9,054 research outputs found
Experimental demonstration of painting arbitrary and dynamic potentials for Bose-Einstein condensates
There is a pressing need for robust and straightforward methods to create
potentials for trapping Bose-Einstein condensates which are simultaneously
dynamic, fully arbitrary, and sufficiently stable to not heat the ultracold
gas. We show here how to accomplish these goals, using a rapidly-moving laser
beam that "paints" a time-averaged optical dipole potential in which we create
BECs in a variety of geometries, including toroids, ring lattices, and square
lattices. Matter wave interference patterns confirm that the trapped gas is a
condensate. As a simple illustration of dynamics, we show that the technique
can transform a toroidal condensate into a ring lattice and back into a toroid.
The technique is general and should work with any sufficiently polarizable
low-energy particles.Comment: Minor text changes and three references added. This is the final
version published in New Journal of Physic
Development of life-test methodology for long-life mechanical components. Phase 1: Development of methodology. Phase 2: Demonstration of methodology
Development of life-test methodology for long-life mechanical components. Phase 1: Development of methodology
1,2-H- versus 1,2-C-Shift on Sn-Silsesquioxanes
Lewis acidic zeolites such as Sn-Beta catalyze glucose isomerization to fructose via an intramolecular 1,2-H-shift reaction, a key step for converting lignocellulosic biomass into renewable chemicals. Na-exchange of Sn-Beta titrates the neighboring SiOH group in the open Sn site and shifts catalyst selectivity to mannose formed by a 1,2-C-shift reaction. To probe structure/activity relationships in the zeolite, tin-containing silsesquioxanes with (1a) and without (1b) a neighboring SiOH group were recently synthesized and tested. These molecular catalysts are active for glucose conversion, and the presence (absence) of the SiOH favors fructose (mannose) selectivity by intramolecular H(C)-shift reactions. Using density functional theory, we investigated numerous H/C-shift pathways on these tin-silsesquioxane catalysts. On both 1a and 1b, the H-shift reaction occurs through a bidentate binding mode without participation of the SiOH, while the bidentate binding mode is not favored for the C-shift due to steric hindrance. Instead, the C-shift reaction occurs through different concerted reaction pathways, in which an acetylacetonate (acac) ligand interacts with the substrate in the transition state complexes. Favorable H-shift pathways without SiOH participation and acac ligand promotion of the C-shift pathway explain why 1a produces mannose from C-shift reactions instead of exclusively catalyzing H-shift reactions, as the Sn-Beta open site does
An Observational Limit on the Dwarf Galaxy Population of the Local Group
We present the results of an all-sky, deep optical survey for faint Local
Group dwarf galaxies. Candidate objects were selected from the second Palomar
survey (POSS-II) and ESO/SRC survey plates and follow-up observations performed
to determine whether they were indeed overlooked members of the Local Group.
Only two galaxies (Antlia and Cetus) were discovered this way out of 206
candidates. Based on internal and external comparisons, we estimate that our
visual survey is more than 77% complete for objects larger than one arc minute
in size and with a surface brightness greater than an extremely faint limit
over the 72% of the sky not obstructed by the Milky Way. Our limit of
sensitivity cannot be calculated exactly, but is certainly fainter than 25
magnitudes per square arc second in R, probably 25.5 and possibly approaching
26. We conclude that there are at most one or two Local Group dwarf galaxies
fitting our observational criteria still undiscovered in the clear part of the
sky, and a roughly a dozen hidden behind the Milky Way. Our work places the
"missing satellite problem" on a firm quantitative observational basis. We
present detailed data on all our candidates, including surface brightness
measurements.Comment: 58 pages in AJ manuscript format; some figures at slightly reduced
quality; accepted by the Astronomical Journa
The distance to the SNR CTB109 deduced from its environment
We conducted a study of the environment around the supernova remnant CTB109.
We found that the SNR is part of a large complex of HII regions extending over
an area of 400 pc along the Galactic plane at a distance of about 3 kpc at the
closer edge of the Perseus spiral arm. At this distance CTB109 has a diameter
of about 24 pc. We demonstrated that including spiral shocks in the distance
estimation is an ultimate requirement to determine reliable distances to
objects located in the Perseus arm. The most likely explanation for the high
concentration of HII regions and SNRs is that the star formation in this part
of the Perseus arm is triggered by the spiral shock.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Persistent Transport Barrier on the West Florida Shelf
Analysis of drifter trajectories in the Gulf of Mexico has revealed the
existence of a region on the southern portion of the West Florida Shelf (WFS)
that is not visited by drifters that are released outside of the region. This
so-called ``forbidden zone'' (FZ) suggests the existence of a persistent
cross-shelf transport barrier on the southern portion of the WFS. In this
letter a year-long record of surface currents produced by a Hybrid-Coordinate
Ocean Model simulation of the WFS is used to identify Lagrangian coherent
structures (LCSs), which reveal the presence of a robust and persistent
cross-shelf transport barrier in approximately the same location as the
boundary of the FZ. The location of the cross-shelf transport barrier undergoes
a seasonal oscillation, being closer to the coast in the summer than in the
winter. A month-long record of surface currents inferred from high-frequency
(HF) radar measurements in a roughly 60 km 80 km region on the WFS off
Tampa Bay is also used to identify LCSs, which reveal the presence of robust
transient transport barriers. While the HF-radar-derived transport barriers
cannot be unambiguously linked to the boundary of the FZ, this analysis does
demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring transport barriers on the WFS using a
HF-radar-based measurement system. The implications of a persistent cross-shelf
transport barrier on the WFS for the development of harmful algal blooms on the
shoreward side of the barrier are considered.Comment: Submitted to Geophysical Research Letter
The HI shell G132.6-0.7-25.3: A Supernova Remnant or an Old Wind-Blown Bubble?
Data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey reveal an abundance of HI shells
and arcs in the disk of our galaxy. While their shape is suggestive of stellar
winds or supernovae influence, very few of these structures have been examined
in detail thus far. A fine example is an HI shell in the outer Galaxy with no
continuum counterpart discovered in the survey's pilot project. Its size and
kinematics suggest that it was created by the winds of a single late-type O
star which has since evolved off the main sequence or by a supernova explosion.
A B1 Ia star at the centre of the shell, in projection, is a possible candidate
for energy source if the shell is assumed to be wind-blown. The shell's shape
implies a surprisingly small scale height of less than about 30 pc for the
surrounding gas if the elongation is due to evolution in a density gradient.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
The dynamics of a strongly driven two component Bose-Einstein Condensate
We consider a two component Bose-Einstein condensate in two spatially
localized modes of a double well potential, with periodic modulation of the
tunnel coupling between the two modes. We treat the driven quantum field using
a two mode expansion and define the quantum dynamics in terms of the Floquet
Operator for the time periodic Hamiltonian of the system. It has been shown
that the corresponding semiclassical mean-field dynamics can exhibit regions of
regular and chaotic motion. We show here that the quantum dynamics can exhibit
dynamical tunneling between regions of regular motion, centered on fixed points
(resonances) of the semiclassical dynamics
Grain boundary motion in layered phases
We study the motion of a grain boundary that separates two sets of mutually
perpendicular rolls in Rayleigh-B\'enard convection above onset. The problem is
treated either analytically from the corresponding amplitude equations, or
numerically by solving the Swift-Hohenberg equation. We find that if the rolls
are curved by a slow transversal modulation, a net translation of the boundary
follows. We show analytically that although this motion is a nonlinear effect,
it occurs in a time scale much shorter than that of the linear relaxation of
the curved rolls. The total distance traveled by the boundary scales as
, where is the reduced Rayleigh number. We obtain
analytical expressions for the relaxation rate of the modulation and for the
time dependent traveling velocity of the boundary, and especially their
dependence on wavenumber. The results agree well with direct numerical
solutions of the Swift-Hohenberg equation. We finally discuss the implications
of our results on the coarsening rate of an ensemble of differently oriented
domains in which grain boundary motion through curved rolls is the dominant
coarsening mechanism.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
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