Optical Resonator Analog of a Two-Dimensional Topological Insulator

A lattice of optical ring resonators can exhibit a topological insulator phase, with the role of spin played by the direction of propagation of light within each ring. Unlike the system studied by Hafezi et al., topological protection is achieved without fine-tuning the inter-resonator couplings, which are given the same periodicity as the underlying lattice. The topological insulator phase occurs for strong couplings, when the tight-binding method is inapplicable. Using the transfer matrix method, we derive the bandstructure and phase diagram, and demonstrate the existence of robust edge states. When gain and loss are introduced, the system functions as a diode for coupled resonator modes.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

The heavy-element abundances of AGB stars and the angular momentum conservation model of wind accretion for barium stars

Adpoting new s-process nucleosynthesis scenario and branch s-process path, we calculate the heavy-element abundances and C/O ratio of solar metallicity 3M_sun TP-AGB stars. The evolutionary sequence from M to S to C stars of AGB stars is explained naturally by the calculated results. Then combining the angular momentum conservation model of wind accretion with the heavy-element abundances on the surface of TP-AGB stars, we calculate the heavy-element overabundances of barium stars via successive pulsed accreting and mixing. Our results support that the barium stars with longer orbital period, P>1600 days, form through wind accretion scenario.Comment: 14 pages, LaTex, 17 PS figures included, accepted for publication in A &

NeIII/OII as an oxygen abundance indicator in the HII regions and HII galaxies

To calibrate the relationship between Ne3O2 (Ne3O2 = log(\neiii$\lambda3869$/\oii$\lambda3727$)) and oxygen abundances, we present a sample of $\sim$3000 \hii galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data release four. They are associated with a sample from the literature intended to enlarge the oxygen abundance region. We calculated the electron temperatures ($T_e$) of 210 galaxies in the SDSS sample with the direct method, and $T_e$ of the other 2960 galaxies in SDSS sample calculated with an empirical method. Then, we use a linear least-square fitting to calibrate the Ne3O2 oxygen abundance indicator. It is found that the Ne3O2 estimator follows a linear relation with \zoh\ that holds for the whole abundance range covered by the sample, from approximately 7.0 to 9.0. The best linear relationship between the Ne3O2 and the oxygen abundance is calibrated. The dispersion between oxygen abundance and Ne3O2 index in the metal rich galaxies may come partly from the moderate depletion of oxygen onto grains. The $Ne3O2$ method has the virtue of being single-valued and not affected by internal reddening. As a result, the $Ne3O2$ method can be a good metallicity indicator in the \hii regions and \hii galaxies, especially in high-redshift galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. A&A accepte

Polarization Induced Switching Effect in Graphene Nanoribbon Edge-Defect Junction

With nonequilibrium Green's function approach combined with density functional theory, we perform an ab initio calculation to investigate transport properties of graphene nanoribbon junctions self-consistently. Tight-binding approximation is applied to model the zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) electrodes, and its validity is confirmed by comparison with GAUSSIAN03 PBC calculation of the same system. The origin of abnormal jump points usually appearing in the transmission spectrum is explained with the detailed tight-binding ZGNR band structure. Transport property of an edge defect ZGNR junction is investigated, and the tunable tunneling current can be sensitively controlled by transverse electric fields.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Electron density diagnostic for hot plasmas in coronal regime by using B-like ions

Line ratio of $3d-2p$ transition lines in boron-like spectra of Si X, S XII, Ar XIV and Fe XXII has been investigated. Collisional-radiative model calculations reveal that the line ratio is sensitive to the electron density in ranges of $n_{\rm e}=4.0\times10^7-3.0\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$, $4.0\times10^8-3.0\times10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$, $3.0\times10^9-4.0\times10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$ and $2.0\times10^{12}-3.0\times10^{15}$ cm$^{-3}$, respectively. This complements the K-shell diagnostics of helium-like ions. By comparison between the prediction and the measured values, effective electron densities in the electron beam ion trap (EBIT) plasmas performed by Lepson and collaborators at Lawrence Livermore EBIT, are estimated to be $n_{\rm e}=3.4^{+0.8}_{-0.6}\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ and $5.6^{+1.0}_{-1.1}\times10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ for sulphur and argon plasmas. In case of argon, a good agreement is shown with the actual electron density derived from N VI K-shell spectrum. We further explore the $3d-2p$ transition lines of Si X and S XII in the stellar coronal spectra measured with the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer combined with High Resolution Camera on board the {\it Chandra X-ray Observatory}. The constrained electron densities show a good agreement with the those determined from C V and O VII K-shell spectra.Comment: 15 pagess, 5 figures and 4 tables, accepted for publication on A