32,114 research outputs found
All-optical switching in a two-channel waveguide with cubic-quintic nonlinearity
We consider dynamics of spatial beams in a dual-channel waveguide with
competing cubic and quintic (CQ) nonlinearities. Gradually increasing the power
in the input channel, we identify four different regimes of the pulses coupling
into the cross channel, which alternate three times between full pass and full
stop, thus suggesting three realizations of switching between the channels. As
in the case of the Kerr (solely cubic) nonlinearity, the first two regimes are
the linear one, and one dominated by the self-focusing nonlinearity, with the
beam which, respectively, periodically couples between the channels, or stays
in the input channel. Further increase of the power reveals two novel
transmission regimes, one characterized by balance between the competing
nonlinearities, which again allows full coupling between the channels, and a
final regime dominated by the self-defocusing quintic nonlinearity. In the
latter case, the situation resembles that known for a self-repulsive
Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a double-well potential, which is
characterized by strong symmetry breaking; accordingly, the beam again abides
in the input channel, contrary to an intuitive expectation that the
self-defocusing nonlinearity would push it into the cross channel. The
numerical results are qualitatively explained by a simple analytical model
based on the variational approximation.Comment: Journal of Physics B (in press
Temperature dependence of instantons in QCD
We investigate the temperature dependence of the instanton contents of gluon
fields, using unquenched lattice QCD and the cooling method. The instanton size
parameter deduced from the correlation function decreases from 0.44fm below the
phase-transition temperature (MeV) to 0.33fm at 1.3 .
The instanton charge distribution is Poissonian above , but it deviates
from the convoluted Poisson at low temperature. The topological susceptibility
decreases rapidly below , showing the apparent restoration of the
symmetry already at .Comment: 8 pages TEX, 3 Postscript figures available at
http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/MAP.htm
Pilot interaction with automated airborne decision making systems
An investigation was made of interaction between a human pilot and automated on-board decision making systems. Research was initiated on the topic of pilot problem solving in automated and semi-automated flight management systems and attempts were made to develop a model of human decision making in a multi-task situation. A study was made of allocation of responsibility between human and computer, and discussed were various pilot performance parameters with varying degrees of automation. Optimal allocation of responsibility between human and computer was considered and some theoretical results found in the literature were presented. The pilot as a problem solver was discussed. Finally the design of displays, controls, procedures, and computer aids for problem solving tasks in automated and semi-automated systems was considered
Holography and Cosmological Singularities
Certain null singularities in ten dimensional supergravity have natural
holographic duals in terms of Matrix Theory and generalizations of the AdS/CFT
correspondence. In many situations the holographic duals appear to be well
defined in regions where the supergravity develops singularities. We describe
some recent progress in this area.Comment: Anomaly equation corrected. References adde
Magnetic Helicity in Sphaleron Debris
We develop an analytical technique to evaluate the magnetic helicity in the
debris from sphaleron decay. We show that baryon number production leads to
left-handed magnetic fields, and that the magnetic helicity is conserved at
late times. Our analysis explicitly demonstrates the connection between
sphaleron-mediated cosmic baryogenesis and cosmic magnetogenesis.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. v2: Minor revisions; matches published version in
Physical Review
Probing the role of single defects on the thermodynamics of electric-field induced phase transitions
The kinetics and thermodynamics of first order transitions is universally
controlled by defects that act as nucleation sites and pinning centers. Here we
demonstrate that defect-domain interactions during polarization reversal
processes in ferroelectric materials result in a pronounced fine structure in
electromechanical hysteresis loops. Spatially-resolved imaging of a single
defect center in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin film is achieved, and the defect size
and built-in field are determined self-consistently from the single-point
spectroscopic measurements and spatially-resolved images. This methodology is
universal and can be applied to other reversible bias-induced transitions
including electrochemical reactions.Comment: 34 pages,4 figures, high quality figures are available upon request,
submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
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