Broadband lightcurve characteristics of GRBs 980425 and 060218 and comparison with long-lag, wide-pulse GRBs

It has been recently argued that low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts (LL-GRBs) are likely a unique GRB population. Here, we present systematic analysis of the lightcurve characteristics from X-ray to gamma-ray energy bands for the two prototypical LL-GRBs 980425 and 060218. It is found that both the pulse width ($w$) and the ratio of the rising width to the decaying width ($r/d$) of theses two bursts are energy-dependent over a broad energy band. There exists a significant trend that the pulses tend to be narrower and more symmetry with respect to the higher energy bands for the two events. Both the X-rays and the gamma-rays follow the same $w - E$ and $r/d - E$ relations. These facts may indicate that the X-ray emission tracks the gamma-ray emission and both are likely to be originated from the same physical mechanism. Their light curves show significant spectral lags. We calculate the three types of lags with the pulse peaking time ($t_{peak}$), the pulse centroid time ($t_{cen}$), and the cross-correlation function (CCF). The derived $t_{peak}$ and $t_{cen}$ are a power-law function of energy. The lag calculated by CCF is strongly correlated with that derived from $t_{peak}$. But the lag derived from $t_{cen}$ is less correlated with that derived from $t_{peak}$ and CCF. The energy dependence of the lags is shallower at higher energy bands. These characteristics are well consistent with that observed in typical long-lag, wide-pulse GRBs, suggesting that GRBs 980425 and 060218 may share the similar radiation physics with them.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Bridgeness: A Local Index on Edge Significance in Maintaining Global Connectivity

Edges in a network can be divided into two kinds according to their different roles: some enhance the locality like the ones inside a cluster while others contribute to the global connectivity like the ones connecting two clusters. A recent study by Onnela et al uncovered the weak ties effects in mobile communication. In this article, we provide complementary results on document networks, that is, the edges connecting less similar nodes in content are more significant in maintaining the global connectivity. We propose an index named bridgeness to quantify the edge significance in maintaining connectivity, which only depends on local information of network topology. We compare the bridgeness with content similarity and some other structural indices according to an edge percolation process. Experimental results on document networks show that the bridgeness outperforms content similarity in characterizing the edge significance. Furthermore, extensive numerical results on disparate networks indicate that the bridgeness is also better than some well-known indices on edge significance, including the Jaccard coefficient, degree product and betweenness centrality.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Fractal property of generalized M-set with rational number exponent

Dynamic systems described by fc(z) = z2 + c is called Mandelbrot set (M-set), which is important for fractal and chaos theories due to its simple expression and complex structure. fc(z) = zk + c is called generalized M set (k–M set). This paper proposes a new theory to compute the higher and lower bounds of generalized M set while exponent k is rational, and proves relevant properties, such as that generalized M set could cover whole complex number plane when k 1), and that k–M set can be divided into |p–q| isomorphic parts

Hadronic B Decays to Charmed Baryons

We study exclusive B decays to final states containing a charmed baryon within the pole model framework. Since the strong coupling for $\Lambda_b\bar B N$ is larger than that for $\Sigma_b \bar BN$, the two-body charmful decay $B^-\to\Sigma_c^0\bar p$ has a rate larger than $\bar B^0\to\Lambda_c^+\bar p$ as the former proceeds via the $\Lambda_b$ pole while the latter via the $\Sigma_b$ pole. By the same token, the three-body decay $\bar B^0\to\Sigma_c^{++}\bar p\pi^-$ receives less baryon-pole contribution than $B^-\to\Lambda_c^+\bar p\pi^-$. However, because the important charmed-meson pole diagrams contribute constructively to the former and destructively to the latter, $\Sigma_c^{++}\bar p\pi^-$ has a rate slightly larger than $\Lambda_c^+\bar p\pi^-$. It is found that one quarter of the $B^-\to \Lambda_c^+\bar p\pi^-$ rate comes from the resonant contributions. We discuss the decays $\bar B^0\to\Sigma_c^0\bar p\pi^+$ and $B^-\to\Sigma_c^0\bar p\pi^0$ and stress that they are not color suppressed even though they can only proceed via an internal W emission.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Source, transport and impacts of a heavy dust event in the Yangtze River Delta, China, in 2011

Dust invasion is an important type of particle pollution in China. During 1 to 6 May in 2011, a dust event was observed in the Yangtze River Delta region (YRD). The highest PM₁₀ (particles up to 10 μ in diameter) concentration reached over 1000 μg m⁻³ and the visibility was below 3 km. In this study, the Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ5.0) coupled with an in-line windblown dust model was used to simulate the formation, spatial and temporal characteristics of this dust event, and analyze its impacts. The threshold friction velocity for loose, fine-grained soil with low surface roughness in the dust model was revised based on Chinese data to improve the model performance. This dust storm broke out in Xinjiang and Mongolia during 28 to 30 April and arrived in the YRD region on 1 May. The transported dust particles contributed to the mean surface layer concentrations of PM₁₀ in the YRD region 78.9% during 1 to 6 May with their impact weakening from north to south due to the removal of dust particles along the path. The dry deposition, wet deposition and total deposition of PM₁₀ in the YRD reached 184.7 kt, 172.6 kt and 357.32 kt, respectively. The dust particles also had significant impacts on optical/radiative characteristics by absorption and scattering. In Shanghai, the largest perturbations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and irradiance were about 0.8 DU and −130 W m⁻², which could obviously influence the radiation balance in this region. The decrease of actinic fluxes impacts future photochemistry. In Shanghai, the negative effects on the NO₂ and O₃ photolysis could be −35% when dust particles arrived. The concentrations of O₃ and OH were reduced by 1.5% and 3.1% in the whole of China, and by 9.4% and 12.1% in the YRD region, respectively. Such changes in O₃ and OH levels can affect the future formation of secondary aerosols in the atmosphere by directly determining the oxidation rate of their precursors. The work of this manuscript is meaningful for understanding the dust emissions in China as well as for the application of CMAQ in Asia. It is also helpful for understanding the formation mechanism and impacts of dust pollution in the YRD

Isolation and characterization of a salt-tolerant denitrifying bacterium Alishewanella sp. F2 from seawall muddy water

A salt-tolerant denitrifying bacterium strain F2 was isolated from seawall muddy water in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China. Strain F2 was identified by morphological observations, physiological and biochemical characteristics and 16 S rDNA identification. The salt tolerance of strain F2 was verified and the factors affecting the removal ability of strain F2 to nitrous nitrogen (NO2–N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3–N) in saline conditions were investigated. Strain F2 was identified as Alishewanella sp., named Alishewanella sp. F2. Strain F2 can tolerate NaCl concentrations up to 70 g/L, and its most efficient denitrification capacity was observed at NaCl concentrations of 0−30 g/L. In the medium with NaCl concentrations of 0−30 g/L, strain F2 exhibited high removal efficiencies of NO2–N and NO3–N, with the removal percentages for both NO2–N and NO3–N of approximately 99%. In saline conditions with 30 g/L NaCl, the optimum culture pH, NaNO2 initial concentrations and inoculation sizes of strain F2 were 8−10, 0.4−0.8 g/L and 5−7%, respectively. Strain F2 was highly effective in removing NO2–N and NO3–N in saline conditions, and it has a good application potential in saline wastewater treatment

Entanglement control in one-dimensional s=1/2s=1/2 random XY spin chain

The entanglement in one-dimensional random XY spin systems where the impurities of exchange couplings and the external magnetic fields are considered as random variables is investigated by solving the different spin-spin correlation functions and the average magnetization per spin. The entanglement dynamics near particular locations of the system is also studied when the exchange couplings (or the external magnetic fields) satisfy three different distributions(the Gaussian distribution, double-Gaussian distribution, and bimodal distribution). We find that the entanglement can be controlled by varying the strength of external magnetic field and the different distributions of impurities. Moreover, the entanglement of some nearest-neighboring qubits can be increased for certain parameter values of the three different distributions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure