549 research outputs found
Direct measurement of the fine-structure interval in alkali atoms using diode lasers
We demonstrate a technique for directly measuring the fine-structure interval
in alkali atoms using two frequency-stabilized diode lasers. Each laser has a
linewidth of order 1 MHz and precise tunability: one laser is tuned to a
hyperfine transition in the D_1 line, and the other laser to a hyperfine
transition in the D_2 line. The outputs of the lasers are fed into a scanning
Michelson interferometer that measures the ratio of their wavelengths
accurately. To illustrate the technique, we measure the fine-structure interval
in Rb, and obtain a value of 237.6000(3)(5) cm^-1 for the hyperfine-free
5P_{3/2} - 5P_{1/2} interval.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letters, 20
May 2002 editio
High-accuracy wavemeter based on a stabilized diode laser
We have built a high-accuracy wavelength meter for tunable lasers using a
scanning Michelson interferometer and a reference laser of known wavelength.
The reference laser is a frequency stabilized diode laser locked to an atomic
transition in Rb. The wavemeter has a statistical error per measurement of 5
parts in which can be reduced considerably by averaging. Using a second
stabilized diode laser, we have verified that systematic errors are below 4
parts in .Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Holography of Gravitational Action Functionals
Einstein-Hilbert (EH) action can be separated into a bulk and a surface term,
with a specific ("holographic") relationship between the two, so that either
can be used to extract information about the other. The surface term can also
be interpreted as the entropy of the horizon in a wide class of spacetimes.
Since EH action is likely to just the first term in the derivative expansion of
an effective theory, it is interesting to ask whether these features continue
to hold for more general gravitational actions. We provide a comprehensive
analysis of lagrangians of the form L=Q_a^{bcd}R^a_{bcd}, in which Q_a^{bcd} is
a tensor with the symmetries of the curvature tensor, made from metric and
curvature tensor and satisfies the condition \nabla_cQ^{abcd}=0, and show that
they share these features. The Lanczos-Lovelock lagrangians are a subset of
these in which Q^{abcd} is a homogeneous function of the curvature tensor. They
are all holographic, in a specific sense of the term, and -- in all these cases
-- the surface term can be interpreted as the horizon entropy. The
thermodynamics route to gravity, in which the field equations are interpreted
as TdS=dE+pdV, seems to have greater degree of validity than the field
equations of Einstein gravity itself. The results suggest that the holographic
feature of EH action could also serve as a new symmetry principle in
constraining the semiclassical corrections to Einstein gravity. The
implications are discussed.Comment: revtex 4; 17 pages; no figure
Homogeneous Relaxation at Strong Coupling from Gravity
Homogeneous relaxation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in semiclassical kinetic
theories where the quasiparticles are distributed uniformly in space, and the
equilibration involves only their velocity distribution. For such solutions,
the hydrodynamic variables remain constant. We construct asymptotically AdS
solutions of Einstein's gravity dual to such processes at strong coupling,
perturbatively in the amplitude expansion, where the expansion parameter is the
ratio of the amplitude of the non-hydrodynamic shear-stress tensor to the
pressure. At each order, we sum over all time derivatives through exact
recursion relations. We argue that the metric has a regular future horizon,
order by order in the amplitude expansion, provided the shear-stress tensor
follows an equation of motion. At the linear order, this equation of motion
implies that the metric perturbations are composed of zero wavelength
quasinormal modes. Our method allows us to calculate the non-linear corrections
to this equation perturbatively in the amplitude expansion. We thus derive a
special case of our previous conjecture on the regularity condition on the
boundary stress tensor that endows the bulk metric with a regular future
horizon, and also refine it further. We also propose a new outlook for
heavy-ion phenomenology at RHIC and ALICE.Comment: 60 pages, a section titled "Outlook for RHIC and ALICE" has been
added, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Status of Zero Degree Calorimeter for CMS Experiment
The Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC) is integral part of the CMS experiment,
especially, for heavy ion studies. The design of the ZDC includes two
independent calorimeter sections: an electromagnetic section and a hadronic
section. Sampling calorimeters using tungsten and quartz fibers have been
chosen for the energy measurements. An overview of the ZDC is presented along
with a current status of calorimeter's preparation for Day 1 of LHC.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, to appear in the proceedings of CALOR06,
June 5-9, 2006 Chicago, US
Controlled transportation of mesoscopic particles by enhanced spin orbit interaction of light in an optical trap
We study the effects of the spin orbit interaction (SOI) of light in an
optical trap and show that the propagation of the tightly focused trapping beam
in a stratified medium can lead to significantly enhanced SOI. For a plane
polarized incident beam the SOI manifests itself by giving rise to a strong
anisotropic linear diattenuation effect which produces polarization-dependent
off-axis high intensity side lobes near the focal plane of the trap. Single
micron-sized asymmetric particles can be trapped in the side lobes, and
transported over circular paths by a rotation of the plane of input
polarization. We demonstrate such controlled motion on single pea-pod shaped
single soft oxometalate (SOM) particles of dimension around m
over lengths up to 15 m . The observed effects are supported by
calculations of the intensity profiles based on a variation of the Debye-Wolf
approach. The enhanced SOI could thus be used as a generic means of
transporting mesoscopic asymmetric particles in an optical trap without the use
of complex optical beams or changing the alignment of the beam into the trap.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Electrocaloric effect of PMN-PT thin films near morphotropic phase boundary
The electrocaloric effect is calculated for PMN-PT relaxor ferroelectric thin film near morphotropic phase boundary composition. Thin film of thickness, ~240 nm, has been deposited using pulsed laser deposition technique on a highly (111) oriented platinized silicon substrate at 700°C and at 100 mtorr oxygen partial pressure. Prior to the deposition of PMN-PT, a template layer of LSCO of thickness, ~60 nm, is deposited on the platinized silicon substrate to hinder the pyrochlore phase formation. The temperature dependent P-E loops were measured at 200 Hz triangular wave operating at the virtual ground mode. Maximum reversible adiabatic temperature change, ΔT = 31 K, was calculated at 140°C for an external applied voltage of 18 V
Spatially Resolved Patchy Lyman- Emission Within the Central Kiloparsec of a Strongly Lensed Quasar Host Galaxy at z = 2.8
We report the detection of extended Lyman- emission from the host
galaxy of SDSS~J2222+2745, a strongly lensed quasar at . Spectroscopic
follow-up clearly reveals extended Lyman- in emission between two
images of the central active galactic nucleus (AGN). We reconstruct the lensed
quasar host galaxy in the source plane by applying a strong lens model to HST
imaging, and resolve spatial scales as small as 200 parsecs. In the
source plane we recover the host galaxy morphology to within a few hundred
parsecs of the central AGN, and map the extended Lyman- emission to its
physical origin on one side of the host galaxy at radii 0.5-2 kpc from
the central AGN. There are clear morphological differences between the
Lyman- and rest-frame ultraviolet stellar continuum emission from the
quasar host galaxy. Furthermore, the relative velocity profiles of quasar
Lyman-, host galaxy Lyman-, and metal lines in outflowing gas
reveal differences in the absorbing material affecting the AGN and host galaxy.
These data indicate the presence of patchy local intervening gas in front of
the central quasar and its host galaxy. This interpretation is consistent with
the central luminous quasar being obscured across a substantial fraction of its
surrounding solid angle, resulting in strong anisotropy in the exposure of the
host galaxy to ionizing radiation from the AGN. This work demonstrates the
power of strong lensing-assisted studies to probe spatial scales that are
currently inaccessible by other means.Comment: Accepted to ApJ Letters; 7 pages, 5 figure
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