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Parton distribution functions (PDFs) are important quantities in describing nucleon structures. They are universal and process-independent. As a matter of fact, nucleon PDFs are inevitably affected by nuclear matter during nuclear scattering process. In order to study the nuclear PDFs (nPDFs), in this paper, we introduce the nucleon pair PDFs (dPDFs) to describe parton distributions in the nucleon pair which is confined to a nucleus. We first of all construct the nuclear state in terms of nucleonic Fock states and calculate the operator definition of nPDFs. Neglecting the higher order corrections or nucleon correlations, we find that nPDFs can be written as a sum of two terms which respectively correspond to PDFs and dPDFs. Nucleon pair PDFs which stem from nucleon-nucleon correlation are proportional to common nucleon PDFs but suppressed by a factor. It is naturally to obtain the slope of the EMC effect $dR_{EMC}/dx$ as long as the factor is independent of momentum fraction $x$. We further calculate the Paschos-Wolfenstein ratio to study the nuclear matter effect on the extraction of weak mixing angle or $\sin^2\theta_W$ by using dPDFs.

We present results on simultaneous observations of Class~I methanol masers at 25, 36, and 44 GHz towards 22 Galactic targets carried out with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. The study investigates relations between the hyperfine (HF) structure of the torsion-rotation transitions in CH3OH and maser activity. By analyzing the radial velocity shifts between different maser lines together with the patterns of the HF structure based on laboratory measurements and quantum-chemical calculations, we find that in any source only one specific HF transition forms the maser emission and that this transition changes from source to source. The physical conditions leading to this selective behavior are still unclear. Using accurate laboratory rest frequencies for the 25 GHz transitions, we have refined the centre frequencies for the HF multiplets at 36, 44, and 95 GHz: f_36 = (36169.2488 +/- 0.0002_stat +/- 0.0004_sys) MHz. f_44 = (44069.4176 +/- 0.0002_stat +/- 0.0004_sys) MHz, and f_95 = (95169.4414 +/- 0.0003_stat +/- 0.0004_sys) MHz. Comparison with previous observations of 44 GHz masers performed 6-10 years ago with a Korean 21-m KVN telescope towards the same targets confirms the kinematic stability of Class~I maser line profiles during this time interval and reveals a systematic radial velocity shift of 0.013 +/- 0.005 km/s between the two telescopes., Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS

The recent claim of potential room-temperature superconductivity in Pb$_{10-x}$Cu$_{x}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$O has attracted widespread attention. However, the signature of superconductivity is later attributed to the Cu$_{2}$S impurity formed during the multiple-step synthesis procedure. Here we report a simple one-step approach to synthesize single-phase chloride analogue Cu-doped Pb$_{10}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$Cl$_{2}$ using PbO, PbCl$_{2}$, CuCl$_{2}$, and NH$_{4}$H$_{2}$PO$_{4}$ as starting materials. Irrespective of the initial stoichiometry, the Cu doping always leads to a lattice expansion in Pb$_{10}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$Cl$_{2}$. This indicates that Cu prefers to reside in the hexagonal channels rather than substitutes at the Pb site, and the chemical formula is expressed as Pb$_{10}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$Cu$_{x}$Cl$_{2}$. All the Pb$_{10}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$Cu$_{x}$Cl$_{2}$ (0 $\leq$ $x$ $\leq$ 1.0) samples are found to be semiconductors with wide band gaps of 4.46-4.59 eV, and the Cu-doped ones ($x$ = 0.5 and 1.0) exhibit a paramagnetic behavior without any phase transition between 400 and 1.8 K. Our study calls for a reinvestigation of the Cu location in Pb$_{10-x}$Cu$_{x}$(PO$_{4}$)$_{6}$O, and supports the absence of superconductivity in this oxyapatite., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures

The KM2A is the largest sub-array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). It consists of 5216 electromagnetic particle detectors (EDs) and 1188 muon detectors (MDs). The data recorded by the EDs and MDs are used to reconstruct primary information of cosmic ray and gamma-ray showers. This information is used for physical analysis in gamma-ray astronomy and cosmic ray physics. To ensure the reliability of the LHAASO-KM2A data, a three-level quality control system has been established. It is used to monitor the status of detector units, stability of reconstructed parameters and the performance of the array based on observations of the Crab Nebula and Moon shadow. This paper will introduce the control system and its application on the LHAASO-KM2A data collected from August 2021 to July 2023. During this period, the pointing and angular resolution of the array were stable. From the observations of the Moon shadow and Crab Nebula, the results achieved using the two methods are consistent with each other. According to the observation of the Crab Nebula at energies from 25 TeV to 100 TeV, the time averaged pointing errors are estimated to be $-0.003^{\circ} \pm 0.005^{\circ}$ and $0.001^{\circ} \pm 0.006^{\circ}$ in the R.A. and Dec directions, respectively., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures

We present the results of a search for ammonia maser emission in 119 Galactic high-mass star-forming regions (HMSFRs) known to host 22 GHz H$_2$O maser emission. Our survey has led to the discovery of non-metastable NH$_3$ inversion line masers toward 14 of these sources. This doubles the number of known non-metastable ammonia masers in our Galaxy, including nine new very high excitation ($J,K$)~=~(9,6) maser sources. These maser lines, including NH$_3$ (5,4), (6,4), (6,5), (7,6), (8,6), (9,6), (9,8), (10,8), and (11,9), arise from energy levels of 342 K, 513 K, 465 K, 606 K, 834 K, 1090 K, 942 K, 1226 K, and 1449 K above the ground state. Additionally, we tentatively report a new metastable NH$_3$ (3,3) maser in G048.49 and an NH$_3$ (7,7) maser in G029.95. Our observations reveal that all of the newly detected NH$_3$ maser lines exhibit either blueshifted or redshifted velocities with respect to the source systemic velocities. Among the non-metastable ammonia maser lines, larger velocity distributions, offset from the source systemic velocities, are found in the ortho-NH$_3$ ($K=3n$) than in the para-NH$_3$ ($K\neq3n$) transitions., Comment: 14 pages, 4 tables, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Carbon nanotubes are devices of choice for investigating the interplay between electronic transport and nanomechanical motion. In this work, we report the co-existence of thermal vibrations and large-amplitude self-sustained oscillations in a carbon nanotube that originates from electron tunneling and thermal effects. The measured transitions between the two states are described by a Poisson process, revealing that the interstate switching is induced by noise. We observe the coexistence of the stable low-amplitude thermal state and the stable large-amplitude state (limit cycle) over a finite parameter range, which points to an isola bifurcation. We propose a minimalistic model based on nonlinear friction to account for the isola. Our work provides evidence for a new type of bifurcation leading to self-sustained oscillations that largely differs from the classical Hopf bifurcation, since these large-amplitude oscillations are a hidden state that can be unveiled via stochastic switching. We envision that this new dynamical regime and the means to reveal it will be of interest for various mesoscopic vibrational systems.

Sulfur isotope ratios have emerged as a promising tool for tracing stellar nucleosynthesis, quantifying stellar populations, and investigating the chemical evolution of galaxies. While extensively studied in the Milky Way, in extragalactic environments they remain largely unexplored. We focus on investigating the sulfur isotope ratios in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to gain insights into sulfur enrichment in this nearby system and to establish benchmarks for such ratios in metal-poor galaxies. We conducted pointed observations of CS and its isotopologues toward N113, one of the most prominent star-formation regions in the LMC, utilizing the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment 12~m telescope. We present the first robust detection of C$^{33}$S in the LMC by successfully identifying two C$^{33}$S transitions on a large scale of $\sim$5 pc. Our measurements result in an accurate determination of the $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S isotope ratio, which is 2.0$\pm$0.2. Our comparative analysis indicates that the $^{32}$S/$^{33}$S and $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S isotope ratios are about a factor of 2 lower in the LMC than in the Milky Way. Our findings suggest that the low $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S isotope ratio in the LMC can be attributed to a combination of the age effect, low metallicity, and star formation history., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&A, adjusted to the final version

Protonated hydrogen cyanide, HCNH$^{+}$, plays a fundamental role in astrochemistry because it is an intermediary in gas-phase ion-neutral reactions within cold molecular clouds. However, the impact of the environment on the chemistry of HCNH$^{+}$ remains poorly understood. With the IRAM-30 m and APEX-12 m observations, we report the first robust distribution of HCNH$^{+}$ in the Serpens filament and in Serpens South. Our data suggest that HCNH$^{+}$ is abundant in cold and quiescent regions, but is deficit in active star-forming regions. The observed HCNH$^{+}$ fractional abundances relative to H$_{2}$ range from $3.1\times 10^{-11}$ in protostellar cores to $5.9\times 10^{-10}$ in prestellar cores, and the HCNH$^{+}$ abundance generally decreases with increasing H$_{2}$ column density, which suggests that HCNH$^{+}$ coevolves with cloud cores. Our observations and modeling results suggest that the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ in cold molecular clouds is strongly dependent on the H$_{2}$ number density. The decrease in the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ is caused by the fact that its main precursors (e.g., HCN and HNC) undergo freeze-out as the number density of H$_{2}$ increases. However, current chemical models cannot explain other observed trends, such as the fact that the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ shows an anti-correlation with that of HCN and HNC, but a positive correlation with that of N$_{2}$H$^{+}$ in the southern part of the Serpens South northern clump. This indicates that additional chemical pathways have to be invoked for the formation of HCNH$^{+}$ via molecules like N$_{2}$ in regions in which HCN and HNC freeze out. Both the fact that HCNH$^{+}$ is most abundant in molecular cores prior to gravitational collapse and the fact that low-$J$ HCNH$^{+}$ transitions have very low H$_{2}$ critical densities make this molecular ion an excellent probe of pristine molecular gas., Comment: 25 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

The deeply inelastic scattering is one of the most important processes in studying the nucleon structure. Theoretical calculations for both the inclusive one and the semi-inclusive one are generally carried out in the virtual photon-nucleon collinear frame in which virtual photon does not have the transverse components. Expressions in this frame are written in relatively simple forms. Nevertheless, it is also meaningful to calculate the scattering process in the electron-nucleon collinear frame where new measurement schemes are obtained. In the present paper, we reconsider the semi-inclusive deeply inelastic scattering process in the electron-nucleon collinear frame and present the results of azimuthal asymmetries and quark intrinsic asymmetries. We find that the differential cross sections in these two frames are the same at leading twist level but different at higher twist level. Azimuthal asymmetries and intrinsic asymmetries in these two frames have the same forms but different kinematic factors. For the sake of completeness, both the electromagnetic and weak interactions are considered in our calculations. The neutral current measurements in the scattering process could be used as electroweak precision tests which can provide new accurate determinations of the electroweak couplings., Comment: 13 pages and 6 figures

We analyzed the 3-mm wavelength spectral line survey of 408 ATLASGAL clumps observed with the IRAM 30m-telescope, focusing on the class I methanol masers with frequencies near 84, 95 and 104.3 GHz. We detect narrow, maser-like features towards 54, 100 and 4 sources in the maser lines near 84, 95 and 104.3 GHz, respectively. Among them, fifty 84 GHz masers, twenty nine 95 GHz masers and four rare 104.3 GHz masers are new discoveries. The new detections increase the number of known 104.3 GHz masers from 5 to 9. The 95 GHz class I methanol maser is generally stronger than the 84 GHz maser counterpart. We find 9 sources showing class I methanol masers but no SiO emission, indicating that class I methanol masers might be the only signpost of protostellar outflow activity in extremely embedded objects at the earliest evolutionary stage. Class I methanol masers that are associated with sources that show SiO line wings are more numerous and stronger than those without such wings. The total integrated intensity of class I methanol masers is well correlated with the integrated intensity and velocity coverage of the SiO (2--1) emission. The properties of class I methanol masers are positively correlated with the bolometric luminosity, clump mass, peak H$_2$ column density of their associated clumps but uncorrelated with the luminosity-to-mass ratio, dust temperature, and mean H$_2$ volume density. We suggest that the properties of class I masers are related to shocks traced by SiO. Based on our observations, we conclude that class I methanol masers at 84 and 95 GHz can trace a similar evolutionary stage as H$_2$O maser, and appear prior to 6.7 and 12.2 GHz methanol and OH masers. Despite their small number, the 104.3 GHz class I masers appear to trace a short and more evolved stage compared to the other class I masers. [abridged], Comment: 23 pages, 27 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

FU Orionis (FUor) and EX Lupi (EXor) type objects are two groups of peculiar and rare pre-main sequence low-mass stars that are undergoing powerful accretion outbursts during their early stellar evolution. Water masers are widespread in star forming regions and are powerful probes of mass accretion and ejection, but little is known about the prevalence of them toward FUors/EXors. We perform the first systematic search for the 22.2 GHz water maser line in FUors/EXors to determine its overall incidence to perform follow-up high angular resolution observations. We used the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope to observe the 22.2 GHz H2O maser toward a sample of 51 objects. We detect 5 water masers; 3 are associated with eruptive stars, resulting in a 6% detection rate for eruptive sources. These detections include one EXor, V512 Per (also known as SVS 13 or SVS 13A), and two FUors, Z CMa and HH 354 IRS. This is the first reported detection of water maser emission towards HH 354 IRS. We detect water maser emission in our pointing towards the FUor binary RNO 1B/1C, which most likely originates from the nearby deeply embedded source IRAS 00338+6312 (~4'', from RNO 1B/1C). Emission was also detected from H$_2$O(B) (also known as SVS 13C), a Class 0 source ~30'', from the EXor V512 Per. The peak flux density of H$_2$O(B) in our observations, 498.7 Jy, is the highest observed to date. In addition to the two non-eruptive Class 0 sources (IRAS 00338+6312 and H$_2$O(B) /SVS 13C), we detect maser emission towards one Class 0/I (HH 354 IRS) and two Class I (V512 Per and Z CMa) eruptive stars. We demonstrate the presence of 22.2 GHz water maser emission in FUor/EXor systems, opening the way to radio interferometric observations to study these eruptive stars on small scales. Comparing our data with historical observations suggest that multiple water maser flares have occurred in both V512 Per and H$_2$O(B)., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present the results of the neutron star X-ray binary system Cen X-3 performed by $Insight$-HXMT with two observations during 2017 and 2018. During these two observations, the source reached a X-ray luminosity of $\sim 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$ from 2 -- 105 keV. The analysis of the broadband X-ray spectrum reports the presence of two cyclotron resonance scattering features (CRSFs) with the fundamental line at $\sim$ 28 keV and the harmonic line at $\sim 47 $ keV. The multiple lines exist by fittings with different continuum models, like the absorbed NPEX model and a power-law with high energy exponential cutoff model. This is the first time that both fundamental and harmonic lines are detected in Cen X-3. We also show evidence of two cyclotron lines in the phase-resolved spectrum of Cen X-3. The CRSF and continuum spectral parameters show evolution with the pulse profile, and the two line centroid energy ratio does not change significantly and locates in a narrow value range of $1.6-1.7$ over the pulse phase. The implications of the discovering two cyclotron absorption features and phase-resolved spectral properties are discussed., Comment: 8 pages, MNRAS, 2023, 519, 5402-5409

The radio signal transmitted by the Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft was observed regularly between the years 2013-2020 at X-band (8.42 GHz) using the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (EVN) network and University of Tasmania's telescopes. We present a method to describe the solar wind parameters by quantifying the effects of plasma on our radio signal. In doing so, we identify all the uncompensated effects on the radio signal and see which coronal processes drive them. From a technical standpoint, quantifying the effect of the plasma on the radio signal helps phase referencing for precision spacecraft tracking. The phase fluctuation of the signal was determined for Mars' orbit for solar elongation angles from 0 - 180 deg. The calculated phase residuals allow determination of the phase power spectrum. The total electron content (TEC) of the solar plasma along the line of sight is calculated by removing effects from mechanical and ionospheric noises. The spectral index was determined as $-2.43 \pm 0.11$ which is in agreement with Kolomogorov's turbulence. The theoretical models are consistent with observations at lower solar elongations however at higher solar elongation ($>$160 deg) we see the observed values to be higher. This can be caused when the uplink and downlink signals are positively correlated as a result of passing through identical plasma sheets., Comment: The paper has 13 figures and one table. It has been accepted for publication in PASA and the article will receive its DOI in a week's time

In the search for realizations of Quantum Spin Liquids (QSL), it is essential to understand the interplay between inherent disorder and the correlated fluctuating spin ground state. H$_3$LiIr$_2$O$_6$ is regarded as a spin liquid proximate to the Kitaev-limit (KQSL) in which H zero-point motion and stacking faults are known to be present. Bond disorder has been invoked to account for the existence of unexpected low-energy spin excitations. Controversy remains about the nature of the underlying correlated state and if any KQSL physics survives. Here, we use resonant X-ray spectroscopies to map the collective excitations in H$_3$LiIr$_2$O$_6$ and characterize its magnetic state. We uncover a broad bandwidth and momentum-independent continuum of magnetic excitations at low temperatures that are distinct from the paramagnetic state. The center energy and high-energy tail of the continuum are consistent with expectations for dominant ferromagnetic Kitaev interactions between dynamically fluctuating spins. The absence of a momentum dependence to these excitations indicates a broken translational invariance. Our data support an interpretation of H$_3$LiIr$_2$O$_6$ as a disordered topological spin liquid in close proximity to bond-disordered versions of the KQSL. Our results shed light on how random disorder affects topological magnetic states and have implications for future experimental and theoretical works toward realizing the Kitaev model in condensed matter systems

FU Orionis (FUor) and EX Lupi (EXor) type objects represent two small, but rather spectacular groups of low-mass, young eruptive stars. Outbursts of several magnitudes are observed, attributed to enhanced accretion from the circumstellar disk onto the central protostar. The host molecular environments of FUors/EXors are poorly explored due to the scarcity of systematic molecular line observations. We carried out the first dedicated survey of the molecular environments of a large sample of FUors/EXors, observing a total of 51 sources with the aim of studying the ammonia (NH$_3$) emission in their host environments. We observed the ammonia (J,K)=(1,1), (2,2), and (3,3) inversion transitions using the Effelsberg 100-m radio telescope. We derived H$_2$ column densities and dust temperatures using archival Herschel SPIRE data. We detected the (1,1) transition toward 28 sources and the (2,2) transition toward 12 sources, while the (3,3) transition was detected toward only two sources. We find kinetic temperatures between ~12 K and 21 K, ammonia column densities from $5.2\times10^{13}\,cm^{-2}$ to $3.2\times10^{15}\,cm^{-2}$, and fractional ammonia abundances with respect to H$_{2}$ from $4.7\times10^{-9}$ to $1.5\times10^{-7}$. The results are comparable to those found in infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). Kinetic analysis suggests that most of the eruptive stars in our sample reside in rather quiescent (sonic or transonic) host environments. Our NH$_3$ observations and analysis of the SPIRE dust-based H$_2$ column density maps confirm the presence of dense material toward 7 sources in our sample; additional sources might also harbour dense gas based on their NH$_2$ (2,2) detections, might indicate an earlier phase than originally classified. Based on our results, we suggest observations targeting additional molecular lines would help to refine the evolutionary classification of eruptive stars., Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

The (anti)neutrino nucleus scattering plays a very important role in probing the hadronic structure as well as the electroweak phenomenologies. To this end, we calculate the jet production semi-inclusive deeply inelastic (anti)neutrino nucleus scattering process. The initial (anti)neutrino is assumed to be scattered off by a target particle with spin 1. Due to the limitation of the factorization theorem, calculations are carried out in the quantum chromodynamics parton model framework up to tree level twist-3. We consider both the neutral current and the charged current processes and write them into a unified form due to the similar interaction forms. Considering the angular modulations and polarizations of the cross section, we calculate the complete azimuthal asymmetries. We also calculate the intrinsic asymmetries which reveal the imbalance in the distribution of the intrinsic transverse momentum of the quark. We find that these asymmetries can be expressed in terms of the transverse momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMD PDFs) and the electroweak couplings. With the determined couplings, these asymmetries can be used to extract the TMD PDFs and further to study the hadronic structures., Comment: 8 figures

An open question in mechanics is whether mechanical resonators can be made nonlinear with vibrations approaching the quantum ground state. This requires engineering a mechanical nonlinearity far beyond what has been realized thus far. Here we discovered a mechanism to boost the Duffing nonlinearity by coupling the vibrations of a nanotube resonator to single-electron tunneling and by operating the system in the ultrastrong coupling regime. Remarkably, thermal vibrations become highly nonlinear when lowering the temperature. The average vibration amplitude at the lowest temperature is 13 times the zero-point motion, with approximately 42% of the thermal energy stored in the anharmonic part of the potential. Our work paves the way for realizing mechanical Schrodinger cat states [1], mechanical qubits [2, 3], and quantum simulators emulating the electron-phonon coupling [4].

The forward-backward asymmetry is an important measurable quantity which can enable independent determination of the neutral-current couplings of fermions. In this paper, we extend the definition of the asymmetry from the partonic level to the hadronic level by calculating this asymmetry of the hadron pair in the semi-inclusive electron position annihilation process. Semi-inclusive implies that a back-to-back jet is also measured in addition to the hadron pair. Due to the limitation of the factorization theorem, we calculate this process up to leading order twist-4 level by applying the collinear expansion formalism. After obtaining the differential cross section, we calculate the forward-backward asymmetries and show them in terms of the corresponding di-hadron fragmentation functions. Di-hadron fragmentation functions are introduced to describe the hadron pair productions in the fragmentation process. With available parameterization of the functions, we present a numerical estimation of the forward-backward asymmetry. On the flip side, measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry would give strict restrictions of parameterizations of the di-hadron fragmentation functions. We also present a numerical estimation of the twist-4 di-hadron fragmentation functions in order to illustrate their contributions., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2205.04068

We investigated the quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) features in the accretion-powered X-ray pulsar Cen X-3 observed by Insight-HXMT. For two observations in 2020 when Cen X-3 was in an extremely soft state, the power density spectrum revealed the presence of obvious QPO features at $\sim$40 mHz with an averaged fractional rms amplitude of $\sim9\%$. We study the mHz QPO frequency and rms amplitude over orbital phases, and find that the QPO frequency is $\sim$33-39 mHz at the orbital phase of 0.1-0.4, increasing to $\sim$37-43 mHz in the orbital phase of 0.4-0.8, but has no strong dependence on X-ray intensity. We also carried out an energy-dependent QPO analysis, the rms amplitude of the mHz QPOs have a decreasing trend as the energy increases from 2 to 20 keV. In addition, the QPO time-lag analysis shows that the time delay is $\sim 20$ ms (a hard lag) in the range of $\sim$5-10 keV, and becomes negative (time lag of $-(20-70)$ ms) above $\sim 10$ keV. The different QPO theoretical models are summarized and discussed. In the end, we suggest that these energy-dependent timing features as well as the origin of mHz QPOs in Cen X-3 may be ascribed to an instability when the accretion disk is truncated near the corotation radius., Comment: 9 pages, MNRAS in press

A quantity of particular experimental interest is the forward-backward asymmetry in the angular distribution of positively and negatively charged fermions produced in $Z^0$ decays. Measurements of this asymmetry can enable independent determinations of the neutral-current couplings of these fermions, i.e. the $Z^0$ boson couplings for left- and right-handed fermions, respectively. Due to the quark confinement, however, it is difficult to determine the electroweak interactions of quarks, especially for light quarks. In the hadron production electron positron annihilation process, the parton model with factorization theorem gives a reliable approximate description. Quantities are thus expressed in terms of fragmentation functions in the annihilation process. In this paper, we consider the vector meson production in the inclusive electron positron annihilation process and calculate the forward-backward asymmetry in the hadronic level. Calculations are carried out by applying the collinear expansion in the parton model at leading order twist-4. We note here this process provides not only a tool for analyzing the hadronic weak interactions but also an opportunity for understanding the parton model of the strong interaction. In other words, the results can be used to test the electroweak and strong interactions simultaneously.

Gravitational collapse is one of the most important processes in high-mass star formation. Compared with the classic blue-skewed profiles, redshifted absorption against continuum emission is a more reliable method to detect inward motions within high-mass star formation regions. We aim to test if methanol transitions can be used to trace infall motions within high-mass star formation regions. Using the Effelsberg-100 m, IRAM-30 m, and APEX-12 m telescopes, we carried out observations of 37 and 16 methanol transitions towards two well-known collapsing dense clumps, W31C (G10.6-0.4) and W3(OH), to search for redshifted absorption features or inverse P-Cygni profiles. Redshifted absorption is observed in 14 and 11 methanol transitions towards W31C and W3(OH), respectively. The infall velocities fitted from a simple two-layer model agree with previously reported values derived from other tracers, suggesting that redshifted methanol absorption is a reliable tracer of infall motions within high-mass star formation regions. Our observations indicate the presence of large-scale inward motions, and the mass infall rates are roughly estimated to be $\gtrsim$10$^{-3}$ $M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$, which supports the global hierarchical collapse and clump-fed scenario. With the aid of bright continuum sources and the overcooling of methanol transitions leading to enhanced absorption, redshifted methanol absorption can trace infall motions within high-mass star formation regions hosting bright H{\scriptsize II} regions., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A

We estimate limits on non-universal coupling of hypothetical hidden fields to standard matter by evaluating the fractional changes in the electron-to-proton mass ratio, mu = m_e/m_p, based on observations of ClassI methanol masers distributed in the Milky Way disk over the range of the galactocentric distances 4 < R < 12 kpc. The velocity offsets DeltaV = V44 - V95 measured between the 44 and 95 GHz methanol lines provide, so far, one of the most stringent constraints on the spatial gradient k_mu = d(Delta mu/mu)/dR < 2x10^-9 kpc-1 and the upper limit on Delta mu/mu < 2x10^-8, where Delta mu/mu = (mu_obs-mu_lab)/mu_lab. We also find that the offsets DeltaV are clustered into two groups which are separated by 0.022 +/- 0.003 km/s (1sigma C.L.). The grouping is most probably due to the dominance of different hyperfine transitions in the 44 and 95 GHz methanol maser emission. Which transition becomes favored is determined by an alignment (polarization) of the nuclear spins of the four hydrogen atoms in the methanol molecule. This result confirms that there are preferred hyperfine transitions involved in the methanol maser action., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 7 pages text, 8 figures, 7 tables

Jet handedness as a measure of quark and/or gluon polarizations has been proposed for nearly 30 years. It was demonstrated by measuring the correlation of jet handedness in the electron positron annihilation process. Once parameters are determined, the method could be used to measure quark and/or gluon polarizations in other experiments. The reported data provided evidence for the jet handedness and handedness correlation. However, the jet handedness correlation measured in the electron positron annihilation process from the opposite jets contradicts theoretical prediction by a sign. In order to explain this, we present a chromo-hydrogen-like model in this paper. According to calculations, both jet handedness and handedness correlation depend on not only the polarization of the fragmenting valence quark but also the polarization of the sea quark. It is the appearance of the sea quark polarization that can solve the contradiction. In other words, measurements of jet handedness and handedness correlation can be used to determine the sea quark polarization.

BL Lacs are one subclass of blazars with highly energetic $\gamma$-ray emission, which is strongly boosted by a relativistic beaming effect. The latest catalogue of the 10 years of {\it Fermi}/LAT data Abdollahi et al. (2020) and the $\gamma$-ray Doppler factors in Pei et al. (2020) provide us with a large BL Lac sample to study their jet emission morphologies and intrinsic properties. In this paper, we collected a sample of 294 {\it Fermi} BL Lacs and probed the correlations between the $\gamma$-ray emissions and luminosity distances. Our analyses give following conclusions: (1) the observed $\gamma$-ray emissions are really boosted by the $\gamma$-ray Doppler factor, and the intrinsic $\gamma$-ray emissions are closely correlated with luminosity distances. (2) the morphology of jet emissions for HBLs may be continuous, while that for IBLs may be the case of a moving sphere in the $\gamma$-ray bands., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by Ap&SS

The authors describe the fabrication of buried waveguides in a highly nonlinear chalcogenide glass, gallium lanthanum sulfide, using focused femtosecond laser pulses. Through optical characterization of the waveguides, they have proposed a formation mechanism and provide comparisons to previous work. Tunneling has been identified as the dominant nonlinear absorption mechanism in the formation of the waveguides. Single mode guidance at 633 nm has been demonstrated. The writing parameters for the minimum propagation loss of 1.47 dB/cm are 0.36 uJ pulse energy and 50 um/s scanning speed.

Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and it is the most important and widely used semiconductor, constituting the basis of modern electronic devices. Despite extensive study, some properties of Si remain elusive. For example, the behaviour of Si under high pressure, in particular at the ultra-high strain rates characteristic of dynamic compression, has been a matter of debate for decades. A detailed understanding of how Si deforms is crucial for a variety of fields, ranging from planetary science to materials design. Simulations suggest that in Si the shear stress generated during shock compression is released inelastically, i.e., via a high-pressure phase transition, challenging the classical picture of relaxation via defect-mediated plasticity. However, experiments at the short timescales characteristic of shock compression are challenging, and direct evidence supporting either deformation mechanism remain elusive. Here, we use sub-picosecond, highly-monochromatic x-ray diffraction to study (100)-oriented single-crystal Si under laser-driven shock compression. We provide the first unambiguous, time-resolved picture of Si deformation at ultra-high strain rates, demonstrating the predicted inelastic shear release. Our results resolve the longstanding controversy on silicon deformation under dynamic compression, and provide direct proof of strain rate-dependent deformation mechanisms in a non-metallic system, which is key for the study of planetary-relevant materials.

A new $\alpha$-emitting isotope $^{214}$U, produced by fusion-evaporation reaction $^{182}$W($^{36}$Ar, 4n)$^{214}$U, was identified by employing the gas-filled recoil separator SHANS and recoil-$\alpha$ correlation technique. More precise $\alpha$-decay properties of even-even nuclei $^{216,218}$U were also measured in reactions of $^{40}$Ar, $^{40}$Ca with $^{180, 182, 184}$W targets. By combining the experimental data, improved $\alpha$-decay reduced widths $\delta^2$ for the even-even Po--Pu nuclei in the vicinity of magic neutron number $N=126$ were deduced. Their systematic trends are discussed in terms of $N_{p}N_{n}$ scheme in order to study the influence of proton-neutron interaction on $\alpha$ decay in this region of nuclei. It is strikingly found that the reduced widths of $^{214,216}$U are significantly enhanced by a factor of two as compared with the $N_{p}N_{n}$ systematics for the $84 \leq Z \leq 90$ and $N<126$ even-even nuclei. The abnormal enhancement is interpreted by the strong monopole interaction between the valence protons and neutrons occupying the $\pi 1f_{7/2}$ and $\nu 1f_{5/2}$ spin-orbit partner orbits, which is supported by a large-scale shell model calculation.

The interactions between electrons and antiferromagnetic magnons (AFMMs) are important for a large class of correlated materials. For example, they are the most plausible pairing glues in high-temperature superconductors, such as cuprates and iron pnictides. However, unlike electron-phonon interactions (EPIs), clear-cut observations regarding how electron-AFMM interactions (EAIs) affect the band structure are still lacking. Consequently, critical information on the EAIs, such as its strength and doping dependence, remains elusive. Here we directly observe that EAIs induces a kink structure in the band dispersion in Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Mn$_2$As$_2$, and subsequently unveil several key characteristics of EAIs. We found that the coupling constant of EAIs can be as large as 6, and it shows huge doping dependence and temperature dependence, all in stark contrast to the behaviors of EPI and beyond our current understanding of EAIs. Such a colossal renormalization of electronic bands by EAIs drives the system to the Stoner criteria, giving the intriguing ferromagnetic state in Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Mn$_2$As$_2$. Our results expand the current knowledge of EAIs, which may facilitate the further understanding of many correlated materials where EAIs play a critical role, such as high-temperature superconductors.

We obtained the order $\rho$ and the type $\sigma$ of wave function with all kind of power potentials, and found that the order and the type are compatible with the condition $|\sigma|\rho =\sqrt{v_m}$ except to $m=-2$. At the same time, we ansatz that the wave function satisfaction relation $\psi(r)=f(r)\exp[g(r)]$, where $f(r),g(r)$ are polynomials, and the power of $g(r)$ is no more than the order $\rho$. Using this ansatz we can solve the Schr\"{o}dinger equation, but unfortunately sometimes we need the parameters of potential to satisfy certain relations.

We report the observation of an intriguing behaviour in the transport properties of nanodevices operating in a regime between the Fabry-P\'erot and the Kondo limits. Using ultra-high quality nanotube devices, we study how the conductance oscillates when sweeping the gate voltage. Surprisingly, we observe a four-fold enhancement of the oscillation period upon decreasing temperature, signaling a crossover from single-electron tunneling to Fabry-P\'erot interference. These results suggest that the Fabry-P\'erot interference occurs in a regime where electrons are correlated. The link between the measured correlated Fabry-P\'erot oscillations and the SU(4) Kondo effect is discussed., Comment: accepted in PRL

Performing homodyne detection at one port of squeezed-state light interferometer and then binarzing measurement data are important to achieve super-resolving and super-sensitive phase measurements. Here we propose a new data-processing technique by dividing the measurement quadrature into three bins (equivalent to a multi-outcome measurement), which leads to a higher improvement in the phase resolution and the phase sensitivity under realistic experimental condition. Furthermore, we develop a new phase-estimation protocol based on a combination of the inversion estimators of each outcome and show that the estimator can saturate the Cramer-Rao lower bound, similar to asymptotically unbiased maximum likelihood estimator., Comment: 6.5 pages, 4 figures, PRA

In order to search for further observational evidence of cloud-cloud collisions in one of the promising candidates, L1188, we carried out observations of multiple molecular lines toward the intersection region of the two nearly orthogonal filamentary molecular clouds in L1188. Based on these observations, we find two parallel filamentary structures, both of which have at least two velocity components being connected with broad bridging features. We also found a spatially complementary distribution between the two molecular clouds, as well as enhanced $^{13}$CO emission and $^{12}$CO self-absorption toward their abutting regions. At the most blueshifted velocities, we unveil a 1~pc-long arc ubiquitously showing $^{12}$CO line wings. We discover two 22 GHz water masers, which are the first maser detections in L1188. An analysis of line ratios at a linear resolution of 0.2 pc suggests that L1188 is characterised by kinetic temperatures of 13--23~K and H$_{2}$ number densities of 10$^{3}$--10$^{3.6}$ cm$^{-3}$. On the basis of previous theoretical predictions and simulations, we suggest that these observational features can be naturally explained by the scenario of a cloud-cloud collision in L1188, although an additional contribution of stellar feedback from low-mass young stellar objects cannot be ruled out., Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&A; for the draft showing figures with full resolution, see http://gongyan2444.github.io/pdf/l1188.pdf

Tunable symmetry breaking plays a crucial role for the manipulation of topological phases of quantum matter. Here, through combined high-pressure magneto-transport measurements, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we demonstrate a pressure-induced topological phase transition in nodal-line semimetal ZrSiS. Symmetry analysis and first-principles calculations suggest that this pressure-induced topological phase transition may be attributed to weak lattice distortions by non-hydrostatic compression, which breaks some crystal symmetries, such as the mirror and inversion symmetries. This finding provides some experimental evidence for crystal symmetry protection for the topological semimetal state, which is at the heart of topological relativistic fermion physics., Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures

Topological nodal-line semimetals (TNLSMs) are materials whose conduction and valence bands cross each other, meeting a topologically-protected closed loop rather than discrete points in the Brillouin zone (BZ). The anticipated properties for TNLSMs include drumhead-like nearly flat surface states, unique Landau energy levels, special collective modes, long-range Coulomb interactions, or the possibility of realizing high-temperature superconductivity. Recently, SrAs3 has been theoretically proposed and then experimentally confirmed to be a TNLSM. Here, we report high-pressure experiments on SrAs3, identifying a Lifshitz transition below 1 GPa and a superconducting transition accompanied by a structural phase transition above 20 GPa. A topological crystalline insulator (TCI) state is revealed by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the emergent high-pressure phase. As the counterpart of topological insulators, TCIs possess metallic boundary states protected by crystal symmetry, rather than time reversal. In consideration of topological surface states (TSSs) and helical spin texture observed in the high-pressure state of SrAs3, the superconducting state may be induced in the surface states, and is most likely topologically nontrivial, making pressurized SrAs3 a strong candidate for topological superconductor., Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures

$\beta$ decay of $^{26}$P was used to populate the astrophysically important $E_x=$5929.4(8) keV $J^{\pi}=3{^+}$ state of $^{26}$Si. Both $\beta$-delayed proton at 418(8) keV and gamma ray at 1742(2) keV emitted from this state were measured simultaneously for the first time with corresponding absolute intensities of 11.1(12)\% and 0.59(44)\%, respectively. Besides, shell model calculations with weakly bound effects were performed to investigate the decay properties of other resonant states and a spin-parity of $4^+$ rather than $0^+$ was favored for the $E_x=$5945.9(40) keV state. Combining the experimental results and theoretical calculations, $^{25}$Al($p,\gamma$)$^{26}$Si reaction rate in explosive hydrogen burning environments was calculated and compared with previous studies.

Being one of the centroidal concepts in quantum theory, the fundamental constraint imposed by Heisenberg uncertainty relations has always been a subject of immense attention and challenging in the context of joint measurements of general quantum mechanical observables. In particular, the recent extension of the original uncertainty relations has grabbed a distinct research focus and set a new ascendent target in quantum mechanics and quantum information processing. In the present work we explore the joint measurements of three incompatible observables, following the basic idea of a newly proposed error trade-off relation. In comparison to the counterpart of two incompatible observables, the joint measurements of three incompatible observables are more complex and of more primal interest in understanding quantum mechanical measurements. Attributed to the pristine idea proposed by Heisenberg in 1927, we develop the error trade-off relations for compatible observables to categorically approximate the three incompatible observables. Implementing these relations we demonstrate the first experimental witness of the joint measurements for three incompatible observables using a single ultracold $^{40}Ca^{+}$ ion in a harmonic potential. We anticipate that our inquisition would be of vital importance for quantum precision measurement and other allied quantum information technologies., Comment: 7 figures

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can be divided into two major classes, namely radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs. A small subset of the radio-loud AGNs is called blazars, which are believed to be unified with Fanaroff-Riley type I and type II (FRI&II) radio galaxies. Following our previous work, we present a latest sample of 966 sources with measured radio flux densities of the core and extended components. The sample includes 83 BL Lacs, 473 FSRQs, 101 Seyferts, 245 galaxies, 52 FRIs&IIs and 12 unidentified sources. We then calculate the radio core-dominance parameters and spectral indices and study their relationship. Our analysis shows that the core-dominance parameters and spectral indices are quite different for different types of sources. We also corroborate that the correlation between core-dominance parameter and radio spectral index extends over all the sources in a large sample presented., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1811.08774

The phenomena of AC oscillation generated by a DC drive, such as the famous Josephson AC effect in superconductors and Bloch oscillation in solid physics, are of great interest in physics. Here we report another example of such counter-intuitive phenomenon that a spin soliton in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate is driven by a constant force: The initially static spin soliton first moves in a direction opposite to the force and then changes direction, showing an extraordinary AC oscillation in a long term. In sharp contrast to the Josephson AC effect and Bloch oscillation, we find that the nonlinear interactions play important roles and the spin soliton can exhibit a periodic transition between negative and positive inertial mass even in the absence of periodic potentials. We then develop an explicit quasiparticle model that can account for this extraordinary oscillation satisfactorily. Important implications and possible applications of our finding are discussed., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

Artificial complex-oxide heterostructures containing ultrathin buried layers grown along the pseudocubic [111] direction have been predicted to host a plethora of exotic quantum states arising from the graphene-like lattice geometry and the interplay between strong electronic correlations and band topology. To date, however, electronic-structural investigations of such atomic layers remain an immense challenge due to the shortcomings of conventional surface-sensitive probes, with typical information depths of a few Angstroms. Here, we use a combination of bulk-sensitive soft x-ray angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (SX-ARPES), hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) and state-of-the-art first-principles calculations to demonstrate a direct and robust method for extracting momentum-resolved and angle-integrated valence-band electronic structure of an ultrathin buckled graphene-like layer of $NdNiO_3$ confined between two 4-unit cell-thick layers of insulating $LaAlO_3$. The momentum-resolved dispersion of the buried Ni d states near the Fermi level obtained via SX-ARPES is in excellent agreement with the first-principles calculations and establishes the realization of an antiferro-orbital order in this artificial lattice. The HAXPES measurements reveal the presence of a valence-band (VB) bandgap of 265 meV. Our findings open a promising avenue for designing and investigating quantum states of matter with exotic order and topology in a few buried layers.

We study the phenomenon of controllable localization-delocalization transition in a quantum many-body system composed of nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to photonic crystal cavities, through tuning the different detunings and the relative amplitudes of two optical fields that drive two nondegenerate transitions of the $\Lambda $-type configuration. We not only characterize how dissipation affects the phase boundary using the mean-field quantum master equation, but also provide the possibility of observing this photonic quantum phase transition (QPT) by employing several experimentally observable quantities, such as mean intracavity photon number, density correlation function and emitted spectrum, exhibiting distinct optical signatures in different quantum phases. Such a spin-cavity system opens new perspectives in quantum simulation of condensed-matter and many-body physics in a well-controllable way.

The Cram\'{e}r-Rao bound plays a central role in both classical and quantum parameter estimation, but finding the observable and the resulting inversion estimator that saturates this bound remains an open issue for general multi-outcome measurements. Here we consider multi-outcome homodyne detection in a coherent-light Mach-Zehnder interferometer and construct a family of inversion estimators that almost saturate the Cram\'{e}r-Rao bound over the whole range of phase interval. This provides a clue on constructing optimal inversion estimators for phase estimation and other parameter estimation in any multi-outcome measurement., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

Oxide heterostructures and superlattices have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years owing to the rich exotic properties encountered at their interfaces. We focus on the potential of tunable correlated oxides by investigating the spectral function of the prototypical correlated metal SrVO3, using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS) to access both unoccupied and occupied electronic states, respectively. We demonstrate a remarkable level of tunability in the spectral function of SrVO3 by varying its thickness within the SrVO3/SrTiO3 superlattice, showing that the effects of electron correlation can be tuned from dominating the energy spectrum in a strongly correlated Mott-Hubbard insulator, towards a correlated metal. We show that the effects of dimensionality on the correlated properties of SrVO3 are augmented by interlayer coupling, yielding a highly flexible correlated oxide that may be readily married with other oxide systems.

Nanomechanical resonators are used with great success to couple mechanical motion to other degrees of freedom, such as photons, spins, and electrons. Mechanical vibrations can be efficiently cooled and amplified using photons, but not with other degrees of freedom. Here, we demonstrate a simple yet powerful method for cooling, amplification, and self-oscillation using electrons. This is achieved by applying a constant (DC) current of electrons through a suspended nanotube in a dilution fridge. We demonstrate cooling down to $4.6\pm 2.0$ quanta of vibrations. We also observe self-oscillation, which can lead to prominent instabilities in the electron transport through the nanotube. We attribute the origin of the observed cooling and self-oscillation to an electrothermal effect. This work shows that electrons may become a useful resource for quantum manipulation of mechanical resonators., Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures

Control of structural couplings at the complex-oxide interfaces is a powerful platform for creating new ultrathin layers with electronic and magnetic properties unattainable in the bulk. However, with the capability to design and control the electronic structure of such buried layers and interfaces at a unit-cell level, a new challenge emerges to be able to probe these engineered emergent phenomena with depth-dependent atomic resolution as well as element- and orbital selectivity. Here, we utilize a combination of core-level and valence-band soft x-ray standing-wave photoemission spectroscopy, in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy, to probe the depth-dependent and single-unit-cell resolved electronic structure of an isovalent manganite superlattice [Eu0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3]x15 wherein the electronic-structural properties are intentionally modulated with depth via engineered oxygen octahedra rotations/tilts and A-site displacements. Our unit-cell resolved measurements reveal significant transformations in the local chemical and electronic valence-band states, which are consistent with the layer-resolved first-principles theoretical calculations, thus opening the door for future depth-resolved studies of a wide variety of hetero-engineered material systems.

We demonstrate for the first time a linear-zigzag phase transition induced solely by temperature of the $^{40}$Ca$^{+}$ ion crystals in a surface-electrode trap. In contrast to the previously observed counterparts based on change of the mechanical equilibrium conditions of the ions, our presented structural phase transition occurs due to controllable influence of thermal fluctuation. The ions' temperature is well controlled by tuning the cooling laser and the experimental observation could be fully understood by classical Langevin equation in addition to the effects from thermal fluctuation. Our experimental investigation indicates the fantastic role of thermal fluctuation played in the thermodynamic process at atomic level, which might bridge the thermodynamics from the macroscopic domain to the quantum regime., Comment: 3 figures

Mechanical resonators based on a single carbon nanotube are exceptional sensors of mass and force. The force sensitivity in these ultra-light resonators is often limited by the noise in the detection of the vibrations. Here, we report on an ultra-sensitive scheme based on a RLC resonator and a low-temperature amplifier to detect nanotube vibrations. We also show a new fabrication process of electromechanical nanotube resonators to reduce the separation between the suspended nanotube and the gate electrode down to $\sim 150$~nm. These advances in detection and fabrication allow us to reach $0.5~\mathrm{pm}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ displacement sensitivity. Thermal vibrations cooled cryogenically at 300~mK are detected with a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 17~dB. We demonstrate $4.3~\mathrm{zN}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ force sensitivity, which is the best force sensitivity achieved thus far with a mechanical resonator. Our work is an important step towards imaging individual nuclear spins and studying the coupling between mechanical vibrations and electrons in different quantum electron transport regimes., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

Background: Beta-decay spectroscopy provides valuable nuclear physics input for thermonuclear reaction rates of astrophysical interest and stringent test for shell-model theories far from the stability line. Purpose: The available decay properties of proton drip-line nucleus $^{27}$S is insufficient to constrain the properties of the key resonance in $^{26}$Si$(p,\gamma)^{27}$P reaction rate and probe the possible isospin asymmetry. The decay scheme of $^{27}$S is complicated and far from being understood, which has motivated but also presented challenges for our experiment. Method: The $^{27}$S ions were implanted into a double-sided silicon strip detector array surrounded by the high-purity germanium detectors, where the $\beta$-delayed protons and $\gamma$ rays were measured simultaneously. Results: The improved spectroscopic properties including the precise half-life of $^{27}$S, the excitation energies, $\beta$-decay branching ratios, log~$ft$ values, and $B$(GT) values for the states of $^{27}$P populated in the $\beta$ decay of $^{27}$S were measured and compared to the $^{27}$Mg mirror states and the shell-model calculations. The present work has expanded greatly on the previously established decay scheme of $^{27}$S. Conclusions: The precise proton-separation energy of $^{27}$P, the energy and the ratio between $\gamma$ and proton partial widths of the $3/2^+$ resonance were obtained, thereby determining the $^{26}$Si$(p,\gamma)^{27}$P reaction rate based mainly on experimental constraints. The first evidence for the observation of a large isospin asymmetry for the mirror decays of $^{27}$S and $^{27}$Na is also provided. The experimental spectroscopic information can be reproduced by the shell-model calculation taking the weakly bound effect of the proton $1s_{1/2}$ orbit into account.

The mass of $^{27}$P was predicted to impact the X-ray burst (XRB) model predictions of burst light curves and the composition of the burst ashes. To address the uncertainties and inconsistencies in the reported $^{27}$P masses in literature, a wealth of information has been extracted from the $\beta$-decay spectroscopy of the drip-line nucleus $^{27}$S. We determine the most precise mass excess of $^{27}$P to date to be $-659(9)$~keV, which is 63~keV (2.3$\sigma$) higher than the AME2016 recommended value of $-722(26)$~keV. The experimentally unknown mass excess of $^{27}$S was estimated to be 17030(400)~keV in AME2016, and we constrain this mass to be 17678(77)~keV based on the measured $\beta$-delayed two-proton energy. In the temperature region of $(0.06-0.3)$~GK, the $^{26}$Si$(p,\gamma)^{27}$P reaction rate determined in this work is significantly lower than the rate recommended in the reaction rate libraries, up to two orders of magnitude around 0.1~GK. The impact of these newly determined masses and well-constrained rate on the modeling of the explosive astrophysical scenarios has been explored by hydrodynamic nova and post-processing XRB models. No substantial change was found in the nova contribution to the synthesis of galactic $^{26}$Al or in the XRB energy generation rate, but we found that the calculated abundances of $^{26}$Al and $^{26}$Si at the last stage of XRB are increased by a factor of 2.4. We also conclude that $^{27}$S is not a significant waiting point in the rapid proton capture process.

While the layered 122 iron arsenide superconductors are highly anisotropic, unconventional, and exhibit several forms of electronic orders that coexist or compete with superconductivity in different regions of their phase diagrams, we find in the absence of iron in the structure that the superconducting characteristics of the end member BaPd2As2 are surprisingly conventional. Here we report on complementary measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity measurements, Andreev spectroscopy, and synchrotron high pressure x-ray diffraction measurements supplemented with theoretical calculations for BaPd2As2. Its superconducting properties are completely isotropic as demonstrated by the critical fields, which do not depend on the direction of the applied field. Under the application of high pressure, Tc is linearly suppressed, which is the typical behavior of classical phonon-mediated superconductors with some additional effect of a pressure-induced decrease in the electronic density of states and the electron-phonon coupling parameters. Structural changes in the layered BaPd2As2 have been studied by means of angle-dispersive diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. At 12 GPa and 24.2 GPa we observed pressure induced lattice distortions manifesting as the discontinuity and, hence discontinuity in the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state. The bulk modulus is B0=40(6) GPa below 12 GPa and B0=142(3) GPa below 27.2 GPa.

Breakdown of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) is commonly associated with an electric field approaching the inter Landau-level (LL) Zener field, ratio of the Landau gap and cyclotron radius. Eluded in semiconducting heterostructures, in spite of extensive investigation, the intrinsic Zener limit is reported here using high-mobility bilayer graphene and high-frequency current noise. We show that collective excitations arising from electron-electron interactions are essential. Beyond a noiseless ballistic QHE regime a large superpoissonian shot noise signals the breakdown via inter-LL scattering. The breakdown is ultimately limited by collective excitations in a regime where phonon and impurity scattering are quenched. The breakdown mechanism can be described by a Landau critical velocity as it bears strong similarities with the roton mechanism of superfluids., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures