Dual differential interferometer

A dual two-beam differential interferometer that measures both the amplitude and orientation of propagating, broadband surface acoustic waves is disclosed. Four beams are focused on a surface. The four reflected beams are separated into two pairs. The two pairs are detected to produce two signals that are used to compute amplitude and orientation

Microscopic calculation of the phonon dynamics of Sr2_{2}RuO4_{4} compared with La2_{2}CuO4_{4}

The phonon dynamics of the low-temperature superconductor Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ is calculated quantitatively in linear response theory and compared with the structurally isomorphic high-temperature superconductor La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$. Our calculation corrects for a typical deficit of LDA-based calculations which always predict a too large electronic $k_{z}$-dispersion insufficient to describe the c-axis response in the real materials. With a more realistic computation of the electronic band structure the frequency and wavevector dependent irreducible polarization part of the density response function is determined and used for adiabatic and nonadiabatic phonon calculations. Our analysis for Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ reveals important differences from the lattice dynamics of $p$- and $n$-doped cuprates. Consistent with experimental evidence from inelastic neutron scattering the anomalous doping related softening of the strongly coupling high-frequency oxygen bond-stretching modes (OBSM) which is generic for the cuprate superconductors is largely suppressed or completely absent, respectively, depending on the actual value of the on-site Coulomb repulsion of the Ru4d orbitals. Also the presence of a characteristic $\Lambda_{1}$-mode with a very steep dispersion coupling strongly with the electrons is missing in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$. Moreover, we evaluate the possibility of a phonon-plasmon scenario for Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ which has been shown recently to be realistic for La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$. In contrast to La$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ the very low lying plasmons are overdamped along the c-axis.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables, 33 reference

Optical fiber interferometer for the study of ultrasonic waves in composite materials

The possibility of acoustic emission detection in composites using embedded optical fibers as sensing elements was investigated. Optical fiber interferometry, fiber acoustic sensitivity, fiber interferometer calibration, and acoustic emission detection are reported. Adhesive bond layer dynamical properties using ultrasonic interface waves, the design and construction of an ultrasonic transducer with a two dimensional Gaussian pressure profile, and the development of an optical differential technique for the measurement of surface acoustic wave particle displacements and propagation direction are also examined

Dynamic charge inhomogenity in cuprate superconductors

The inelastic x-ray scattering spectrum for phonons of $\Delta_{1}$-symmetry including the CuO bond-stretching phonon dispersion is analyzed by a Lorentz fit in HgBa$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$ and Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CuO$_{6}$, respectively, using recently calculated phonon frequencies as input parameters. The resulting mode frequencies of the fit are almost all in good agreement with the calculated data. An exception is the second highest $\Delta_{1}$-branch compromising the bond-stretching modes which disagrees in both compounds with the calculations. This branch unlike the calculations shows an anomalous softening with a minimum around the wavevector \vc{q}=\frac{2\pi}{a}(0.25, 0, 0). Such a disparity with the calculated results, that are based on the assumption of an undisturbed translation- and point group invariant electronic structure of the CuO plane, indicates some {\it static} charge inhomogenities in the measured probes. Most likely these will be charge stripes along the CuO bonds which have the strongest coupling to certain longitudinal bond-stretching modes that in turn selfconsistently induce corresponding {\it dynamic} charge inhomogenities. The symmetry breaking by the mix of dynamic and static charge inhomogenities can lead to a reconstruction of the Fermi surface into small pockets.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

B stars as a diagnostic of star-formation at low and high redshift

We have extended the evolutionary synthesis models by Leitherer et al. (1999b) by including a new library of B stars generated from the IUE high-dispersion spectra archive. We present the library and show how the stellar spectral properties vary according to luminosity classes and spectral types. We have generated synthetic UV spectra for prototypical young stellar populations varying the IMF and the star formation law. Clear signs of age effects are seen in all models. The contribution of B stars in the UV line spectrum is clearly detected, in particular for greater ages when O stars have evolved. With the addition of the new library we are able to investigate the fraction of stellar and interstellar contributions and the variation in the spectral shapes of intense lines. We have used our models to date the spectrum of the local super star cluster NGC1705-1. Photospheric lines of CIII1247, SiIII1417, and SV1502 were used as diagnostics to date the burst of NGC 1705-1 at 10 Myr. We have selected the star-forming galaxy 1512-cB58 as a first application of the new models to high-z galaxies. This galaxy is at z=2.723, it is gravitationally lensed, and its high signal-to-noise Keck spectrum show features typical of local starburst galaxies, such as NGC 1705-1. Models with continuous star formation were found to be more adequate for 1512-cB58 since there are spectral features typical of a composite stellar population of O and B stars. A model with Z =0.4Z_solar and an IMF with alpha=2.8 reproduces the stellar features of the 1512-cB58 spectrum.Comment: 23 pages with figures, see http://sol.stsci.edu/~demello/welcomeb.htm

Resistant starch as a dietary intervention to limit the progression of diabetic kidney disease

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, and as the number of individuals with diabetes increases there is a concomitant increase in the prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Diabetes contributes to the development of DKD through a number of pathways, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and the gut-kidney axis, which may be amenable to dietary therapy. Resistant starch (RS) is a dietary fibre that alters the gut microbial consortium, leading to an increase in the microbial production of short chain fatty acids. Evidence from animal and human studies indicate that short chain fatty acids are able to attenuate inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways, which may mitigate the progression of DKD. In this review, we evaluate and summarise the evidence from both preclinical models of DKD and clinical trials that have utilised RS as a dietary therapy to limit the progression of DKD

Combining gravity with the forces of the standard model on a cosmological scale

We prove the existence of a spectral resolution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation when the underlying spacetime is a Friedman universe with flat spatial slices and where the matter fields are comprised of the strong interaction, with \SU(3) replaced by a general \SU(n), $n\ge 2$, and the electro-weak interaction. The wave functions are maps from $\R[4n+10]$ to a subspace of the antisymmetric Fock space, and one noteworthy result is that, whenever the electro-weak interaction is involved, the image of an eigenfunction is in general not one dimensional, i.e., in general it makes no sense specifying a fermion and looking for an eigenfunction the range of which is contained in the one dimensional vector space spanned by the fermion.Comment: 53 pages, v6: some typos correcte