1,116 research outputs found
Dynamic Response of a fast near infra-red Mueller matrix ellipsometer
The dynamic response of a near infrared Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal based
Mueller matrix ellipsometer (NIR FLC-MME) is presented. A time dependent
simulation model, using the measured time response of the individual FLCs, is
used to describe the measured temporal response. Furthermore, the impulse
response of the detector and the pre-amplifier is characterized and included in
the simulation model. The measured time-dependent intensity response of the MME
is reproduced in simulations, and it is concluded that the switching time of
the FLCs is the limiting factor for the Mueller matrix measurement time of the
FLC-based MME. Based on measurements and simulations our FLC based NIR-MME
system is estimated to operate at the maximum speed of approximately 16 ms per
Mueller matrix measurement. The FLC-MME may be operated several times faster,
since the switching time of the crystals depends on the individual crystal
being switched, and to what state it is switched. As a demonstration, the
measured temporal response of the Mueller matrix and the retardance of a thick
liquid crystal variable retarder upon changing state is demonstrated.Comment: to be published in Journal of Modern Optics 20 pages, 6 figure
Transverse radiation force in a tailored optical fiber
We show, by means of simple model calculations, how a weak laser beam sent
through an optical fiber exerts a transverse radiation force if there is an
azimuthal asymmetry present in the fiber such that one side has a slightly
different refractive index than the other. The refractive index difference
needs only to be very small, of order , in order to produce
an appreciable transverse displacement of order 10 microns. We argue that the
effect has probably already been seen in a recent experiment of She et al.
[Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 243601 (2008)], and we discuss correspondence between
these observations and the theory presented. The effect could be used to bend
optical fibers in a predictable and controlled manner and we propose that it
could be useful for micron-scale devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication as Rapid Communication
in Phys. Rev.
Casimir attractive-repulsive transition in MEMS
Unwanted stiction in micro- and nanomechanical (NEMS/MEMS) systems due to
dispersion (van der Waals, or Casimir) forces is a significant hurdle in the
fabrication of systems with moving parts on these length scales. Introducing a
suitably dielectric liquid in the interspace between bodies has previously been
demonstrated to render dispersion forces repulsive, or even to switch sign as a
function of separation. Making use of recently available permittivity data
calculated by us we show that such a remarkable non-monotonic Casimir force,
changing from attractive to repulsive as separation increases, can in fact be
observed in systems where constituent materials are in standard NEMS/MEMS use
requiring no special or exotic materials. No such nonmonotonic behaviour has
been measured to date. We calculate the force between a silica sphere and a
flat surface of either zinc oxide or hafnia, two materials which are among the
most prominent for practical microelectrical and microoptical devices. Our
results explicate the need for highly accurate permittivity functions of the
materials involved for frequencies from optical to far-infrared frequencies. A
careful analysis of the Casimir interaction is presented, and we show how the
change in the sign of the interaction can be understood as a result of multiple
crossings of the dielectric functions of the three media involved in a given
set-up.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Water masers accompanying OH and methanol masers in star formation regions
The ATCA has been used to measure positions with arcsecond accuracy for 379
masers at the 22-GHz transition of water. The principal observation targets
were 202 OH masers of the variety associated with star formation regions (SFR)s
in the Southern Galactic plane. At a second epoch, most of these targets were
observed again, and new targets of methanol masers were added. Many of the
water masers reported here are new discoveries. Variability in the masers is
often acute, with very few features directly corresponding to those discovered
two decades ago. Within our current observations, less than a year apart,
spectra are often dissimilar, but positions at the later epoch, even when
measured for slightly different features, mostly correspond to the detected
maser site measured earlier, to within the typical extent of the whole site, of
a few arcseconds. The precise water positions show that approximately 79% (160
of 202) of the OH maser sites show coincident water maser emission, the best
estimate yet obtained for this statistic; however, there are many instances
where additional water sites are present offset from the OH target, and
consequently less than half of the water masers coincide with a 1665-MHz
ground-state OH maser counterpart. We explore the differences between the
velocities of peak emission from the three species (OH, methanol and water),
and quantify the typically larger deviations shown by water maser peaks from
systemic velocities. Clusters of two or three distinct but nearby sites, each
showing one or several of the principal molecular masing transitions, are found
to be common. In combination with an investigation of correlations with IR
sources from the GLIMPSE catalogue, these comparative studies allow further
progress in the use of the maser properties to assign relative evolutionary
stages in star formation to individual sites.Comment: 51 pages, 7 figure
Methanol Masers as Tracers of Circumstellar Disks
We show that in many methanol maser sources the masers are located in lines,
with a velocity gradient along them which suggests that the masers are situated
in edge-on circumstellar, or protoplanetary, disks. We present VLBI
observations of the methanol maser source G309.92+0.48, in the 12.2 GHz
transition, which confirm previous observations that the masers in this source
lie along a line. We show that such sources are not only linear in space but,
in many cases, also have a linear velocity gradient. We then model these and
other data in both the 6.7 GHz and the 12.2 GHz transition from a number of
star formation regions, and show that the observed spatial and velocity
distribution of methanol masers, and the derived Keplerian masses, are
consistent with a circumstellar disk rotating around an OB star. We consider
this and other hypotheses, and conclude that about half of these methanol
masers are probably located in edge-on circumstellar disks around young stars.
This is of particular significance for studies of circumstellar disks because
of the detailed velocity information available from the masers.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures accepted by Ap
A Search for 6.7 GHz Methanol Masers in M33
We report the negative results from a search for 6.7 GHz methanol masers in
the nearby spiral galaxy M33. We observed 14 GMCs in the central 4 kpc of the
Galaxy, and found 3 sigma upper limits to the flux density of ~9 mJy in
spectral channels having a velocity width of 0.069 km/s. By velocity shifting
and combining the spectra from the positions observed, we obtain an effective
3sigma upper limit on the average emission of ~1mJy in a 0.25 km/s channel.
These limits lie significantly below what we would expect based on our
estimates of the methanol maser luminosity function in the Milky Way. The most
likely explanation for the absence of detectable methanol masers appears to be
the metallicity of M33, which is modestly less than that of the Milky Way
A Survey of the Galactic Plane for 6.7-GHz Methanol Masers I: l = 325.0 - 335.0 ; b = -0.53 - 0.53
We report the results of the first complete survey of an area of the Galactic
Plane for maser emission from the 6.7-GHz transition of methanol. The survey
covers a 10.6-square-degree region of the Galactic Plane in the longitude range
325-335 degrees and latitude range -0.53-0.53 degrees. The survey is sensitive
to masers with a peak flux density greater than approximately 2.6 Jy. The
weakest maser detected has a peak flux density of 2.3 Jy and the strongest a
peak flux density of 425 Jy. We detected a total of 50 distinct masers, 26 of
which are new detections. We show that many 6.7-GHz methanol masers are not
associated with IRAS sources, and that some are associated with sources that
have colours differing from those of a typical ultra-compact HII region
(UCHII). We estimate that the number of UCHII regions in the Galaxy is
significantly more than suggested by IRAS-based estimates, possibly by more
than a factor of two.Comment: 19 pages including 4 figures, using LaTeX formatted with mn.sty,
accepted for publication in MNRA
A high-sensitivity 6.7 GHz methanol maser survey toward H2O sources
We present the results of a high sensitivity survey for 6.7 GHz methanol
masers towards 22 GHz water maser using the 100 m Efflesberg telescope. A total
of 89 sources were observed and 10 new methanol masers were detected. The new
detections are relatively faint with peak flux densities between 0.5 and 4.0
Jy. A nil detection rate from low-mass star forming regions enhances the
conclusion that the masers are only associated with massive star formation.
Even the faintest methanol maser in our survey, with a luminosity of 1.1
is associated with massive stars as inferred from its
infrared luminosity.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Methanol masers : Reliable tracers of the early stages of high-mass star formation
The GLIMPSE and MSX surveys have been used to examine the mid-infrared
properties of a statistically complete sample of 6.7 GHz methanol masers. The
GLIMPSE point sources associated with methanol masers are clearly distinguished
from the majority, typically having extremely red mid-infrared colors, similar
to those expected of low-mass class 0 young stellar objects. The intensity of
the GLIMPSE sources associated with methanol masers is typically 4 magnitudes
brighter at 8.0 micron than at 3.6 micron. Targeted searches towards GLIMPSE
point sources with [3.6]-[4.5] > 1.3 and an 8.0 micron magnitude less than 10
will detect more than 80% of class II methanol masers. Many of the methanol
masers are associated with sources within infrared dark clouds (IRDC) which are
believed to mark regions where high-mass star formation is in its very early
stages. The presence of class II methanol masers in a significant fraction of
IRDC suggests that high-mass star formation is common in these regions.
Different maser species are thought to trace different evolutionary phases of
the high-mass star formation process. Comparison of the properties of the
GLIMPSE sources associated with class II methanol masers and other maser
species shows interesting trends, consistent with class I methanol masers
tracing a generally earlier evolutionary phase and OH masers tracing a later
evolutionary phase.Comment: 45 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
6.7 GHz methanol absorption toward the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3079
The detection of the 6.7 GHz line of methanol (CH3OH) is reported for the
first time toward an object beyond the Magellanic Clouds. Using the Effelsberg
100 m telescope, two absorption features were identified toward the Seyfert 2
galaxy NGC 3079. Both components probably originated on lines-of-sight toward
the central region, presumably absorbing the radio continuum of the nuclear
sources A, B, and E of NGC 3079. One absorption feature, at the systemic
velocity, is narrow and may arise from gas not related to the nuclear
environment of the galaxy. The weaker blue-shifted component is wider and may
trace outflowing gas. Total A-type CH3OH column densities are estimated to be
between a few times 10^13 and a few times 10^15 cm^-2. Because of a highly
frequency-dependent continuum background, the overall similarity of HI, OH, and
CH3OH absorption profiles hints at molecular clouds that cover the entire area
occupied by the nuclear radio continuum sources ~ 4 pc.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
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