Modeling the Infrared Emission from the HR 4796A Disk

We model the spectral energy distribution (SED) from the mid-infrared to submillimeter of the ring-like disk of HR 4796A, the dustiest A-type star. We consider dust made either of coagulated but otherwise unaltered protostellar interstellar grains, or grains that are highly-processed in a protostellar/protoplanetary nebula with silicate dust annealed and carbon dust oxidized. Both types of dust are successful in reproducing the observed SED, provided that the grains are highly fluffy, with a vacuum volume fraction of \~90%. We find no evidence for the existence of a hot ``zodiacal dust'' component a few AU from the star, which was suggested by previous workers to account for the 10 micron-wavelength emission.Comment: published in The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 590, pp. 368--378; 26 pages; 9 figure

Strong lensing interferometry for compact binaries

We propose a possibility to improve the current precision measurements on compact binaries. When the orbital axis is almost perpendicular to our line of sight, a pulsar behind its companion can form two strong-lensing images. These images cannot be resolved, but we can use multi-wavelength interferometry to accurately determine the passage through superior conjunction. This method does not depend strongly on the stability of the pulse profile, and applies equally well to both slow and fast pulsars. We discuss the possible improvement this can bring to the bound on stochastic gravitational wave background and to determine black hole spin. We also discuss the possibility of discovering a suitable binary system by the Square Kilometer Array that our method can apply to.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Classification of the Entangled states L\times N\times N

We presented a general classification scheme for the tripartite $L\times N\times N$ entangled system under stochastic local operation and classical communication. The whole classification procedure consists of two correlated parts: the simultaneous similarity transformation of a commuting matrix pair into a canonical form and the study of internal symmetry of parameters in the canonical form. Based on this scheme, a concrete example of entanglement classification for a $3\times N\times N$ system is given.Comment: 21 pages; published in Phys. Rev.