CMB anisotropies seen by an off-center observer in a spherically symmetric inhomogeneous universe

The current authors have previously shown that inhomogeneous, but spherically symmetric universe models containing only matter can yield a very good fit to the SNIa data and the position of the first CMB peak. In this work we examine how far away from the center of inhomogeneity the observer can be located in these models and still fit the data well. Furthermore, we investigate whether such an off-center location can explain the observed alignment of the lowest multipoles of the CMB map. We find that the observer has to be located within a radius of 15 Mpc from the center for the induced dipole to be less than that observed by the COBE satellite. But for such small displacements from the center, the induced quadru- and octopoles turn out to be insufficiently large to explain the alignment.Comment: 8 pages (REVTeX4), 7 figures; v2: minor changes, matches published versio

Powder Diffraction Data and Mesomorphic Properties for 4-Butyloxyphenyl 4'-Decyloxybenzoate

Unit cell parameters obtained from X-ray powder diffraction data are presented for the crystalline phase of a liquid crystal 4-butyloxyphenyl 4'-decyloxybenzoate: a = 23.098 (4) {\AA}, b = 5.974 (6) {\AA}, c = 12.357 (10) {\AA}, \b{eta} = 121.53 (8){\deg}, unit-cell volume V = 1453.56 {\AA}3. Temperature dependent X-ray diffraction data confirmed the existence of smectic A and smectic C mesophases and a more ordered, tilted crystalline smectic phase. Possibility of existence of previously reported smectic B phase as well as another crystalline phase was refuted

Laser feedback interferometry in multi-mode terahertz quantum cascade lasers

The typical modal characteristics arising during laser feedback interferometry (LFI) in multi-mode terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are investigated in this work. To this end, a set of multi-mode reduced rate equations with gain saturation for a general Fabry-Pérot multi-mode THz QCL under optical feedback is developed. Depending on gain bandwidth of the laser and optical feedback level, three different operating regimes are identified, namely a single-mode regime, a multi-mode regime, and a tuneable-mode regime. When the laser operates in the single-mode and multi-mode regimes, the self-mixing signal amplitude (peak to peak value of the self-mixing fringes) is proportional to the feedback coupling rate at each mode frequency. However, this rule no longer holds when the laser enters into the tuneable-mode regime, in which the feedback level becomes sufficiently strong (the boundary value of the feedback level depends on the gain bandwidth). The mapping of the identified feedback regimes of the multi-mode THz QCL in the space of the gain bandwidth and feedback level is investigated. In addition, the dependence of the aforementioned mapping of these three regimes on the linewidth enhancement factor of the laser is also explored, which provides a systematic picture of the potential of LFI in multi-mode THz QCLs for spectroscopic sensing applications

A Multi-Objective and Multi-Constraint Optimization Model for Cyber-Physical Power Systems Considering Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles

Dear editor To tackle the global challenges of climate change and energy security, building low carbon energy systems has become a research hotspot. Cyber-physical power systems (CPPSs) is an important infrastructure to link both energy and transport systems, two major sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, and it is necessary to establish CPPSs model to consider the integration of both renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV)

Statistical analysis of the basic chemical composition of whole grain flour of different cereal grains

Abstract. Samples of whole grain flour of five cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats and buckwheat) were analysed for ash, starch, fat, cellulose and protein content. Coefficient of variation shows that within the same sample of whole grain flour variation of starch, protein, fat and ash content is relatively small, rarely exceeding 3%. The variability of the cellulose content is relatively high. The significance of the difference between chemical compositions of two independent samples of the same whole grain flour has been tested by Student's t-test. With the exception of protein content, the difference between two samples of buckwheat whole grain flou

Efficient prediction of terahertz quantum cascade laser dynamics from steady-state simulations

Terahertz-frequency quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) based on bound-to-continuum active regions are difficult to model owing to their large number of quantum states. We present a computationally efficient reduced rate equation (RE) model that reproduces the experimentally observed variation of THz power with respect to drive current and heat-sink temperature. We also present dynamic (time-domain) simulations under a range of drive currents and predict an increase in modulation bandwidth as the current approaches the peak of the light-current curve, as observed experimentally in mid-infrared QCLs. We account for temperature and bias dependence of the carrier lifetimes, gain, and injection efficiency, calculated from a full rate equation model. The temperature dependence of the simulated threshold current, emitted power, and cut-off current are thus all reproduced accurately with only one fitting parameter, the interface roughness, in the full REs. We propose that the model could therefore be used for rapid dynamical simulation of QCL designs. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LL

Tunneling and propagation of vacuum bubbles on dynamical backgrounds

In the context of bubble universes produced by a first-order phase transition with large nucleation rates compared to the inverse dynamical time scale of the parent bubble, we extend the usual analysis to non-vacuum backgrounds. In particular, we provide semi-analytic and numerical results for the modified nucleation rate in FLRW backgrounds, as well as a parameter study of bubble walls propagating into inhomogeneous (LTB) or FLRW spacetimes, both in the thin-wall approximation. We show that in our model, matter in the background often prevents bubbles from successful expansion and forces them to collapse. For cases where they do expand, we give arguments why the effects on the interior spacetime are small for a wide range of reasonable parameters and discuss the limitations of the employed approximations.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, typos corrected, matches published versio

Detection sensitivity of laser feedback interferometry using a terahertz quantum cascade laser

We report on the high detection sensitivity of a laser feedback interferometry scheme based on a terahertz frequency quantum cascade laser. We show that variations on the laser voltage induced by optical feedback to the laser can be resolved with reinjection of powers as low as ~−125 dB of the emitted power. Our measurements demonstrate a noise equivalent power of ~1.4 pW/√Hz, although after accounting for reinjection losses we estimate this corresponds to only ~1 fW/√Hz being coupled to the quantum cascade laser active region

Device Optimization of Tris-Aluminum (Alq3) Based Bilayer Organic Light Emitting Diode Structures

In this work we present detailed analysis of the emitted radiation spectrum from tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) based bilayer OLEDs as a function of: the choice of cathode, the thickness of organic layers, and the position of the hole transport layer/Alq3 interface. The calculations fully take into account dispersion in the glass substrate, the indium tin oxide anode, and in the organic layers, as well as the dispersion in the metal cathode. Influence of the incoherent transparent substrate (1 mm glass substrate) is also fully accounted for. Four cathode structures have been considered: Mg/Ag, Ca/Ag, LiF/Al, and Ag. For the hole transport layer, N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (TPD) and N,N'-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N'-diphenylbenzidine (NPB) were considered. As expected, emitted radiation is strongly dependent on the position of the emissive layer inside the cavity and its distance from the metal cathode. Although our optical model for an OLED does not explicitly include exciton quenching in vicinity of the metal cathode, designs placing the emissive layer near the cathode are excluded to avoid unrealistic results. Guidelines for designing devices with optimum emission efficiency are presented. Finally, several different devices were fabricated and characterized and experimental and calculated emission spectra were compared

Some doubts on the validity of the foreground Galactic contribution subtraction from microwave anisotropies

The Galactic foreground contamination in CMBR anisotropies, especially from the dust component, is not easily separable from the cosmological or extragalactic component. In this paper, some doubts will be raised concerning the validity of the methods used to date to remove Galactic dust emission in order to show that none of them achieves its goal. First, I review the recent bibliography on the topic and discuss critically the methods of foreground subtraction: the cross-correlation with templates, analysis assuming the spectral shape of the Galactic components, the "maximum entropy method", "internal linear combination", and "wavelet-based high resolution fitting of internal templates". Second, I analyse the galactic latitude dependence from WMAP data. The frequency dependence is discussed with the data in the available literature. The result is that all methods of subtracting the Galactic contamination are inaccurate. The galactic latitude dependence analysis or the frequency dependence of the anisotropies in the range 50-250 GHz put a constraint on the maximum Galactic contribution in the power spectrum to be less than a ~10% (68% C. L.) for a ~1 degree scale, and possibly higher for larger scales. The origin of most of the signal in the CMBR anisotropies is not Galactic. In any case, the subtraction of the Galaxy is not accurate enough to allow a "precision Cosmology"; other sources of contamination (extragalactic, solar system) are also present.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, accepted to be published in J. Astrophys. Ast