9,293 research outputs found
Simulations of Sisyphus cooling including multiple excited states
We extend the theory for laser cooling in a near-resonant optical lattice to
include multiple excited hyperfine states. Simulations are performed treating
the external degrees of freedom of the atom, i.e., position and momentum,
classically, while the internal atomic states are treated quantum mechanically,
allowing for arbitrary superpositions. Whereas theoretical treatments including
only a single excited hyperfine state predict that the temperature should be a
function of lattice depth only, except close to resonance, experiments have
shown that the minimum temperature achieved depends also on the detuning from
resonance of the lattice light. Our results resolve this discrepancy.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Trends and challenges in VLSI technology scaling towards 100 nm
Summary form only given. Moore's Law drives VLSI technology to continuous increases in transistor densities and higher clock frequencies. This tutorial will review the trends in VLSI technology scaling in the last few years and discuss the challenges facing process and circuit engineers in the 100nm generation and beyond. The first focus area is the process technology, including transistor scaling trends and research activities for the 100nm technology node and beyond. The transistor leakage and interconnect RC delays will continue to increase. The tutorial will review new circuit design techniques for emerging process technologies, including dual Vt transistors and silicon-on-insulator. It will also cover circuit and layout techniques to reduce clock distribution skew and jitter, model and reduce transistor leakage and improve the electrical performance of flip-chip packages. Finally, the tutorial will review the test challenges for the 100nm technology node due to increased clock frequency and power consumption (both active and passive) and present several potential solution
Redundant actuator development program
Two concepts of redundant secondary actuator mechanization, applicable to future advanced flight control systems, were studied to quantitatively assess their design applicability to an AST. The two actuator concepts, a four-channel, force summed system and a three-channel, active/standby system have been developed and evaluated through analysis, analog computer simulation, and piloted motion simulation. The quantitative comparison of the two concepts indicates that the force summed concept better meet performance requirements, although the active/standby is superior in other respects. Both concepts are viable candidates for advanced control application dependent on the specific performance requirements
Steep Slopes and Preferred Breaks in GRB Spectra: the Role of Photospheres and Comptonization
The role of a photospheric component and of pair breakdown is examined in the
internal shock model of gamma-ray bursts. We discuss some of the mechanisms by
which they would produce anomalously steep low energy slopes, X-ray excesses
and preferred energy breaks. Sub-relativistic comptonization should dominate in
high comoving luminosity bursts with high baryon load, while synchrotron
radiation dominates the power law component in bursts which have lower comoving
luminosity or have moderate to low baryon loads. A photosphere leading to steep
low energy spectral slopes should be prominent in the lowest baryon loadComment: ApJ'00, in press; minor revs. 10/5/99; (uses aaspp4.sty), 15 pages, 3
figure
Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis: the Role of Histamine
Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis is the most common atopic condition
encountered in clinical practice. Analysis of the pathogenesis of
this condition permits identification of optimal therapeutic
targets. The increased knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology
suggests that multiple inflammatory mediators are involved in the
pathogenesis of the allergic reaction in the ocular and nasal
mucosa. However, despite the presence of a wide range of different
mediators, it would appear that histamine plays a key role.
Experimental allergen challenge studies have demonstrated that
histamine is the only mediator which produces the full spectrum of
clinical manifestations of the acute allergic reaction when applied
to the mucosal surface. While both H1- and H2-receptors are present
in the nasal and ocular mucosa, only H1-receptor antagonists are
capable of inhibiting histamine-induced symptoms of allergic
rhinoconjunctivitis. Furthermore, although the exact role of
histamine in the immediate and prolonged allergic reaction has not
yet been fully elucidated, these findings do not exclude the
possibility that histamine is involved in these processes. The
available evidence therefore supports current clinical practice for
use of H1-receptor antagonist as a first-line therapy in
patients with this atopic condition
Optimal partial-arcs in VMAT treatment planning
Purpose: To improve the delivery efficiency of VMAT by extending the recently
published VMAT treatment planning algorithm vmerge to automatically generate
optimal partial-arc plans.
Methods and materials: A high-quality initial plan is created by solving a
convex multicriteria optimization problem using 180 equi-spaced beams. This
initial plan is used to form a set of dose constraints, and a set of
partial-arc plans is created by searching the space of all possible partial-arc
plans that satisfy these constraints. For each partial-arc, an iterative
fluence map merging and sequencing algorithm (vmerge) is used to improve the
delivery efficiency. Merging continues as long as the dose quality is
maintained above a user-defined threshold. The final plan is selected as the
partial arc with the lowest treatment time. The complete algorithm is called
pmerge.
Results: Partial-arc plans are created using pmerge for a lung, liver and
prostate case, with final treatment times of 127, 245 and 147 seconds.
Treatment times using full arcs with vmerge are 211, 357 and 178 seconds. Dose
quality is maintained across the initial, vmerge, and pmerge plans to within 5%
of the mean doses to the critical organs-at-risk and with target coverage above
98%. Additionally, we find that the angular distribution of fluence in the
initial plans is predictive of the start and end angles of the optimal
partial-arc.
Conclusions: The pmerge algorithm is an extension to vmerge that
automatically finds the partial-arc plan that minimizes the treatment time.
VMAT delivery efficiency can be improved by employing partial-arcs without
compromising dose quality. Partial arcs are most applicable to cases with
non-centralized targets, where the time savings is greatest
The population of deformed bands in Cr by emission of Be from the S + Mg reaction
Using particle- coincidences we have studied the population of final
states after the emission of 2 -particles and of Be in nuclei
formed in S+Mg reactions at an energy of . The data were obtained in a setup
consisting of the GASP -ray detection array and the multidetector array
ISIS. Particle identification is obtained from the E and E signals of
the ISIS silicon detector telescopes, the Be being identified by the
instantaneous pile up of the E and E pulses. -ray decays of the
Cr nucleus are identified with coincidences set on 2 -particles
and on Be. Some transitions of the side-band with show
stronger population for Be emission relative to that of 2
-particles (by a factor ). This observation is interpreted as
due to an enhanced emission of Be into a more deformed nucleus.
Calculations based on the extended Hauser-Feshbach compound decay formalism
confirm this observation quantitatively.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures accepted for publication in J. Phys.
Phonons in random alloys: the itinerant coherent-potential approximation
We present the itinerant coherent-potential approximation(ICPA), an analytic,
translationally invariant and tractable form of augmented-space-based,
multiple-scattering theory in a single-site approximation for harmonic phonons
in realistic random binary alloys with mass and force-constant disorder.
We provide expressions for quantities needed for comparison with experimental
structure factors such as partial and average spectral functions and derive the
sum rules associated with them. Numerical results are presented for Ni_{55}
Pd_{45} and Ni_{50} Pt_{50} alloys which serve as test cases, the former for
weak force-constant disorder and the latter for strong. We present results on
dispersion curves and disorder-induced widths. Direct comparisons with the
single-site coherent potential approximation(CPA) and experiment are made which
provide insight into the physics of force-constant changes in random alloys.
The CPA accounts well for the weak force-constant disorder case but fails for
strong force-constant disorder where the ICPA succeeds.Comment: 19 pages, 12 eps figures, uses RevTex
Plasma Ejection from Magnetic Flares and the X-ray Spectrum of Cygnus X-1
The hard X-rays in Cyg X-1 and similar black hole sources are possibly
produced in an active corona atop an accretion disk. We suggest that the
observed weakness of X-ray reflection from the disk is due to bulk motion of
the emitting hot plasma away from the reflector. A mildly relativistic motion
causes aberration reducing X-ray emission towards the disk. This in turn
reduces the reprocessed radiation from the disk and leads to a hard spectrum of
the X-ray source. The resulting spectral index is Gamma=1.9B^{1/2} where
B=gamma(1+beta) is the aberration factor for a bulk velocity beta=v/c. The
observed Gamma=1.6 and the amount of reflection, R=0.3, in Cyg X-1 in the hard
state can both be explained assuming a bulk velocity beta=0.3. We discuss one
possible scenario: the compact magnetic flares are dominated by e+- pairs which
are ejected away from the reflector by the pressure of the reflected radiation.
We also discuss physical constraints on the disk-corona model and argue that
the magnetic flares are related to magneto-rotational instabilities in the
accretion disk.Comment: The final version, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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