33,585 research outputs found
Penetrating particle ANalyzer (PAN)
PAN is a scientific instrument suitable for deep space and interplanetary
missions. It can precisely measure and monitor the flux, composition, and
direction of highly penetrating particles (100 MeV/nucleon) in deep
space, over at least one full solar cycle (~11 years). The science program of
PAN is multi- and cross-disciplinary, covering cosmic ray physics, solar
physics, space weather and space travel. PAN will fill an observation gap of
galactic cosmic rays in the GeV region, and provide precise information of the
spectrum, composition and emission time of energetic particle originated from
the Sun. The precise measurement and monitoring of the energetic particles is
also a unique contribution to space weather studies. PAN will map the flux and
composition of penetrating particles, which cannot be shielded effectively,
precisely and continuously, providing valuable input for the assessment of the
related health risk, and for the development of an adequate mitigation
strategy. PAN has the potential to become a standard on-board instrument for
deep space human travel.
PAN is based on the proven detection principle of a magnetic spectrometer,
but with novel layout and detection concept. It will adopt advanced particle
detection technologies and industrial processes optimized for deep space
application. The device will require limited mass (~20 kg) and power (~20 W)
budget. Dipole magnet sectors built from high field permanent magnet Halbach
arrays, instrumented in a modular fashion with high resolution silicon strip
detectors, allow to reach an energy resolution better than 10\% for nuclei from
H to Fe at 1 GeV/n
Cavity-assisted manipulation of freely rotating silicon nanorods in high vacuum
Optical control of nanoscale objects has recently developed into a thriving
field of research with far-reaching promises for precision measurements,
fundamental quantum physics and studies on single-particle thermodynamics.
Here, we demonstrate the optical manipulation of silicon nanorods in high
vacuum. Initially, we sculpture these particles into a silicon substrate with a
tailored geometry to facilitate their launch into high vacuum by laser-induced
mechanical cleavage. We manipulate and trace their center-of-mass and
rotational motion through the interaction with an intense intra-cavity field.
Our experiments show optical forces on nanorotors three times stronger than on
silicon nanospheres of the same mass. The optical torque experienced by the
spinning rods will enable cooling of the rotational motion and torsional
opto-mechanics in a dissipation-free environment.Comment: 8 page
Persistence of Covalent Bonding in Liquid Silicon Probed by Inelastic X-ray Scattering
Metallic liquid silicon at 1787K is investigated using x-ray Compton
scattering. An excellent agreement is found between the measurements and the
corresponding Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show
persistence of covalent bonding in liquid silicon and provide support for the
occurrence of theoretically predicted liquid-liquid phase transition in
supercooled liquid states. The population of covalent bond pairs in liquid
silicon is estimated to be 17% via a maximally-localized Wannier function
analysis. Compton scattering is shown to be a sensitive probe of bonding
effects in the liquid state.Comment: 5pages, 3 postscript figure
Designing Photonic Topological Insulators with Quantum-Spin-Hall Edge States using Topology Optimization
Designing photonic topological insulators is highly non-trivial because it
requires inversion of band symmetries around the band gap, which was so far
done using intuition combined with meticulous trial and error. Here we take a
completely different approach: we consider the design of photonic topological
insulators as an inverse design problem and use topology optimization to
maximize the transmission through an edge mode with a sharp bend. Two design
domains composed of two different, but initially identical,
C-symmetric unit cells define the geometrical design problem.
Remarkably, the optimization results in a photonic topological insulator
reminiscent of the shrink-and-grow approach to quantum-spin-Hall photonic
topological insulators but with notable differences in the topology of the
crystal as well as qualitatively different band structures and with
significantly improved performance as gauged by the band-gap sizes, which are
at least 50 \% larger than previous designs. Furthermore, we find a directional
beta factor exceeding 99 \%, and very low losses for sharp bends. Our approach
allows for the introduction of fabrication limitations by design and opens an
avenue towards designing PTIs with hitherto unexplored symmetry constraints.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
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