1,457 research outputs found
An approach for the detection of point-sources in very high resolution microwave maps
This paper deals with the detection problem of extragalactic point-sources in
multi-frequency, microwave sky maps that will be obtainable in future cosmic
microwave background radiation (CMB) experiments with instruments capable of
very high spatial resolution. With spatial resolutions that can be of order of
0.1-1.0 arcsec or better, the extragalactic point-sources will appear isolated.
The same holds also for the compact structures due to the Sunyaev-Zeldovich
(SZ) effect (both thermal and kinetic). This situation is different from the
maps obtainable with instruments as WMAP or PLANCK where, because of the
smaller spatial resolution (approximately 5-30 arcmin), the point-sources and
the compact structures due to the SZ effect form a uniform noisy background
(the "confusion noise"). Hence, the point-source detection techniques developed
in the past are based on the assumption that all the emissions that contribute
to the microwave background can be modeled with homogeneous and isotropic
(often Gaussian) random fields and make use of the corresponding spatial
power-spectra. In the case of very high resolution observations such an
assumption cannot be adopted since it still holds only for the CMB. Here, we
propose an approach based on the assumption that the diffuse emissions that
contribute to the microwave background can be locally approximated by
two-dimensional low order polynomials. In particular, two sets of numerical
techniques are presented containing two different algorithms each. The
performance of the algorithms is tested with numerical experiments that mimic
the physical scenario expected for high Galactic latitude observations with the
Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA).Comment: Accepted for publication on "Astronomy & Astrophysics". arXiv admin
note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1206.4536 Replaced version is the
accepted one and published in A&
Optical Spectroscopy of K-selected Extremely Red Galaxies
We have obtained spectroscopic redshifts for 24 red galaxies from a sample
with median Ks=18.7 and F814W - Ks > 4, using the Keck telescope. These
EROshave high resolution morphologies from HST (Yan & Thompson 2003). Among the
24 redshifts, the majority (92%) are at . We derived the
rest-frame J-band luminosity function at . Our result
suggests that the luminosity evolution between bright EROs at and the
present-day L massive galaxies is at most about 0.7 magnitude. Combining
the morphologies and deep spectroscopy revealed the following properties: (1)
86% of the spectra have absorption features from old stars, suggesting that the
dominant stellar populations seen in the rest-frame UV are old stars. 50% of
the sources have pure absorption lines, while the remaining 50% have emission
lines, indicating recent star formation. We conclude that the color criterion
for EROs is very effective in selecting old stellar populations at ,
and a large fraction of these systems with prominent old stellar populations
also have recent star formation. (2) The 12 emission line systems have the same
number of disk and bulge galaxies as in the remaining 12 pure absorption line
systems. We conclude that spectral classes do not have a simple, direct
correspondence with morphological types. (3) Three EROs could be isolated, pure
passively evolving early-type galaxies at . This implies that only a
small fraction (10%--15%) of early-type galaxies are formed in a rapid burst of
star formation at high redshifts and evolved passively since then. (Abridged).Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomical
Journal, issue March 200
Direct Measurement of Competing Quantum Effects on the Kinetic Energy of Heavy Water upon Melting
Even at room temperature, quantum mechanics plays a major role in determining
the quantitative behaviour of light nuclei, changing significantly the values
of physical properties such as the heat capacity. However, other observables
appear to be only weakly affected by nuclear quantum effects (NQEs): for
instance, the melting temperatures of light and heavy water differ by less than
4 K. Recent theoretical work has attributed this to a competition between intra
and inter molecular NQEs, which can be separated by computing the anisotropy of
the quantum kinetic energy tensor. The principal values of this tensor change
in opposite directions when ice melts, leading to a very small net quantum
mechanical effect on the melting point. This paper presents the first direct
experimental observation of this phenomenon, achieved by measuring the
deuterium momentum distributions n(p) in heavy water and ice using Deep
Inelastic Neutron Scattering (DINS), and resolving their anisotropy. Results
from the experiments, supplemented by a theoretical analysis, show that the
anisotropy of the quantum kinetic energy tensor can also be captured for
heavier atoms such as oxygen
Band structure and optical properties of opal photonic crystals
A theoretical approach for the interpretation of reflectance spectra of opal
photonic crystals with fcc structure and (111) surface orientation is
presented. It is based on the calculation of photonic bands and density of
states corresponding to a specified angle of incidence in air. The results
yield a clear distinction between diffraction in the direction of light
propagation by (111) family planes (leading to the formation of a stop band)
and diffraction in other directions by higher-order planes (corresponding to
the excitation of photonic modes in the crystal). Reflectance measurements on
artificial opals made of self-assembled polystyrene spheres are analyzed
according to the theoretical scheme and give evidence of diffraction by
higher-order crystalline planes in the photonic structure.Comment: to appear in PR
Enhancement of VCO Linearity and Phase Noise by Implementing Frequency Locked Loop
This paper investigates the on-chip implementation of a frequency locked loop (FLL) over a VCO that decreases the phase noise and linearizes the transfer function. Implementation of the FLL inside a PLL is also investigated and a possible application is highlighted. Design of a special kind of low noise frequency detector without a reference frequency (frequency-to-voltage converter), which is the most critical component of the FLL, is also presented in a 0.25 ¿m BiCMOS process. Linearization and approximately 15 dBc/Hz phase noise suppression is demonstrated over a moderate phase noise LC VCO with a center frequency of 10 GHz
45% power saving in a 0.25μm BiCMOS 10Gb/s 50Ω-terminated packaged active-load laser driver
A 0.25mum BiCMOS laser driver based on active loads allows operation at 10Gb/s while drawing 5mA from a 1.8V supply. The design guarantees the correct matching of the driver outputs without the use of physical 50Omega load resistors. This enables a theoretical current consumption reduction of 50% (45% in the actual prototype) compared to the traditional laser-driver design
Self-tuned quantum dot gain in photonic crystal lasers
We demonstrate that very few (1 to 3) quantum dots as a gain medium are
sufficient to realize a photonic crystal laser based on a high-quality
nanocavity. Photon correlation measurements show a transition from a thermal to
a coherent light state proving that lasing action occurs at ultra-low
thresholds. Observation of lasing is unexpected since the cavity mode is in
general not resonant with the discrete quantum dot states and emission at those
frequencies is suppressed. In this situation, the quasi-continuous quantum dot
states become crucial since they provide an energy-transfer channel into the
lasing mode, effectively leading to a self-tuned resonance for the gain medium.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Re
Preparation and Comparison of Hydrolase-Coated Plastics
Polypropylene and polyethylene were coated with alpha-Chymotrypsin
(a-CT) or subtilisin Carlsberg (SubC) or Burkholderia
cepacia lipase (lipase BC) by different immobilization procedures,
such as physical adsorption and covalent linking. This
latter procedure was based on the chemical functionalization
of the plastic surface by oxygen gas plasma treatment. Immobilization
of the enzyme was carried out by using as cross-linking
agent i) glutaraldehyde (GA) or ii) N’-diisopropylcarbodiimide
(DIC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The effects of duration
of the plasma treatment and the type of the immobilization
procedure on the transesterification activity of the enzyme
were investigated. In general polypropylene resulted a better
support than polyethylene. Moreover, a-CT showed higher
transesterification activity when immobilized with GA, while for
SubC, DIC and NHS were better cross-linking agents than GA.
No activity was observed with these enzymes when immobilization
was carried out by physical adsorption. On the contrary,
lipase BC immobilized by physical adsorption was even more
active than the free enzyme. Concerning thermal stability, immobilized
SubC was less stable than the free enzyme. Overall,
these results show that plastics endowed with biocatalytic
properties could be obtained by simple immobilization protocols
and that optimal immobilization conditions depend on the
type of starting plastic, plasma treatment, cross-linking method,
and the nature of the enzyme
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