Revisiting the Parallax of the Isolated Neutron Star RX J185635-3754 Using HST/ACS Imaging

We have redetermined the parallax and proper motion of the nearby isolated neutron star RX~J185635-3754. We used eight observations with the high resolution camera of the HST/ACS taken from 2002 through 2004. We performed the astrometric fitting using five independent methods, all of which yielded consistent results. The mean estimate of the distance is 123 (+11, -15) pc (1 sigma), in good agreement with our earlier published determination

Computation of Neutron Star Structure Using Modern Equation of State

Using the modern equations of state derived from microscopic calculations, we have calculated the neutron star structure. For the neutron star, we have obtained a minimum mass about $0.1 {\rm M_{\odot}}$ which is nearly independent of the equation of state, and a maximum mass between $1.47 {\rm M_{\odot}}$ and $1.98 {\rm M_{\odot}}$ which is strongly dependent on the equation of state. It is shown that among the equations of state of neutron star matter which we have used, the stiffest one leads to higher maximum mass and radius and lower central density. It is seen that the given maximum mass for the Reid-93 equation of state shows a good consistency with the accurate observations of radio pulsars. We have indicated that the thickness of neutron star crust is very small compared to the predicted neutron star radius.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Effects of Symmetry Energy in the Reaction 40Ca+124Sn at 140 MeV/nucleon

The density-dependent symmetry energy is a hot topic in nuclear physics. Many laboratories over the world are planning to perform related experiments to probe the symmetry energy. Based on the semiclassical Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) transport model, we study the effects of nuclear symmetry energy in the central reaction 40Ca+124Sn at 140MeV/nucleon in the laboratory system. It is found that the rapidity distribution of free nucleon's neutron-to-proton ratio is sensitive to the symmetry energy, especially at large rapidities. The free neutron-to-proton ratios at small or large rapidities may reflect high or low density behavior of nuclear symmetry energy. To probe the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy, it is better to give the kinetic distribution and the rapidity distribution of emitted nucleons at the same time.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1204.085

The effects of r-process heating on fall-back accretion in compact object mergers

We explore the effects of r-process nucleosynthesis on fall-back accretion in neutron star(NS)-NS and black hole-NS mergers, and the resulting implications for short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Though dynamically important, the energy released during the r-process is not yet taken into account in merger simulations. We use a nuclear reaction network to calculate the heating (due to beta-decays and nuclear fission) experienced by material on the marginally-bound orbits nominally responsible for late-time fall-back. Since matter with longer orbital periods t_orb experiences lower densities, for longer periods of time, the total r-process heating rises rapidly with t_orb, such that material with t_orb > 1 seconds can become completely unbound. Thus, r-process heating fundamentally changes the canonical prediction of an uninterrupted power-law decline in the fall-back rate dM/dt at late times. When the timescale for r-process to complete is > 1 second, the heating produces a complete cut-off in fall-back accretion after ~ 1 second; if robust, this would imply that fall-back accretion cannot explain the late-time X-ray flaring observed following some short GRBs. However, for a narrow, but physically plausible, range of parameters, fall-back accretion can resume after ~ 10 s, despite having been strongly suppressed for ~ 1-10 s after the merger. This suggests the intriguing possibility that the gap observed between the prompt and extended emission in short GRBs is a manifestation of r-process heating.Comment: 7 pages; 4 figures; submitted to MNRA

Probing the symmetry energy with isospin ratio from nucleons to fragments

Within the framework of ImQMD05, we study several isospin sensitive observables, such as DR(n/p) ratios, isospin transport ratio (isospin diffusion), yield ratios for LCPs between the projectile region and mid-rapidity region for the reaction systems Ni+Ni, Zn+Zn, Sn+Sn at low-intermediate energies. Our results show that those observables are sensitive to the density dependence of symmetry energy, and also depend on the cluster formation mechanism. By comparing these calculations to the data, the information of the symmetry energy and reaction mechanism is obtained.Comment: Talk given by Yingxun Zhang at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS

Probing nuclear symmetry energy with the sub-threshold pion production

Within the framework of semiclassical Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) transport model, we investigated the effects of symmetry energy on the sub-threshold pion using the isospin MDI interaction with the stiff and soft symmetry energies in the central collision of $^{48}$Ca + $^{48}$Ca at the incident beam energies of 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 MeV/nucleon, respectively. We find that the ratio of $\pi^{-}/\pi^{+}$ of sub-threshold charged pion production is greatly sensitive to the symmetry energy, particularly around 100 MeV/nucleon energies. Large sensitivity of sub-threshold charged pion production to nuclear symmetry energy may reduce uncertainties of probing nuclear symmetry energy via heavy-ion collision.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, typo corrections, submitted to Chinese Physics Letter

Rapid Cooling of the Neutron Star in Cassiopeia A Triggered by Neutron Superfluidity in Dense Matter

We propose that the observed cooling of the neutron star in Cassiopeia A is due to enhanced neutrino emission from the recent onset of the breaking and formation of neutron Cooper pairs in the 3P2 channel. We find that the critical temperature for this superfluid transition is ~0.5x10^9 K. The observed rapidity of the cooling implies that protons were already in a superconducting state with a larger critical temperature. Our prediction that this cooling will continue for several decades at the present rate can be tested by continuous monitoring of this neutron star.Comment: Revised version, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

The effect of neutrinos on the initial fireballs in gamma-ray bursts

We investigate the fate of very compact, sudden energy depositions that may lie at the origin of gamma-ray bursts. Following on from the work of Cavallo and Rees (1978), we take account of the much higher energies now believed to be involved. The main effect of this is that thermal neutrinos are present and energetically important. We show that these may provide sufficient cooling to tap most of the explosion energy. However, at the extreme energies usually invoked for gamma-ray bursts, the neutrino opacity suffices to prevent dramatic losses, provided that the heating process is sufficiently fast. In a generic case, a few tens of percent of the initial fireball energy will escape as an isotropic millisecond burst of thermal neutrinos with a temperature of about 60 MeV, which is detectable for nearby gamma-ray bursts and hypernovae. For parameters we find most likely for gamma-ray burst fireballs, the dominant processes are purely leptonic, and thus the baryon loading of the fireball does not affect our conclusions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. To be submitted to MNRA

Compression load failure of aluminum plates due to fire

An experimental study was performed to quantify the response and failure of 5083-H116 and 6082-T6 aluminum plates under compression load while being subjected to a constant heat flux representing a fire exposure. Using an intermediate scale loading frame with integrated heating, the study evaluated the effects of geometry, aluminum type, fire exposure, load, and fire protection. Intermediate scale aluminum panels which were more than 0.7 m high and 0.2 m wide were used to gain insights into the structural behavior of large structural sections exposed to fire. Failure temperatures were measured to range from 100 to 480 C and were dependent on applied stress and aluminum type. This indicates that the use of a single temperature criterion in fire resistance without load as typically done is not sufficient for evaluating structural response during fire. An empirical failure model was developed to account for fire exposure conditions, aluminum type, and geometr