31,724 research outputs found
Bose-Einstein condensates in `giant' toroidal magnetic traps
The experimental realisation of gaseous Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in
1995 sparked considerable interest in this intriguing quantum fluid. Here we
report on progress towards the development of an 87Rb BEC experiment in a large
(~10cm diameter) toroidal storage ring. A BEC will be formed at a localised
region within the toroidal magnetic trap, from whence it can be launched around
the torus. The benefits of the system are many-fold, as it should readily
enable detailed investigations of persistent currents, Josephson effects, phase
fluctuations and high-precision Sagnac or gravitational interferometry.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (Figs. 1 and 2 now work
Spatial interference from well-separated condensates
We use magnetic levitation and a variable-separation dual optical plug to
obtain clear spatial interference between two condensates axially separated by
up to 0.25 mm -- the largest separation observed with this kind of
interferometer. Clear planar fringes are observed using standard (i.e.
non-tomographic) resonant absorption imaging. The effect of a weak inverted
parabola potential on fringe separation is observed and agrees well with
theory.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures - modified to take into account referees'
improvement
The Abelianization of QCD Plasma Instabilities
QCD plasma instabilities appear to play an important role in the
equilibration of quark-gluon plasmas in heavy-ion collisions in the theoretical
limit of weak coupling (i.e. asymptotically high energy). It is important to
understand what non-linear physics eventually stops the exponential growth of
unstable modes. It is already known that the initial growth of plasma
instabilities in QCD closely parallels that in QED. However, once the unstable
modes of the gauge-fields grow large enough for non-Abelian interactions
between them to become important, one might guess that the dynamics of QCD
plasma instabilities and QED plasma instabilities become very different. In
this paper, we give suggestive arguments that non-Abelian self-interactions
between the unstable modes are ineffective at stopping instability growth, and
that the growing non-Abelian gauge fields become approximately Abelian after a
certain stage in their growth. This in turn suggests that understanding the
development of QCD plasma instabilities in the non-linear regime may have close
parallels to similar processes in traditional plasma physics. We conjecture
that the physics of collisionless plasma instabilities in SU(2) and SU(3) gauge
theory becomes equivalent, respectively, to (i) traditional plasma physics,
which is U(1) gauge theory, and (ii) plasma physics of U(1)x U(1) gauge theory.Comment: 36 pages; 15 figures [minor changes made to text, and new figure
added, to reflect published version
A weakly random Universe?
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation is characterized by
well-established scales, the 2.7 K temperature of the Planckian spectrum and
the amplitude of the temperature anisotropy. These features were
instrumental in indicating the hot and equilibrium phases of the early history
of the Universe and its large scale isotropy, respectively. We now reveal one
more intrinsic scale in CMB properties. We introduce a method developed
originally by Kolmogorov, that quantifies a degree of randomness (chaos) in a
set of numbers, such as measurements of the CMB temperature in some region.
Considering CMB as a composition of random and regular signals, we solve the
inverse problem of recovering of their mutual fractions from the temperature
sky maps. Deriving the empirical Kolmogorov's function in the Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe's maps, we obtain the fraction of the random signal
to be about 20 per cent, i.e. the cosmological sky is a weakly random one. The
paper is dedicated to the memory of Vladimir Arnold (1937-2010).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs, A & A (Lett) in press; to match the published
versio
Mean-field dynamics of a non-Hermitian Bose-Hubbard dimer
We investigate an -particle Bose-Hubbard dimer with an additional
effective decay term in one of the sites. A mean-field approximation for this
non-Hermitian many-particle system is derived, based on a coherent state
approximation. The resulting nonlinear, non-Hermitian two-level dynamics, in
particular the fixed point structures showing characteristic modifications of
the self-trapping transition, are analyzed. The mean-field dynamics is found to
be in reasonable agreement with the full many-particle evolution.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published versio
Vortex line representation for flows of ideal and viscous fluids
It is shown that the Euler hydrodynamics for vortical flows of an ideal fluid
coincides with the equations of motion of a charged {\it compressible} fluid
moving due to a self-consistent electromagnetic field. Transition to the
Lagrangian description in a new hydrodynamics is equivalent for the original
Euler equations to the mixed Lagrangian-Eulerian description - the vortex line
representation (VLR). Due to compressibility of a "new" fluid the collapse of
vortex lines can happen as the result of breaking (or overturning) of vortex
lines. It is found that the Navier-Stokes equation in the vortex line
representation can be reduced to the equation of the diffusive type for the
Cauchy invariant with the diffusion tensor given by the metric of the VLR
On Koopman-von Neumann Waves II
In this paper we continue the study, started in [1], of the operatorial
formulation of classical mechanics given by Koopman and von Neumann (KvN) in
the Thirties. In particular we show that the introduction of the KvN Hilbert
space of complex and square integrable "wave functions" requires an enlargement
of the set of the observables of ordinary classical mechanics. The possible
role and the meaning of these extra observables is briefly indicated in this
work. We also analyze the similarities and differences between non selective
measurements and two-slit experiments in classical and quantum mechanics.Comment: 18+1 pages, 1 figure, misprints fixe
The weld-brazing metal joining process
Superior mechanical properties were obtained in metal joints weld-brazed between faying surfaces. Weld-braze applications and advantages are listed
Investigating a simple model of cutaneous wound healing angiogenesis
A simple model of wound healing angiogenesis is presented, and investigated using numerical and asymptotic techniques. The model captures many key qualitative features of the wound healing angiogenic response, such as the propagation of a structural unit into the wound centre. A detailed perturbative study is pursued, and is shown to capture all features of the model. This enables one to show that the level of the angiogenic response predicted by the model is governed to a good approximation by a small number of parameter groupings. Further investigation leads to predictions concerning how one should select between potential optimal means of stimulating cell proliferation in order to increase the level of the angiogenic response
Development of aircraft lavatory compartments with improved fire resistance characteristics, phase 1: Fire containment test of a wide body aircraft lavatory module
A test was conducted to evaluate the fire containment characteristics of a Boeing 747 lavatory module. Results showed that the fire was contained within the lavatory during the 30-minute test period with the door closed. The resistance of the lavatory wall and ceiling panels and general lavatory construction to burn-through under the test conditions was demonstrated
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