Topological Strings and Quantum Spectral Problems

We consider certain quantum spectral problems appearing in the study of local Calabi-Yau geometries. The quantum spectrum can be computed by the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition for a period integral. For the case of small Planck constant, the periods are computed perturbatively by deformation of the Omega background parameters in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit. We compare the calculations with the results from the standard perturbation theory for the quantum Hamiltonian. There have been proposals in the literature for the non-perturbative contributions based on singularity cancellation with the perturbative contributions. We compute the quantum spectrum numerically with some high precisions for many cases of Planck constant. We find that there are also some higher order non-singular non-perturbative contributions, which are not captured by the singularity cancellation mechanism. We fix the first few orders formulas of such corrections for some well known local Calabi-Yau models.Comment: 47 pages, 3 figures. v2: journal version, typos correcte

On the angular distributions of tau- --> K_S pi-nu_tau decay

Based on experimental data by the Bell Collaboration, we present a phenomenological analysis of the angular distributions in tau- -->K_S pi-nu_tau decay. Our study shows that the angular analysis could lead to some interesting observables, and the future experimental investigation of these observables might be very helpful in revealing the nature of the scalar components of the decay. New physics contributions from the two-Higgs-doublet model to this decay have also been examined.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Typos corrected, some remarks and references added. Publised versio

Device modeling of superconductor transition edge sensors based on the two-fluid theory

In order to support the design and study of sophisticated large scale transition edge sensor (TES) circuits, we use basic SPICE elements to develop device models for TESs based on the superfluid-normal fluid theory. In contrast to previous studies, our device model is not limited to small signal simulation, and it relies only on device parameters that have clear physical meaning and can be easily measured. We integrate the device models in design kits based on powerful EDA tools such as CADENCE and OrCAD, and use them for versatile simulations of TES circuits. Comparing our simulation results with published experimental data, we find good agreement which suggests that device models based on the two-fluid theory can be used to predict the behavior of TES circuits reliably and hence they are valuable for assisting the design of sophisticated TES circuits.Comment: 10pages,11figures. Accepted to IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercon

New Vacuum Solar Telescope and Observations with High Resolution

The New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) is a 1 meter vacuum solar telescope that aims to observe the fine structures on the Sun. The main tasks of NVST are high resolution imaging and spectral observations, including the measurements of solar magnetic field. NVST is the primary ground-based facility of Chinese solar community in this solar cycle. It is located by the Fuxian Lake of southwest China, where the seeing is good enough to perform high resolution observations. In this paper, we first introduce the general conditions of Fuxian Solar Observatory and the primary science cases of NVST. Then, the basic structures of this telescope and instruments are described in detail. Finally, some typical high resolution data of solar photosphere and chromosphere are also shown.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted by RAA (Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics