI in combination with detailed modeling to elucidate the physics of SNe Ia at a level not previously possible., Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, accepted to ApJ; updated to accepted version

Our previous investigation of neutron-star crusts, based on the functional BSk24, led to a substantial reduction of the pasta mantle when Strutinsky integral and pairing corrections were added on top of the fourth-order extended Thomas-Fermi method (ETF). Here, our earlier calculations are widened to a larger set of functionals within the same family, and we find that the microscopic corrections weaken significantly the influence of the symmetry energy. In particular, the correlation observed at the pure ETF level between the density for the onset of pasta formation and the symmetry energy vanishes, not only for the $L$ coefficient but also for the symmetry-energy values at the relevant densities. Moreover, the inclusion of microscopic corrections results in a much lower abundance of pasta for all functionals., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

We present a measurement of gravitational lensing over 1500 deg$^2$ of the Southern sky using SPT-3G temperature data at 95 and 150 GHz taken in 2018. The lensing amplitude relative to a fiducial Planck 2018 $\Lambda$CDM cosmology is found to be $1.020\pm0.060$, excluding instrumental and astrophysical systematic uncertainties. We conduct extensive systematic and null tests to check the robustness of the lensing measurements, and report a minimum-variance combined lensing power spectrum over angular multipoles of $50

We present photometric and spectroscopic data for SN 2022joj, a nearby peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) with a fast decline rate ($\rm{\Delta m_{15,B}=1.4}$ mag). SN 2022joj shows exceedingly red colors, with a value of approximately ${B-V \approx 1.1}$ mag during its initial stages, beginning from $11$ days before maximum brightness. As it evolves the flux shifts towards the blue end of the spectrum, approaching ${B-V \approx 0}$ mag around maximum light. Furthermore, at maximum light and beyond, the photometry is consistent with that of typical SNe Ia. This unusual behavior extends to its spectral characteristics, which initially displayed a red spectrum and later evolved to exhibit greater consistency with typical SNe Ia. We consider two potential explanations for this behavior: double detonation from a helium shell on a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf and Chandrasekhar-mass models with a shallow distribution of $\rm{^{56}Ni}$. The shallow nickel models could not reproduce the red colors in the early light curves. Spectroscopically, we find strong agreement between SN 2022joj and double-detonation models with white dwarf masses around 1 $\rm{M_{\odot}}$ and thin He-shell between 0.01 and 0.02 $\rm{M_{\odot}}$. Moreover, the early red colors are explained by line-blanketing absorption from iron-peak elements created by the double detonation scenario in similar mass ranges. However, the nebular spectra composition in SN 2022joj deviates from expectations for double detonation, as we observe strong [Fe III] emission instead of [Ca II] lines as anticipated from double detonation models. More detailed modeling, e.g., including viewing angle effects, is required to test if double detonation models can explain the nebular spectra.

The Microchannel X-ray Telescope (MXT) will be the first focusing X-ray telescope based on a "Lobster-Eye" optical design to be flown on Sino-French mission SVOM. SVOM will be dedicated to the study of Gamma-Ray Bursts and more generally time-domain astrophysics. The MXT telescope is a compact (focal length ~ 1.15 m) and light (< 42 kg) instrument, sensitive in the 0.2--10 keV energy range. It is composed of an optical system, based on micro-pore optics (MPOs) of 40 micron pore size, coupled to a low-noise pnCDD X-ray detector. In this paper we describe the expected scientific performance of the MXT telescope, based on the End-to-End calibration campaign performed in fall 2021, before the integration of the SVOM payload on the satellite., Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy

CUPID is a next-generation neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment that will require cryogenic light detectors to improve background suppression, via the simultaneous readout of heat and light channels from its scintillating crystals. In this work we showcase light detectors based on a novel Ir-Pt bilayer transition edge sensor. We have performed a systematic study to improve the thermal coupling between the photon absorber and the sensor, and thereby its responsivity. Our first devices meet CUPID's baseline noise requirement of <100~eV rms. Our detectors have risetimes of $\sim$180 $\mu$s and measured timing jitter of <20 $\mu$s for the expected signal-to-noise at the Q-value of the decay, which achieves the CUPID's criterion of rejecting two-neutrino double-beta decay pileup events. The current work will inform the fabrication of future devices, culminating in the final TES design and a scaleable readout scheme for CUPID., Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures

The accretion of matter onto the surface of a neutron star in a low-mass X-ray binary triggers X-ray bursts, whose ashes are buried and further processed thus altering the composition and the properties of the stellar crust. In this second paper of a series, the impact of accretion on the equation of state and on the global properties of neutron stars is studied in the framework of the nuclear energy-density functional theory. Considering ashes made of $^{56}$Fe, we calculated the equations of state using the same Brussels-Montreal nuclear energy-density functionals BSk19, BSk20, and BSk21, as those already employed for determining the crustal heating in our previous study for the same ashes. All regions of accreting neutron stars were treated in a unified and thermodynamically consistent way. With these equations of state, we determined the mass, radius, moment of inertia, and tidal deformability of accreted neutron stars and compared with catalyzed neutron stars for which unified equations of state based on the same functionals are available. The equation of state of accreted neutron stars is found to be significantly stiffer than that of catalyzed matter, with an adiabatic index $\Gamma \approx 4/3$ throughout the crust. For this reason, accreting neutron stars have larger radii. However, their crustal moment of inertia and their tidal deformability are hardly changed provided density discontinuities at the interface between adjacent crustal layers are properly taken into account. The enhancement of the stiffness of the equation of state of accreting neutron stars is mainly a consequence of nuclear shell effects, thus confirming the importance of a quantum treatment as stressed in our first study. With our previous calculations of crustal heating using the same functionals, we have thus obtained consistent microscopic inputs for simulations of accreting neutron stars., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. The tables of the equations of state are available at the CDS

We report the synthesis and characterization of phase pure Ta3Sb, a material predicted to be topological with eightfold degenerate fermionic states [Science 353, aaf5037 (2016)] and to exhibit a large spin Hall effect [Sci. Adv. 5, eaav8575 (2019]. We observe superconductivity in Ta3Sb with Tc~ 0.67 K in both electrical resistivity \r{ho}(T) and specific heat C(T) measurements. Field dependent measurements yield the superconducting phase diagram with an upper critical field of Hc2(0) ~ 0.95 T, corresponding to a superconducting coherence length of {\xi} ~18.6 nm. The gap ratio deduced from specific heat anomaly, 2{\Delta}0/kBTc is 3.46, a value close to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) value of 3.53. From a detailed analysis of both the transport and thermodynamic data within the Ginsburg-Landau (GL) framework, a GL parameter of \k{appa} ~90 is obtained identifying Ta3Sb as an extreme type-II superconductor. The observation of superconductivity in an eightfold degenerate fermionic compound with topological surface states and predicted large spin Hall conductance positions Ta3Sb as an appealing platform to further explore exotic quantum states in multifold degenerate systems., Comment: 16 Pages, 3 figures

We present the first measurements of asteroids in millimeter wavelength (mm) data from the South Pole Telescope (SPT), which is used primarily to study the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We analyze maps of two $\sim270$ deg$^2$ sky regions near the ecliptic plane, each observed with the SPTpol camera $\sim100$ times over one month. We subtract the mean of all maps of a given field, removing static sky signal, and then average the mean-subtracted maps at known asteroid locations. We detect three asteroids$\text{ -- }$(324) Bamberga, (13) Egeria, and (22) Kalliope$\text{ -- }$with signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) of 11.2, 10.4, and 6.1, respectively, at 2.0 mm (150 GHz); we also detect (324) Bamberga with S/N of 4.1 at 3.2 mm (95 GHz). We place constraints on these asteroids' effective emissivities, brightness temperatures, and light curve modulation amplitude. Our flux density measurements of (324) Bamberga and (13) Egeria roughly agree with predictions, while our measurements of (22) Kalliope suggest lower flux, corresponding to effective emissivities of $0.66 \pm 0.11$ at 2.0 mm and $<0.47$ at 3.2mm. We predict the asteroids detectable in other SPT datasets and find good agreement with detections of (772) Tanete and (1093) Freda in recent data from the SPT-3G camera, which has $\sim10 \times$ the mapping speed of SPTpol. This work is the first focused analysis of asteroids in data from CMB surveys, and it demonstrates we can repurpose historic and future datasets for asteroid studies. Future SPT measurements can help constrain the distribution of surface properties over a larger asteroid population., Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures

We construct and simulate the dynamics of gauged vortons - circular loops of cosmic string supported by the angular momentum of trapped charge and current and provide additional details on the fully stable vorton that we have previously presented. We find that their existence and dynamical properties can be accurately predicted by an analysis based on infinite, straight superconducting strings if an additional constraint on their phase frequency is satisfied. We show a good quantitative agreement with the thin string approximation (TSA) and provide evidence that curvature corrections are inversely proportional to the vorton radius. This is verified with an energy minimisation algorithm that produces vorton solutions and subsequent axial and full three dimensional evolution codes. We find that we can predict the frequencies of each mode of oscillation, determine which modes are unstable and calculate the growth rate of the unstable modes to a high degree of accuracy., Comment: 50 pages, 30 figures

SPT-3G is the third survey receiver operating on the South Pole Telescope dedicated to high-resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Sensitive measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB provide a powerful dataset for constraining cosmology. Additionally, CMB surveys with arcminute-scale resolution are capable of detecting galaxy clusters, millimeter-wave bright galaxies, and a variety of transient phenomena. The SPT-3G instrument provides a significant improvement in mapping speed over its predecessors, SPT-SZ and SPTpol. The broadband optics design of the instrument achieves a 430 mm diameter image plane across observing bands of 95 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz, with 1.2 arcmin FWHM beam response at 150 GHz. In the receiver, this image plane is populated with 2690 dual-polarization, tri-chroic pixels (~16000 detectors) read out using a 68X digital frequency-domain multiplexing readout system. In 2018, SPT-3G began a multiyear survey of 1500 deg$^{2}$ of the southern sky. We summarize the unique optical, cryogenic, detector, and readout technologies employed in SPT-3G, and we report on the integrated performance of the instrument., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJS

The third generation South Pole Telescope camera (SPT-3G) improves upon its predecessor (SPTpol) by an order of magnitude increase in detectors on the focal plane. The technology used to read out and control these detectors, digital frequency-domain multiplexing (DfMUX), is conceptually the same as used for SPTpol, but extended to accommodate more detectors. A nearly 5x expansion in the readout operating bandwidth has enabled the use of this large focal plane, and SPT-3G performance meets the forecasting targets relevant to its science objectives. However, the electrical dynamics of the higher-bandwidth readout differ from predictions based on models of the SPTpol system due to the higher frequencies used, and parasitic impedances associated with new cryogenic electronic architecture. To address this, we present an updated derivation for electrical crosstalk in higher-bandwidth DfMUX systems, and identify two previously uncharacterized contributions to readout noise, which become dominant at high bias frequency. The updated crosstalk and noise models successfully describe the measured crosstalk and readout noise performance of SPT-3G. These results also suggest specific changes to warm electronics component values, wire-harness properties, and SQUID parameters, to improve the readout system for future experiments using DfMUX, such as the LiteBIRD space telescope., Comment: Accepted to the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems

We present constraints on extensions to the $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model from measurements of the $E$-mode polarization auto-power spectrum and the temperature-$E$-mode cross-power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) made using 2018 SPT-3G data. The extensions considered vary the primordial helium abundance, the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, the sum of neutrino masses, the relativistic energy density and mass of a sterile neutrino, and the mean spatial curvature. We do not find clear evidence for any of these extensions, from either the SPT-3G 2018 dataset alone or in combination with baryon acoustic oscillation and \textit{Planck} data. None of these model extensions significantly relax the tension between Hubble-constant, $H_0$, constraints from the CMB and from distance-ladder measurements using Cepheids and supernovae. The addition of the SPT-3G 2018 data to \textit{Planck} reduces the square-root of the determinants of the parameter covariance matrices by factors of $1.3 - 2.0$ across these models, signaling a substantial reduction in the allowed parameter volume. We also explore CMB-based constraints on $H_0$ from combined SPT, \textit{Planck}, and ACT DR4 datasets. While individual experiments see some indications of different $H_0$ values between the $TT$, $TE$, and $EE$ spectra, the combined $H_0$ constraints are consistent between the three spectra. For the full combined datasets, we report $H_0 = 67.49 \pm 0.53\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$, which is the tightest constraint on $H_0$ from CMB power spectra to date and in $4.1\,\sigma$ tension with the most precise distance-ladder-based measurement of $H_0$. The SPT-3G survey is planned to continue through at least 2023, with existing maps of combined 2019 and 2020 data already having $\sim3.5\times$ lower noise than the maps used in this analysis., Comment: Submitted to PRD; 19 pages, 7 figures

High-angular-resolution cosmic microwave background experiments provide a unique opportunity to conduct a survey of time-variable sources at millimeter wavelengths, a population which has primarily been understood through follow-up measurements of detections in other bands. Here we report the first results of an astronomical transient survey with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) using the SPT-3G camera to observe 1500 square degrees of the southern sky. The observations took place from March to November 2020 in three bands centered at 95, 150, and 220 GHz. This survey yielded the detection of fifteen transient events from sources not previously detected by the SPT. The majority are associated with variable stars of different types, expanding the number of such detected flares by more than a factor of two. The stellar flares are unpolarized and bright, in some cases exceeding 1 Jy, and have durations from a few minutes to several hours. Another population of detected events last for 2--3 weeks and appear to be extragalactic in origin. Though data availability at other wavelengths is limited, we find evidence for concurrent optical activity for two of the stellar flares. Future data from SPT-3G and forthcoming instruments will provide real-time detection of millimeter-wave transients on timescales of minutes to months., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures; accepted to ApJ 5/27

We present measurements of the $E$-mode ($EE$) polarization power spectrum and temperature-$E$-mode ($TE$) cross-power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background using data collected by SPT-3G, the latest instrument installed on the South Pole Telescope. This analysis uses observations of a 1500 deg$^2$ region at 95, 150, and 220 GHz taken over a four month period in 2018. We report binned values of the $EE$ and $TE$ power spectra over the angular multipole range $300 \le \ell < 3000$, using the multifrequency data to construct six semi-independent estimates of each power spectrum and their minimum-variance combination. These measurements improve upon the previous results of SPTpol across the multipole ranges $300 \le \ell \le 1400$ for $EE$ and $300 \le \ell \le 1700$ for $TE$, resulting in constraints on cosmological parameters comparable to those from other current leading ground-based experiments. We find that the SPT-3G dataset is well-fit by a $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model with parameter constraints consistent with those from Planck and SPTpol data. From SPT-3G data alone, we find $H_0 = 68.8 \pm 1.5 \mathrm{km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$ and $\sigma_8 = 0.789 \pm 0.016$, with a gravitational lensing amplitude consistent with the $\Lambda$CDM prediction ($A_L = 0.98 \pm 0.12$). We combine the SPT-3G and the Planck datasets and obtain joint constraints on the $\Lambda$CDM model. The volume of the 68% confidence region in six-dimensional $\Lambda$CDM parameter space is reduced by a factor of 1.5 compared to Planck-only constraints, with only slight shifts in central values. We note that the results presented here are obtained from data collected during just half of a typical observing season with only part of the focal plane operable, and that the active detector count has since nearly doubled for observations made with SPT-3G after 2018.

A superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) with low-$T_c$ is essential in a high resolution calorimetric detection. With a motivation of developing sensitive calorimeters for applications in cryogenic neutrinoless double beta decay searches, we have been investigating methods to reduce the $T_c$ of an Ir film down to 20 mK. Utilizing the proximity effect between a superconductor and a normal metal, we found two room temperature fabrication recipes of making Ir-based low-$T_c$ films. In the first approach, an Ir film sandwiched between two Au films, a Au/Ir/Au trilayer, has a tunable $T_c$ in the range of 20-100 mK depending on the relative thicknesses. In the second approach, a paramagnetic Pt thin film is used to create Ir/Pt bilayer with a tunable $T_c$ in the same range. We present detailed study of fabrication and characterization of Ir-based low-$T_c$ films, and compare the experimental results to theoretical models. We show that Ir-based films with predictable and reproducible critical temperature can be consistently fabricated for use in large scale detector applications., Comment: 5 figures, accepted in the Journal of Applied Physics

We present an experimental study of time refraction of spin waves propagating in microscopic waveguides under the influence of time-varying magnetic fields. Using space- and time-resolved Brillouin light scattering microscopy, we demonstrate that the broken translational symmetry along the time coordinate can be used to in- or decrease the energy of spin waves during their propagation. This allows for a broadband and controllable shift of the spin-wave frequency. Using an integrated design of spin-wave waveguide and microscopic current line for the generation of strong, nanosecond-long, magnetic field pulses, a conversion efficiency up to 39% of the carrier spin-wave frequency is achieved, significantly larger compared to photonic systems. Given the strength of the magnetic field pulses and its strong impact on the spin-wave dispersion relation, the effect of time refraction can be quantified on a length scale comparable to the spin-wave wavelength. Furthermore, we utilize time refraction to excite spin-wave bursts with pulse durations in the nanosecond range and a frequency shift depending on the pulse polarity., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We generalize our earlier work on neutron stars (arXiv:1903.04981), which assumed spherical Wigner-Seitz cells in the inner crust, to admit the possibility of pasta phases, i.e., non-spherical cell shapes. Full fourth-order extended Thomas-Fermi calculations using the density functional BSk24 are performed for cylindrical and plate-like cells. Unlike in our spherical-cell calculations, we do not include shell and pairing corrections, but there are grounds for expecting these corrections for pasta to be significantly smaller. It is therefore meaningful to compare the ETF pasta results with the full spherical-cell results, i.e., with shell and pairing corrections included. However, in view of the many previous studies in which shell and pairing corrections were omitted entirely, it is of interest to compare our pasta results with the ETF part of the corresponding spherical calculations. Making this latter comparison we find that as the density increases the cell shapes pass through the usual sequence sphere $\to$ cylinder $\to$ plate before the transition to the homogeneous core. The filling fractions found at the phase transitions are in close agreement with expectations based on the liquid-drop model. On the other hand, when we compare with the full spherical-cell results, we find the sequence to be sphere $\to$ cylinder $\to$ sphere $\to$ cylinder $\to$ plate. In neither case do any "inverted", i.e., bubble-like, configurations appear. We provide accurate fitting formulas to all our essential numerical results for each of the three phases, designed especially for the density range where the nonspherical shapes are expected, which enable one to capture not only the general behavior of the fitted functions, but also the differences between them in different phases., Comment: 16 pages, 14 tables, 8 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. C

We present two prescriptions for broadband (~77 - 252 GHz), millimeter-wave antireflection coatings for cryogenic, sintered polycrystalline aluminum oxide optics: one for large-format (700 mm diameter) planar and plano-convex elements, the other for densely packed arrays of quasi-optical elements, in our case 5 mm diameter half-spheres (called "lenslets"). The coatings comprise three layers of commercially-available, polytetrafluoroethylene-based, dielectric sheet material. The lenslet coating is molded to fit the 150 mm diameter arrays directly while the large-diameter lenses are coated using a tiled approach. We review the fabrication processes for both prescriptions then discuss laboratory measurements of their transmittance and reflectance. In addition, we present the inferred refractive indices and loss tangents for the coating materials and the aluminum oxide substrate. We find that at 150 GHz and 300 K the large-format coating sample achieves (97 +/- 2)% transmittance and the lenslet coating sample achieves (94 +/- 3)% transmittance., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures; submitted 05 Dec 2019, accepted 26 Feb 2020

Context. In the cooling process of a non-accreting neutron star, the composition and properties of the crust are thought to be fixed at the finite temperature where nuclear reactions fall out of equilibrium. A lower estimation for this temperature is given by the crystallization temperature, which can be as high as $\approx 7\times 10^9$ K in the inner crust, potentially leading to sizeable differences with respect to the simplifying cold-catalyzed matter hypothesis. Aims. We extend the recent work by Fantina et al. (2019) on the outer crust, to the study of the crystallization of the inner crust and the associated composition in the one-component plasma approximation. Methods. The finite temperature variational equations for non-uniform matter in both the liquid and the solid phases are solved using a compressible liquid-drop approach with parameters optimized on four different microscopic models which cover the present uncertainties in nuclear modeling. Results. We consider separately the effect of the different nuclear ingredients with their associated uncertainties, namely the nuclear equation of state, the surface properties in the presence of a uniform gas of dripped neutrons, and the proton shell effects arising from the ion single-particle structure. Our results suggest that the highest source of model dependence comes from the smooth part of the nuclear functional. Conclusions. We show that shell effects play an important role at the lowest densities close to the outer crust, but the most important physical ingredient to be settled for a quantitative prediction of the inner crust properties is the surface tension at extreme isospin values., Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) encodes information about the content and evolution of the universe. The presence of light, weakly interacting particles impacts the expansion history of the early universe, which alters the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the CMB. In this way, current measurements of the CMB place interesting constraints on the neutrino energy density and mass, as well as on the abundance of other possible light relativistic particle species. We present the status of an on-going 1500 sq. deg. survey with the SPT-3G receiver, a new mm-wavelength camera on the 10-m diameter South Pole Telescope (SPT). The SPT-3G camera consists of 16,000 superconducting transition edge sensors, a 10x increase over the previous generation camera, which allows it to map the CMB with an unprecedented combination of sensitivity and angular resolution. We highlight projected constraints on the abundance of sterile neutrinos and the sum of the neutrino masses for the SPT-3G survey, which could help determine the neutrino mass hierarchy., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, TAUP 2019

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are capable of single-photon detection across a large spectral range, with near unity detection efficiency, picosecond timing jitter, and sub-10 $\mu$m position resolution at rates as high as 10$^{9}$ counts/s. In an effort to bring this technology into nuclear physics experiments, we fabricate Niobium Nitride nanowire detectors using ion beam assisted sputtering and test their performance in strong magnetic fields. We demonstrate that these devices are capable of detection of 400 nm wavelength photons with saturated internal quantum efficiency at temperatures of 3 K and in magnetic fields potentially up to 5 T at high rates and with nearly zero dark counts.

SPT-3G is a polarization-sensitive receiver, installed on the South Pole Telescope, that measures the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from degree to arcminute scales. The receiver consists of ten 150~mm-diameter detector wafers, containing a total of 16,000 transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers observing at 95, 150, and 220 GHz. During the 2018-2019 austral summer, one of these detector wafers was replaced by a new wafer fabricated with Al-Mn TESs instead of the Ti/Au design originally deployed for SPT-3G. We present the results of in-lab characterization and on-sky performance of this Al-Mn wafer, including electrical and thermal properties, optical efficiency measurements, and noise-equivalent temperature. In addition, we discuss and account for several calibration-related systematic errors that affect measurements made using frequency-domain multiplexing readout electronics., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to the Journal of Low Temperature Physics: LTD18 Special Edition

Frequency-domain multiplexing (fMux) is an established technique for the readout of large arrays of transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers. Each TES in a multiplexing module has a unique AC voltage bias that is selected by a resonant filter. This scheme enables the operation and readout of multiple bolometers on a single pair of wires, reducing thermal loading onto sub-Kelvin stages. The current receiver on the South Pole Telescope, SPT-3G, uses a 68x fMux system to operate its large-format camera of $\sim$16,000 TES bolometers. We present here the successful implementation and performance of the SPT-3G readout as measured on-sky. Characterization of the noise reveals a median pair-differenced 1/f knee frequency of 33 mHz, indicating that low-frequency noise in the readout will not limit SPT-3G's measurements of sky power on large angular scales. Measurements also show that the median readout white noise level in each of the SPT-3G observing bands is below the expectation for photon noise, demonstrating that SPT-3G is operating in the photon-noise-dominated regime., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures submitted to the Journal of Low Temperature Physics: LTD18 Special Edition

Frequency-domain multiplexing is a readout technique for transition edge sensor bolometer arrays used on modern CMB experiments, including the SPT-3G receiver. Here, we present design details and performance measurements for a low-parasitic frequency-domain multiplexing readout. Reducing the parasitic impedance of the connections between cryogenic components provides a path to improving both the crosstalk and noise performance of the readout. Reduced crosstalk will in turn allow higher multiplexing factors. We have demonstrated a factor of two improvement in parasitic resistance compared to SPT-3G hardware. Reduced parasitics also permits operation of lower-resistance bolometers, which enables better optimization of R$_{\rm{bolo}}$ for improved readout noise performance. The prototype system exhibits noise performance comparable to SPT-3G readout hardware when operating SPT-3G detectors., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to J. Low Temp. Detectors

Magnetic fields of order $10^{15}$ G have been measured at the surface of some neutron stars, and much stronger magnetic fields are expected to be present in the solid region beneath the surface. The effects of the magnetic field on the equation of state and on the composition of the crust due to Landau-Rabi quantization of electron motion are studied. Both the outer and inner crustal regions are described in a unified and consistent way within the nuclear-energy density functional theory., Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures

The theory of the nuclear energy-density functional is used to provide a unified and thermodynamically consistent treatment of all regions of cold non-accreting neutron stars. In order to assess the impact of our lack of complete knowledge of the density dependence of the symmetry energy on the constitution and the global structure of neutron stars, we employ four different functionals. All of them were precision fitted to essentially all the nuclear-mass data with the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method and two different neutron-matter equations of state based on realistic nuclear forces. For each functional, we calculate the composition, the pressure-density relation, and the chemical potentials throughout the star. We show that uncertainties in the symmetry energy can significantly affect the theoretical results for the composition and global structure of neutron stars. To facilitate astrophysical applications, we construct analytic fits to our numerical results., Comment: 36 pages, 31 figures, 29 tables; corrected according to an erratum (2019, accepted)

During the austral summer of 2016-17, the third-generation camera, SPT-3G, was installed on the South Pole Telescope, increasing the detector count in the focal plane by an order of magnitude relative to the previous generation. Designed to map the polarization of the cosmic microwave background, SPT-3G contains ten 6-in-hexagonal modules of detectors, each with 269 trichroic and dual-polarization pixels, read out using 68x frequency-domain multiplexing. Here we discuss design, assembly, and layout of the modules, as well as early performance characterization of the first-year array, including yield and detector properties., Comment: Conference proceeding for Low Temperature Detectors 2017. Accepted for publication: 27 August 2018

The rising field of spin caloritronics focuses on the interactions between spin and heat currents in a magnetic material; the observation of the spin Seebeck effect opened the route to this branch of research. This paper reports the results of a round robin test performed by five partners on a single device highlighting the reproducibility problems related to the measurements of the spin Seebeck coefficient, the quantity that describes the strength of the spin Seebeck effect. This work stimulated the search for more reproducible measurement methods through the analysis of the systematic effects., Comment: PDFLaTeX, 8 pages, 8 figures

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a millimeter-wavelength telescope designed for high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The SPT measures both the temperature and polarization of the CMB with a large aperture, resulting in high resolution maps sensitive to signals across a wide range of angular scales on the sky. With these data, the SPT has the potential to make a broad range of cosmological measurements. These include constraining the effect of massive neutrinos on large-scale structure formation as well as cleaning galactic and cosmological foregrounds from CMB polarization data in future searches for inflationary gravitational waves. The SPT began observing in January 2017 with a new receiver (SPT-3G) containing $\sim$16,000 polarization-sensitive transition-edge sensor bolometers. Several key technology developments have enabled this large-format focal plane, including advances in detectors, readout electronics, and large millimeter-wavelength optics. We discuss the implementation of these technologies in the SPT-3G receiver as well as the challenges they presented. In late 2017 the implementations of all three of these technologies were modified to optimize total performance. Here, we present the current instrument status of the SPT-3G receiver., Comment: 21 pages, 9 Figures, Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2018

The third-generation instrument for the 10-meter South Pole Telescope, SPT-3G, was first installed in January 2017. In addition to completely new cryostats, secondary telescope optics, and readout electronics, the number of detectors in the focal plane has increased by an order of magnitude from previous instruments to ~16,000. The SPT-3G focal plane consists of ten detector modules, each with an array of 269 trichroic, polarization-sensitive pixels on a six-inch silicon wafer. Within each pixel is a broadband, dual-polarization sinuous antenna; the signal from each orthogonal linear polarization is divided into three frequency bands centered at 95, 150, and 220 GHz by in-line lumped element filters and transmitted via superconducting microstrip to Ti/Au transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. Properties of the TES film, microstrip filters, and bolometer island must be tightly controlled to achieve optimal performance. For the second year of SPT-3G operation, we have replaced all ten wafers in the focal plane with new detector arrays tuned to increase mapping speed and improve overall performance. Here we discuss the TES superconducting transition temperature and normal resistance, detector saturation power, bandpasses, optical efficiency, and full array yield for the 2018 focal plane., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures

The SPT-3G receiver was commissioned in early 2017 on the 10-meter South Pole Telescope (SPT) to map anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). New optics, detector, and readout technologies have yielded a multichroic, high-resolution, low-noise camera with impressive throughput and sensitivity, offering the potential to improve our understanding of inflationary physics, astroparticle physics, and growth of structure. We highlight several key features and design principles of the new receiver, and summarize its performance to date., Comment: Conference Presentation at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2018, conference 10708

The desire for higher sensitivity has driven ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments to employ ever larger focal planes, which in turn require larger reimaging optics. Practical limits to the maximum size of these optics motivates the development of quasi-optically-coupled (lenslet-coupled), multi-chroic detectors. These detectors can be sensitive across a broader bandwidth compared to waveguide-coupled detectors. However, the increase in bandwidth comes at a cost: the lenses (up to $\sim$700 mm diameter) and lenslets ($\sim$5 mm diameter, hemispherical lenses on the focal plane) used in these systems are made from high-refractive-index materials (such as silicon or amorphous aluminum oxide) that reflect nearly a third of the incident radiation. In order to maximize the faint CMB signal that reaches the detectors, the lenses and lenslets must be coated with an anti-reflective (AR) material. The AR coating must maximize radiation transmission in scientifically interesting bands and be cryogenically stable. Such a coating was developed for the third generation camera, SPT-3G, of the South Pole Telescope (SPT) experiment, but the materials and techniques used in the development are general to AR coatings for mm-wave optics. The three-layer polytetrafluoroethylene-based AR coating is broadband, inexpensive, and can be manufactured with simple tools. The coating is field tested; AR coated focal plane elements were deployed in the 2016-2017 austral summer and AR coated reimaging optics were deployed in 2017-2018., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

Observations of soft X-ray transients in quiescence suggest the existence of heat sources in the crust of accreting neutron stars. Heat is thought to be released by electroweak and nuclear processes triggered by the burying of ashes of X-ray bursts. The heating is studied using a fully quantum approach taking consistently into account nuclear shell effects. We have followed the evolution of ashes made of $^{56}$Fe employing the nuclear energy-density functional theory. Both the outer and inner crusts are described using the same functional, thus ensuring a unified and thermodynamically consistent treatment. To assess the role of the neutron-matter constraint, we have employed the set of accurately calibrated Brussels-Montreal functionals BSk19, BSk20, and BSk21 and for comparison the SLy4 functional. Due to nuclear shell effects, the fully accreted crust is found to be much less stratified than in previous studies. In particular, large regions of the inner crust contain clusters with the magic number $Z=14$. The heat deposited in the outer crust is tightly constrained by experimental atomic mass data. The shallow heating we obtain does not exceed $0.2$~MeV and is therefore not enough to explain the cooling of some soft X-ray transients. The total heat released in the crust is very sensitive to details of the nuclear structure and is predicted to lie in the range from $1.5$~MeV to $1.7$~MeV. The evolution of an accreted matter element and therefore the location of heat sources are governed to a large extent by the existence of nuclear shell closures. Ignoring these effects in the inner crust, the total heat falls to $\sim 0.6$~MeV. The neutron-matter constraint is also found to play a key role. The large amount of heat obtained by Steiner et al. (2012) could thus be traced back to unrealistic neutron-matter equations of state., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, submitted to A&A

High precision calorimetry using superconducting transition edge sensors requires the use of superconducting films with a suitable $T_c$, depending on the application. To advance high-precision macrocalorimetry, we require low-$T_c$ films that are easy to fabricate. A simple and effective way to suppress $T_c$ of superconducting Iridium through the proximity effect is demonstrated by using Ir/Pt bilayers as well as Au/Ir/Au trilayers. While Ir/Au films fabricated by applying heat to the substrate during Ir deposition have been used in the past for superconducting sensors, we present results of $T_c$ suppression on Iridium by deposition at room temperature in Au/Ir/Au trilayers and Ir/Pt bilayers in the range of $\sim$20-100~mK. Measurements of the relative impedance between the Ir/Pt bilayers and Au/Ir/Au trilayers fabricated show factor of $\sim$10 higher values in the Ir/Pt case. These new films could play a key role in the development of scalable superconducting transition edge sensors that require low-$T_c$ films to minimize heat capacity and maximize energy resolution, while keeping high-yield fabrication methods., Comment: 5 journal pages, 4 figures

Theoretical and experimental studies of intrinsic Josephson junctions that naturally occur in high-Tc superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta} (Bi-2212) have demonstrated their potential for novel types of compact devices for the generation and sensing of electromagnetic radiation in the THz range. Here, we show that the THz-on-a-chip concept may be realized in liquid phase epitaxial-grown (LPE) thick Bi-2212 films. We have grown {\mu}m-thick Bi-2212 LPE films on MgO substrates. These films display excellent c-axis alignment and single crystal grains of about 650x150 {\mu}m2 in size. A branched current-voltage characteristic was clearly observed in c-axis transport, which is a clear signature of underdamped intrinsic Josephson junctions, and a prerequisite for THz-generation. We discuss LPE growth conditions allowing improvement of the structural quality and superconducting properties of Bi-2212 films for THz applications., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. The manuscript has been accepted for publication in Superconductor Science and Technology

Electron-hole (e-h) compensation is a hallmark of multi-band semimetals with extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) and has been considered to be the basis for XMR. Recent spectroscopic experiments, however, reveal that YSb with non-saturating magnetoresistance is uncompensated, questioning the e-h compensation scenario for XMR. Here we demonstrate with magnetoresistivity and angle dependent Shubnikov - de Haas (SdH) quantum oscillation measurements that YSb does have nearly perfect e-h compensation, with a density ratio of $0.95$ for electrons and holes. The density and mobility anisotropy of the charge carriers revealed in the SdH experiments allow us to quantitatively describe the magnetoresistance with an anisotropic multi-band model that includes contributions from all Fermi pockets. We elucidate the role of compensated multi-bands in the occurrence of XMR by demonstrating the evolution of calculated magnetoresistances for a single band and for various combinations of electron and hole Fermi pockets., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

We study numerically two-dimensional creeping viscoelastic flow past a biperiodic square array of cylinders within the Oldroyd B, FENE-CR and FENE-P constitutive models of dilute polymer solutions. Our results capture the initial mild decrease then dramatic upturn ('thickening') seen experimentally in the drag coefficient as a function of increasing Weissenberg number. By systematically varying the porosity of the flow geometry, we demonstrate two qualitatively different mechanisms underpinning this thickening effect: one that operates in the highly porous case of widely spaced obstacles, and another for more densely packed obstacles, with a crossover between these two mechanisms at intermediate porosities. We also briefly consider 2D creeping viscoelastic flow past a linear array of cylinders confined to a channel, where we find that the flow is steady for all Weissenberg numbers explored., Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures; v2 updated to post-referee version: contains two new figures

We investigate spin transport through metallic antiferromagnets using measurements based on spin pumping combined with inverse spin Hall effects in Ni80Fe20/FeMn/W trilayers. The relatively large magnitude and opposite sign of spin Hall effects in W compared to FeMn enable an unambiguous detection of spin currents transmitted through the entire FeMn layer thickness. Using this approach we can detect two distinctively different spin transport regimes, which we associate with electronic and magnonic spin currents respectively. The latter can extend to relatively large distances (up to 9 nm) and is enhanced when the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature is close to the measurement temperature.

We present results from a comprehensive submillimeter spectral survey toward the source Orion South, based on data obtained with the HIFI instrument aboard the \textit{Herschel Space Observatory}, covering the frequency range 480 to 1900 GHz. We detect 685 spectral lines with S/N $>$ 3$\sigma$, originating from 52 different molecular and atomic species. We model each of the detected species assuming conditions of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium. This analysis provides an estimate of the physical conditions of Orion South (column density, temperature, source size, \& V$_{LSR}$). We find evidence for three different cloud components: a cool (T$_{ex} \sim 20-40$ K), spatially extended ($> 60"$), and quiescent ($\Delta V_{FWHM} \sim 4$ km s $^{-1}$) component; a warmer (T$_{ex} \sim 80-100$ K), less spatially extended ($\sim 30"$), and dynamic ($\Delta V_{FWHM} \sim 8$ km s $^{-1}$) component, which is likely affected by embedded outflows; and a kinematically distinct region (T$_{ex}$ $>$ 100 K; V$_{LSR}$ $\sim$ 8 km s $^{-1}$), dominated by emission from species which trace ultraviolet irradiation, likely at the surface of the cloud. We find little evidence for the existence of a chemically distinct "hot core" component, likely due to the small filling factor of the hot core or hot cores within the \textit{Herschel} beam. We find that the chemical composition of the gas in the cooler, quiescent component of Orion South more closely resembles that of the quiescent ridge in Orion-KL. The gas in the warmer, dynamic component, however, more closely resembles that of the Compact Ridge and Plateau regions of Orion-KL, suggesting that higher temperatures and shocks also have an influence on the overall chemistry of Orion South.

Giant pulsar frequency glitches as detected in the emblematic Vela pulsar have long been thought to be the manifestation of a neutron superfluid permeating the inner crust of a neutron star. However, this superfluid has been recently found to be entrained by the crust, and as a consequence it does not carry enough angular momentum to explain giant glitches. The extent to which pulsar-timing observations can be reconciled with the standard vortex-mediated glitch theory is studied considering the current uncertainties on dense-matter properties. To this end, the crustal moment of inertia of glitching pulsars is calculated employing a series of different unified dense-matter equations of state., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRD

Magnetization dynamics in an artificial square spin-ice lattice made of Ni80Fe20 with magnetic field applied in the lattice plane is investigated by broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The experimentally observed dispersion shows a rich spectrum of modes corresponding to different magnetization states. These magnetization states are determined by exchange and dipolar interaction between individual islands, as is confirmed by a semianalytical model. In the low field regime below 400 Oe a hysteretic behavior in the mode spectrum is found. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the origin of the observed spectra is due to the initialization of different magnetization states of individual nanomagnets. Our results indicate that it might be possible to determine the spin-ice state by resonance experiments and are a first step towards the understanding of artificial geometrically frustrated magnetic systems in the high-frequency regime.

Methyl cyanide is an important trace molecule in space, especially in star-forming regions where it is one of the more common molecules used to derive kinetic temperatures. We want to obtain accurate spectroscopic parameters of minor isotopologs of methyl cyanide in their lowest excited $v_8 = 1$ vibrational states to support astronomical observations, in particular, with interferometers such as ALMA. The laboratory rotational spectrum of methyl cyanide in natural isotopic composition has been recorded from the millimeter to the terahertz regions. Transitions with good signal-to-noise ratios could be identified for the three isotopic species CH$_3^{13}$CN, $^{13}$CH$_3$CN, and CH$_3$C(15)N up to about 1.2 THz ($J'' \le 66$). Accurate spectroscopic parameters were obtained for all three species. The present data were already instrumental in identifying $v_8 = 1$ lines of methyl cyanide with one $^{13}$C in IRAM 30 m and ALMA data toward Sagittarius B2(N)., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, article appeared; CDMS links and two references updated

The key ingredient of high critical currents in a type-II superconductor is defect sites that 'pin' vortices. Contrary to earlier understanding on nano-patterned artificial pinning, here we show unequivocally the advantages of a random pinscape over an ordered array in a wide magnetic field range. We reveal that the better performance of a random pinscape is due to the variation of its local-density-of-pinning-sites (LDOPS), which mitigates the motion of vortices. This is confirmed by achieving even higher enhancement of the critical current through a conformally mapped random pinscape, where the distribution of the LDOPS is further enlarged. The demonstrated key role of LDOPS in enhancing superconducting critical currents gets at the heart of random versus commensurate pinning. Our findings highlight the importance of random pinscapes in enhancing the superconducting critical currents of applied superconductors., Comment: To appear in Physical Review B

We study the equations for the evolution of cosmological perturbations in $f\left(\mathcal{R}\right)$ and conclude that this modified gravity model can be expressed as a dark energy fluid at background and linearised perturbation order. By eliminating the extra scalar degree of freedom known to be present in such theories, we are able to characterise the evolution of the perturbations in the scalar sector in terms of equations of state for the entropy perturbation and anisotropic stress which are written in terms of the density and velocity perturbations of the dark energy fluid and those in the matter, or the metric perturbations. We also do the same in the much simpler vector and tensor sectors. In order to illustrate the simplicity of this formulation, we numerically evolve perturbations in a small number of cases., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

Due to its transverse nature, spin Hall effects (SHE) provide the possibility to excite and detect spin currents and magnetization dynamics even in magnetic insulators. Magnetic insulators are outstanding materials for the investigation of nonlinear phenomena and for novel low power spintronics applications because of their extremely low Gilbert damping. Here, we report on the direct imaging of electrically driven spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) in the ferrimagnetic insulator Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ based on the excitation and detection by SHEs. The driven spin dynamics in Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ is directly imaged by spatially-resolved microfocused Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy. Previously, ST-FMR experiments assumed a uniform precession across the sample, which is not valid in our measurements. A strong spin-wave localization in the center of the sample is observed indicating the formation of a nonlinear, self-localized spin-wave `bullet'.