Model Study of a Quark Star

In this paper we apply the equation of state (EOS) of QCD at finite chemical potential and zero temperature proposed in H. S. Zong and W. M. Sun [Int. J. Mod. Phys. {\bf A23}, 3591 (2008)] to the study of properties of quark star. This EOS contains only one adjustable parameter $m_D$ which sets the scale of chiral symmetry breaking (in our calculation we have chosen two values of $m_D$: $m_D=244 MeV$ and $m_D=239 MeV$, which is fitted from the value of $f_\pi$ and determined by $e^+ e^-$ annihilation experiment, respectively). From this EOS a model of quark star is established by applying the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation under two conditions: with the $P(\mu=0)$ term and without the $P(\mu=0)$ term. Our results show clearly that the $P(\mu=0)$ term is an important quantity in the study of quark star. A comparison between our model and other models of quark star is made. In particular, we have compared our results with the most recent observational data measured using Shapiro delay reported in P.B. Demorest et al. [Nature (London) {\bf 467}, 1081 (2010)].Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Miniaturized high-frequency sine wave gating InGaAs/InP single-photon detector

High-frequency gating InGaAs/InP single-photon detectors (SPDs) are widely used for applications requiring single-photon detection in the near-infrared region such as quantum key distribution. Reducing SPD size is highly desired for practical use, which is favorable to the implementation of further system integration. Here we present, to the best of our knowledge, the most compact high-frequency sine wave gating (SWG) InGaAs/InP SPD. We design and fabricate an InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) with optimized semiconductor structure, and then encapsulate the SPAD chip and a mini-thermoelectric cooler inside a butterfly package with a size of 12.5 mm $\times$ 22 mm $\times$ 10 mm. Moreover, we implement a monolithic readout circuit for the SWG SPD in order to replace the quenching electronics that is previously designed with board-level integration. Finally, the components of SPAD, monolithic readout circuit and the affiliated circuits are integrated into a single module with a size of 13 cm $\times$ 8 cm $\times$ 4 cm. Compared with the 1.25 GHz SWG InGaAs/InP SPD module (25 cm $\times$ 10 cm $\times$ 33 cm) designed in 2012, the volume of our miniaturized SPD is reduced by 95\%. After the characterization, the SPD exhibits excellent performance with a photon detection efficiency of 30\%, a dark count rate of 2.0 kcps and an afterpulse probability of 8.8\% under the conditions of 1.25 GHz gating rate, 100 ns hold-off time and 243 K. Also, we perform the stability test over one week, and the results show the high reliability of the miniaturized SPD module.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Review of Scientific Instrument