Anomalies in Universal Intensity Scaling in Ultrarelativistic Laser-Plasma Interactions

Laser light incident on targets at intensities such that the electron dynamics is ultrarelativistic gives rise to a harmonic power spectrum extending to high orders and characterized by a relatively slow decay with the harmonic number m that follows a power law dependence, m^{-p}. Relativistic similarity theory predicts a universal value for p = 8/3 up to some cut-off m = m*. The results presented in this work suggest that under conditions in which plasma effects contribute to the emission spectrum, the extent of this contribution may invalidate the concept of universal decay. We report a decay with harmonic number in the ultrarelativistic range characterised by an index 5/3 < p < 7/3, significantly weaker than that predicted by the similarity model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A synoptic view of ionic constitution above the F-layer maximum

Ionic composition above F layer maximum from Ariel I satellite ion mass spectromete

Positive ion temperatures above the F-layer maximum

Positive ion temperatures above F layer maximum from Ariel I satellite ion mass analyze

Black hole formation in core-collapse supernovae and time-of-flight measurements of the neutrino masses

In large stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel, the stellar core collapses to a hot and dense proto-neutron star that cools by the radiation of neutrinos and antineutrinos of all flavors. Depending on its final mass, this may become either a neutron star or a black hole. Black hole formation may be triggered by mass accretion or a change in the high-density equation of state. We consider the possibility that black hole formation happens when the flux of neutrinos is still measurably high. If this occurs, then the neutrino signal from the supernova will be terminated abruptly (the transition takes ≲0.5 ms). The properties and duration of the signal before the cutoff are important measures of both the physics and astrophysics of the cooling proto-neutron star. For the event rates expected in present and proposed detectors, the cutoff will generally appear sharp, thus allowing model-independent time-of-flight mass tests for the neutrinos after the cutoff. If black hole formation occurs relatively early, within a few (∼1) seconds after core collapse, then the expected luminosities are of order LBH=1052 erg/s per flavor. In this case, the neutrino mass sensitivity can be extraordinary. For a supernova at a distance D=10 kpc, SuperKamiokande can detect a ν̅e mass down to 1.8 eV by comparing the arrival times of the high-energy and low-energy neutrinos in ν̅e+p→e++n. This test will also measure the cutoff time, and will thus allow a mass test of νμ and ντ relative to ν̅e. Assuming that νμ and ντ are nearly degenerate, as suggested by the atmospheric neutrino results, masses down to about 6 eV can be probed with a proposed lead detector of mass MD=4 kton (OMNIS). Remarkably, the neutrino mass sensitivity scales as (D/LBHMD)1/2. Therefore, direct sensitivity to all three neutrino masses in the interesting few-eV range is realistically possible; there are no other known techniques that have this capability

Amplitude noise reduction in semiconductor lasers with weak, dispersive optical feedback

We present the theory and measurements of the amplitude noise spectrum from a semiconductor laser with weak optical feedback (Pfb/Pout ~10^-6) from an external cavity containing an element of dispersive loss. The laser noise is found to be reduced over most of the low-frequency spectrum, although an increase in the noise is observed at frequencies corresponding to multiples of the external-cavity free spectral range. The low-frequency noise reduction closely follows theoretical predictions, and a reduction of as much as 7 dB is measured at an injection current of 1.5 times the threshold current. The potential of this method for contributing to the production of amplitude-squeezed light is discussed