Spectral State Research Articles

Intelligent Frequency Decision Communication with Two-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning

Traditional intelligent frequency-hopping anti-jamming technologies typically assume the presence of an ideal control channel. However, achieving this ideal condition in real-world confrontational environments, where the control channel can also be jammed, proves to be challenging. Regrettably, in the absence of a reliable control channel, the autonomous synchronization of frequency decisions becomes a formidable task, primarily due to the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the transmitter and receiver’s spectral states. To address this issue, a novel communication framework for intelligent frequency decision is introduced, which operates without the need for negotiations. Furthermore, the frequency decision challenge between two communication terminals is formulated as a stochastic game, with each terminal’s utility designed to meet the requirements of a potential game. Subsequently, a two-agent deep reinforcement learning algorithm for best-response policy learning is devised to enable both terminals to achieve synchronization while avoiding jamming signals. Simulation results demonstrate that once the proposed algorithm converges, both communication terminals can effectively evade jamming signals. In comparison to existing similar algorithms, the throughput performance of this approach remains largely unaffected, with only a slightly extended convergence time. Notably, this performance is achieved without the need for negotiations, making the presented algorithm better suited for realistic scenarios.

Cross-spectral purity of the Stokes parameters in random nonstationary electromagnetic beams.

We consider cross-spectral purity in random nonstationary electromagnetic beams in terms of the Stokes parameters representing the spectral density and the spectral polarization state. We show that a Stokes parameter being cross-spectrally pure is consistent with the property that the corresponding normalized time-integrated coherence (two-point) Stokes parameter satisfies a certain reduction formula. The current analysis differs from the previous works on cross-spectral purity of nonstationary light beams such that the purity condition is in line with Mandel's original definition. In addition, in contrast to earlier works concerning the cross-spectral purity of the polarization-state Stokes parameters, intensity-normalized coherence Stokes parameters are applied. It is consequently found that in addition to separate spatial and temporal coherence factors the reduction formula contains a third factor that depends exclusively on polarization properties. We further show that cross-spectral purity implies a specific structure for electromagnetic spectral spatial correlations. The results of this work constitute foundational advances in the interference of random nonstationary vectorial light.

Accretion flows in the hard state of black hole X-ray binaries: the effect of hot gas condensation

ABSTRACT It is commonly believed that accretion discs are truncated and their inner regions are described by advection dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) in the hard spectral state of black hole X-ray binaries. However, the increasing occurrence of a relativistically blurred Fe K α line together with a hard continuum points to the existence of a thin disc located near the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). Assuming the accretion in the hard state is via an ADAF extending to near 100 Schwarzschild radii, which is supplied by either a stellar wind from a companion star or resulting from an evaporated disc, we study the possible condensation of the hot gas during its accretion towards the black hole. It is found that a small fraction of the ADAF condenses into a cold disc as a consequence of efficient radiative cooling at small distances, forming a disc-corona configuration near the ISCO. This takes place for low accretion rates corresponding to luminosities ranging from ∼10−3 to a few per cent of the Eddington luminosity. The coexistence of the weak inner disc and the dominant hot accretion flow provides a natural explanation of the broad K α line in the hard state. Detailed computations demonstrate that such accretion flows produce a hard X-ray spectrum accompanied by a weak disc component with a negative correlation between the 2 and 10 keV photon index and the Eddington ratio. The predicted spectrum of Cygnus X-1 and the correlation between the photon index and the Eddington ratio are in good agreement with observations.

Evolution of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in GX 339-4 during its 2021 outburst using AstroSat data

ABSTRACT The black hole X-ray binary GX 339-4 showed an X-ray outburst during 2021. The AstroSat captured this outburst when the source entered into the intermediate flux state while the count rate was declining. The source showed an alternating flux profile in a time-scale of ≲100 ks, where the hard energy band was more variable than the soft band. The energy-dependent timing study showed that the observed quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) was prominent in the low-energy bands, with its nearly sub-harmonic and harmonic components. These components appear and disappear with time, as observed in the orbit-wise QPO study. The Q-value, fractional rms, and 4.8–5.6 Hz frequency infer the QPOs as type-B and the spectral state as soft intermediate. The rms spectra of all orbits exhibiting QPOs show an increase in amplitude till ∼10 keV, beyond which it starts decreasing. This may indicate that ∼10 keV photons contributed relatively more in QPOs than other energy band photons. The Lorentzian normalization of the type-B QPO in different energy bands is consistent with the 10 keV peak. The energy-dependent time lag is complex and could be associated with the Comptonizing corona or jet. Finally, we discuss possible reasons behind the origin of different timing properties observed.

First detection of X-ray polarization in thermal state of LMC X-3: spectro-polarimetric study with IXPE

ABSTRACT We report a comprehensive spectro-polarimetric study of the black hole binary LMC X-3 using simultaneous Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), NICER, and NuSTAR observations in 0.5–20 keV energy band. The broad-band energy spectrum (0.5–20 keV) with NICER and NuSTAR is well described by the disc emission of temperature ∼1.1 keV and a weak Comptonizing tail beyond ∼10 keV. This evidently suggests a disc-dominated spectral state of the source with disc contribution of ∼96 per cent. The lack of variability (rms ∼ 0.5 per cent) in the power spectrum further corroborates the high/soft nature of the source. A significant polarization degree (PD) of 3.04 ± 0.40 per cent (>7σ) at a polarization angle of −44.24° ± 3.77° (>7σ) is found in 2–8 keV energy range of IXPE. In addition, PD is seen to increase with energy up to ∼4.35 ± 0.98 per cent (>3σ) in 4–8 keV band. Further, we attempt to constrain the source spin (a*) using broad-band spectral modelling that indicates a weakly rotating ‘hole’ in LMC X-3 with $a_{*}=0.273_{-0.012}^{+0.011}\,\text{to}\,0.295_{-0.021}^{+0.008}$ (90 per cent confidence). Based on the spectro-polarimetric results, we infer that the polarization in LMC X-3 is resulted possibly due to the combined effects of the direct and/or reflected emissions from a partially ionized disc atmosphere. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings.

An Optically Discovered Outburst from XTE J1859+226

Using the Zwicky Transient Facility, in 2021 February we identified the first known outburst of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 since its discovery in 1999. The outburst was visible at X-ray, UV, and optical wavelengths for less than 20 days, substantially shorter than its full outburst of 320 days in 1999, and the observed peak luminosity was 2 orders of magnitude lower. Its peak bolometric luminosity was only 2 × 1035 erg s−1, implying an Eddington fraction of about 3 × 10−4. The source remained in the hard spectral state throughout the outburst. From optical spectroscopy measurements we estimate an outer disk radius of 1011 cm. The low observed X-ray luminosity is not sufficient to irradiate the entire disk, but we observe a surprising exponential decline in the X-ray light curve. These observations highlight the potential of optical and infrared synoptic surveys to discover low-luminosity activity from X-ray transients.

Transition luminosities of Galactic black hole transients with Swift/XRT and NICER/XTI observations

Abstract The X-ray spectral state transitions of Galactic black hole transients (GBHTs) are often linked to the changes in the mass accretion rate. A narrow distribution of transition luminosity in terms of the Eddington ratio has been found in previous studies of GBHTs based on RXTE data (Maccarone, 2003, A&A, 409, 697; Vahdat Motlagh et al., 2019, MNRAS, 485, 2744) and this Eddington ratio at the transition is often used in recent studies with instruments such as Swift/XRT and NICER/XTI, covering soft energies below 1 to 10 keV. However, the X-ray states characterized by spectral parameters may have different definitions depending on the energy ranges adopted in the spectral analysis, leaving the question of whether the distribution of transition luminosity obtained with RXTE remains the same when we use the instruments covering softer energy bands. In this work, we investigated the X-ray state evolutions and the variations of luminosities of eight outbursts of seven GBHTs. We found that the bolometric luminosity of the power-law component was tightly constrained to $\sim\! 1.3\%$ Eddington luminosity at index transition when the photon index starts to decrease towards the hard state, which is consistent with the previous RXTE results (Vahdat Motlagh et al. 2019, MNRAS, 485, 2744; Kalemci et al. 2013, ApJ, 779, 95). Moreover, the tightest clustering was found to be the power-law luminosity right after the start of disk recession, with a mean logarithmic Eddington ratio of −1.84 ± 0.28. In addition, our results suggest that the disk recession starts after the bolometric disk luminosity drops below 1% Eddington luminosity.

Ultrafast excited state dynamics of isocytosine unveiled by femtosecond broadband time-resolved spectroscopy combined with density functional theoretical study.

Isocytosine, having important applications in antivirus and drug development, is among the building blocks of Hachimoji nucleic acids. In this report, we present an investigation of the excited state dynamics of isocytosine in both protic and aprotic solvents, which was conducted by a combination of methods including steady-state spectroscopy, femtosecond broadband time-resolved fluorescence, and transient absorption. These methods were coupled with density functional and time-dependent density functional theory calculations. The results of our study provide the first direct evidence for a highly efficient nonradiative mechanism achieved through internal conversion from the ππ* state of the isocytosine keto-N(3)H form occurring within subpicoseconds and picoseconds following photo-excitation. Our study also unveils a crucial role of solvent, particularly solute-solvent hydrogen bonding, in determining the tautomeric composition and regulating the pathways and dynamics of the deactivation processes. The deactivation processes of isocytosine in the solvents examined are found to be distinct from those of cytosine and the case known for isocytosine in the gas phase mainly due to different tautomeric forms involved. Overall, our findings demonstrate the high photo-stability of isocytosine in the solution and showcase the remarkable effect of covalent modification in altering the spectral character and excited state dynamics of nucleobases.

Finding Zion: Spectral intimacy and state indeterminacy at an erased American cemetery

ABSTRACT In 2018, a previously erased African American cemetery was dramatically rediscovered in Tampa, Florida. The rediscovery was accompanied by multiple acts of remembrance: archaeologists set about confirming the presence of coffins and bodies; people living on top or nearby this and other burial grounds began reporting a series of ghostly visions and visitations; and the city government and its contractors put forward plans to memorialize the erased cemetery. Based on participant-observation with city employees, developers, and activists undertaken as part of a broader project on the politics of race, empire, and urban life in South Florida, this article investigates the erasure and rediscovery of this and other historic cemeteries in order to inquire into the social and political life of indeterminacy at sites of necropolitical violence. While some residents attempted to enter into meaningful interpersonal relations with the spirits of actual deceased persons, taking their existence as a potentially transparent fact, agents of the state instead developed a position on the question of haunting more in line with social theories of the spectral as an impossible possibility. Attending to this fact ethnographically reveals the relationship between statecraft, the nonsecular, and the politics of indeterminacy in a new light.

Canonical systems whose Weyl coefficients have dominating real part

For a two-dimensional canonical system y′ (t) = zJH(t)y(t) on the half-line (0, ∞) whose Hamiltonian H is a.e. positive semi-definite, denote by qH its Weyl coefficient. De Branges’ inverse spectral theorem states that the assignment H ↦ qH is a bijection between Hamiltonians (suitably normalised) and Nevanlinna functions.The main result of the paper is a criterion when the singular integral of the spectral measure, i.e. Re qH(iy), dominates its Poisson integral Im qH(iy) for y → +∞. Two equivalent conditions characterising this situation are provided. The first one is analytic in nature, very simple, and explicit in terms of the primitive M of H. It merely depends on the relative size of the off-diagonal entries of M compared with the diagonal entries. The second condition is of geometric nature and technically more complicated. It involves the relative size of the off-diagonal entries of H, a measurement for oscillations of the diagonal of H, and a condition on the speed and smoothness of the rotation of H.

NuSTAR and AstroSat observations of GX 9+1: spectral and temporal studies

ABSTRACT We have studied the spectro-temporal properties of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 9+1 using data from NuSTAR/Focal Plane Module and AstroSat/Soft X-ray Telescope and Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC). The hardness–intensity diagram of the source showed it to be in the soft spectral state (banana branch) during both observations. NuSTAR spectral analysis yielded an inclination angle (θ) = 29${^{+3}_{-4}}^{\circ }$ and inner disc radius (Rin) ≤ 19 km. Assuming that the accretion disc was truncated at the Alfvén radius during the observation, the upper limits of the magnetic dipole moment (μ) and the magnetic field strength (B) at the poles of the neutron star in GX 9+1 were calculated to be 1.5 × 10 26 G cm3 and 2.1 × 10 8 G, respectively (for kA = 1). Furthermore, the thickness of the boundary layer was found to be ≃7.5 km, which yielded the radius of the neutron star to be ≤11.5 km. Flux-resolved spectral analysis with AstroSat data showed the source to be disc dominated (Fdisc/Ftotal ∼ 0.9) with a monotonic increase in mass accretion rate ($\dot{m}$) along the banana branch. The analysis also showed the presence of absorption edges at ∼1.9 and ∼2.4 keV, likely due to Si xiii and S xv, respectively. Temporal analysis with LAXPC-20 data in the 0.02–100 Hz range revealed the presence of noise components, which could be characterized by broad Lorentzian components.

Clockwise evolution in the hardness–intensity diagram of the black hole X-ray binary Swift J1910.2−0546

ABSTRACT We present a detailed study of optical data from the 2012 outburst of the candidate black hole X-ray binary Swift J1910.2−0546 using the Faulkes Telescope and Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO). We analyse the peculiar spectral state changes of Swift J1910.2−0546 in different energy bands, and characterize how the optical and UV emission correlates with the unusual spectral state evolution. Using various diagnostic tools like the optical/X-ray correlation and spectral energy distributions, we disentangle the different emission processes contributing towards the optical flux of the system. When Swift J1910.2−0546 transitions to the pure hard state, we find significant optical brightening of the source along with a dramatic change in the optical colour due to the onset of a jet during the spectral state transition. For the rest of the spectral states, the optical/UV emission is mostly dominated by an X-ray irradiated disc. From our high cadence optical study, we have discovered a putative modulation. Assuming that this modulation arises from a superhump, we suggest Swift J1910.2−0546 to have an orbital period of 2.25–2.47 h, which would make it the shortest orbital period black hole X-ray binary known to date. Finally, from the state transition luminosity of the source, we find that the distance to the source is likely to be ∼4.5–20.8 kpc, which is also supported by the comparative position of the source in the global optical/X-ray correlation of a large sample of black hole and neutron star X-ray binaries.

Precession-induced Variability in AGN Jets and OJ 287

The combined study of the flaring of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at radio wavelengths and parsec-scale jet kinematics with Very Long Baseline Interferometry has led to the view that (i) the observed flares are associated with ejections of synchrotron blobs from the core, and (ii) most of the flaring follows a one-to-one correlation with the ejection of the component. Recent results have added to the mounting evidence showing that the quasi-regular component injections into the relativistic jet may not be the only cause of the flux variability. We propose that AGN flux variability and changes in jet morphology can both be of deterministic nature, i.e., having a geometric/kinetic origin linked to the time-variable Doppler beaming of the jet emission as its direction changes due to precession (and nutation). The physics of the underlying jet leads to shocks, instabilities, or ejections of plasmoids. The appearance (morphology, flux, etc.) of the jet can, however, be strongly affected and modulated by precession. We demonstrate this modulating power of precession for OJ 287. For the first time, we show that the spectral state of the spectral energy distribution (SED) can be directly related to the jet’s precession phase. We model the SED evolution and reproduce the precession parameters. Further, we apply our precession model to 11 prominent AGNs. We show that for OJ 287 precession seems to dominate the long-term variability (≳1 yr) of the AGN flux, SED spectral state, and jet morphology, while stochastic processes affect the variability on short timescales (≲0.2 yr).

Detection of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation during the reflare of MAXI J1348−630

ABSTRACT In this work, we report the detection of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1348−630 in its hard spectral state. MAXI J1348−630 went through a reflare during MJD 58634 to MJD 58674 after a 104 d long outburst which began on MJD 58509. During the reflare, the binary system evolved through a series of hard states of varying luminosity. We detected a high-frequency QPO at 98.3 Hz with a significance of 3.7σ in one of the NICER observations during its evolution. It was argued that the QPO frequency might be related to the Keplerian frequency of the accretion flow at the inner radius around a Kerr black hole.

Pólya’s conjecture for Euclidean balls

The celebrated Pólya’s conjecture (1954) in spectral geometry states that the eigenvalue counting functions of the Dirichlet and Neumann Laplacian on a bounded Euclidean domain can be estimated from above and below, respectively, by the leading term of Weyl’s asymptotics. Pólya’s conjecture is known to be true for domains which tile Euclidean space, and, in addition, for some special domains in higher dimensions. In this paper, we prove Pólya’s conjecture for the disk, making it the first non-tiling planar domain for which the conjecture is verified. We also confirm Pólya’s conjecture for arbitrary planar sectors, and, in the Dirichlet case, for balls of any dimension. Along the way, we develop the known links between the spectral problems in the disk and certain lattice counting problems. A key novel ingredient is the observation, made in recent work of the last named author, that the corresponding eigenvalue and lattice counting functions are related not only asymptotically, but in fact satisfy certain uniform bounds. Our proofs are purely analytic, except for a rigorous computer-assisted argument needed to cover the short interval of values of the spectral parameter in the case of the Neumann problem in the disk.

Study of Spectral State Transitions in Black Hole Binaries

The aim of our work is to study the origin of the spectral transitions of transient black hole binaries. In this work, we find signatures of spectral state transition (hard to soft state) while studying the radiative shock for the accretion flow. The gradient of the energy dissipation curve shows a sudden break for certain critical flow parameters when the post-shock dissipation is maximum. This particular feature is common to all spins, and the transitions are well observed. We have identified all the critical flow parameters for different black hole spins. With the dissipation, the inner edge of the disk or the geometry of the post-shock corona reduces progressively and attains a minimum for maximum dissipation. The spin enhances the maximum dissipation further. Using the exact general relativistic framework, we therefore systematically study the various dynamical properties of radiative/dissipative shocks in accretion flows to understand the observed phenomena, namely, the variation of the hard intensity emitted from the evolving Comptonizing medium, the spectral transitions, and their entanglement with the inner edge of the disk, etc. The results presented here might be useful in finding the variation of the hardness ratio and could be a first step to procuring the “q” diagram theoretically.

Broad-band spectro-temporal investigation of neutron star low-mass X-ray binary GX 349+2

ABSTRACT We report a broad-band investigation of the Z-type neutron star (NS) low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) GX 349+2 using AstroSat and Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). AstroSat observed the source exhibiting large scale variability in its normal branch (NB)/flaring branch (FB) vertex and FB and a moderate evolution during NICER observations. The power spectra exhibit very low-frequency noise (VLFN) and low-frequency noise (LFN)/FB noise, described by a power law (PL) and an evolving Lorentzian. We investigate the energy dependence of variability components and their correlation with the spectral state to probe their origin. The joint spectra of GX 349+2 are modeled by two thermal and one non-thermal component. The source moves along the Z track, with the increasing accretion rate, further heating of the NS boundary layer (BL), and increasing temperature/radius of the brightened hotspot at the disc-BL interface/NS surface. A PL well represents the hard non-thermal coronal emission. As predicted by the gravitational redshift, we find a correlation between the line energy detected in NICER spectra and the inner disc radius with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient of 1. Using this correlation, we demonstrate the potential of a method to constrain the accreting compact object properties, including evolving continuum and line spectroscopy. We report the first detection of hard lag providing evidence of the VLFN originating from the accretion disc in NS LMXBs, representing fluctuation of propagation through the disc.

Van der Waals Heterostructure Mid-Infrared Emitters with Electrically Controllable Polarization States and Spectral Characteristics.

Modern infrared (IR) microscopy, communication, and sensing systems demand control of the spectral characteristics and polarization states of light. Typically, these systems require the cascading of multiple filters, polarization optics, and rotating components to manipulate light, inevitably increasing their sizes and complexities. Here, we report two-terminal mid-infrared (mid-IR) emitters, in which tuning the polarity of the applied bias can switch their emission peak wavelengths and linear polarization states along two orthogonal orientations. Our devices are composed of two back-to-back p-n junctions formed by stacking anisotropic light-emitting materials, black phosphorus and black arsenic-phosphorus with MoS2. By controlling the crystallographic orientations and engineering the band profile of heterostructures, the emissions of two junctions exhibit distinct spectral ranges and polarization directions; more importantly, these two electroluminescence (EL) units can be independently activated, depending on the polarity of the applied bias. Furthermore, we show that when operating our emitter under the polarity-switched pulse mode, the time-averaged EL exhibits the characteristics of broad spectral coverage, encompassing the entire first mid-IR atmospheric window (λ: 3-5 μm), and electrically tunable spectral shapes.

Control of Spectral and Polarization Properties of Quasiunipolar Terahertz Pulses in Strongly Nonequilibrium Magnetized Plasma Channels

The possibility to control both spectral and polarization properties of seed THz pulses in strongly nonequilibrium elongated magnetized plasma channels formed via intense UV femtosecond laser pulses in nitrogen (air) is analyzed. The physical mechanism of THz pulse control is based on cyclotron resonance, which can strongly reconstruct electrodynamical plasma features and, in particular, its ability to amplify the radiation of different spectral bands and polarization states. In particular, the formation of quasiunipolar pulses with a non-zero electric area and a specific polarization state is discussed. This study is based on the self-consistent solution of the kinetic Boltzmann equation for the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF) in the plasma channel and the second-order wave equation for THz pulse propagation.

Mapping the X-ray variability of GRS 1915 + 105 with machine learning

ABSTRACT Black hole X-ray binary systems (BHBs) contain a close companion star accreting onto a stellar-mass black hole. A typical BHB undergoes transient outbursts during which it exhibits a sequence of long-lived spectral states, each of which is relatively stable. GRS 1915 + 105 is a unique BHB that exhibits an unequaled number and variety of distinct variability patterns in X-rays. Many of these patterns contain unusual behaviour not seen in other sources. These variability patterns have been sorted into different classes based on count rate and colour characteristics by previous work. In order to remove human decision-making from the pattern-recognition process, we employ an unsupervised machine learning algorithm called an auto-encoder to learn what classifications are naturally distinct by allowing the algorithm to cluster observations. We focus on observations taken by the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer’s Proportional Counter Array. We find that the auto-encoder closely groups observations together that are classified as similar by previous work, but that there is reasonable grounds for defining each class as made up of components from three groups of distinct behaviour.