2,246 research outputs found
Direct optical observations of surface thermal motions at sub-shot noise levels
We measure spectral properties of surface thermal fluctuations of liquids,
solids, complex fluids and biological matter using light scattering methods.
The random thermal fluctuations are delineated from random noise at sub-shot
noise levels. The principle behind this extraction, which is quite general and
is not limited to surface measurements, is explained. An optical lever is used
to measure the spectrum of fluctuations in the inclinations of surfaces down to
at W optical intensity, corresponding
to in the vertical displacement, in the
frequency range . The dynamical evolution of the
surface properties is also investigated. The measurement requires only a short
amount of time and is essentially passive, so that it can be applied to a wide
variety of surfaces.Comment: 5pp, 5 figure
Mars mission solar array Semiannual progress report, period ending 31 Dec. 1969
Design and testing of beryllium-structure solar panel for Mars missio
Spectral properties of thermal fluctuations on simple liquid surfaces below shot noise levels
We study the spectral properties of thermal fluctuations on simple liquid
surfaces, sometimes called ripplons. Analytical properties of the spectral
function are investigated and are shown to be composed of regions with simple
analytic behavior with respect to the frequency or the wave number. The derived
expressions are compared to spectral measurements performed orders of magnitude
below shot noise levels, which is achieved using a novel noise reduction
method. The agreement between the theory of thermal surface fluctuations and
the experiment is found to be excellent.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Background light measurements at the DUMAND site
Ambient light intensities at the DUMAND site, west of the island of Hawaii were measured around the one photoelectron level. Throughout the water column between 1,500m and 4,700m, a substantial amount of stimulateable bioluminescence is observed with a ship suspended detector. But non-stimulated bioluminescence level is comparable, or less than, K sup 40 background, when measured with a bottom tethered detector typical of a DUMAND optical module
Search for an exotic three-body decay of orthopositronium
We report on a direct search for a three-body decay of the orthopositronium
into a photon and two penetrating particles, o-Ps -> gamma + X1 + X2. The
existence of this decay could explain the discrepancy between the measured and
the predicted values of the orthopositronium decay rate. From the analysis of
the collected data a single candidate event is found, consistent with the
expected background. This allows to set an upper limit on the branching ratio <
4.4 \times 10^{-5} (at the 90% confidence level), for the photon energy in the
range from 40 keV < E_gamma< 400 keV and for mass values in the kinematical
range 0
gamma + X1 + X2 decay mode as the origin of the discrepancy.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Identification problems of muon and electron events in the Super-Kamiokande detector
In the measurement of atmospheric nu_e and nu_mu fluxes, the calculations of
the Super Kamiokande group for the distinction between muon-like and
electronlike events observed in the water Cerenkov detector have initially
assumed a misidentification probability of less than 1 % and later 2 % for the
sub-GeV range. In the multi-GeV range, they compared only the observed
behaviors of ring patterns of muon and electron events, and claimed a 3 %
mis-identification. However, the expressions and the calculation method do not
include the fluctuation properties due to the stochastic nature of the
processes which determine the expected number of photoelectrons (p.e.) produced
by muons and electrons. Our full Monte Carlo (MC) simulations including the
fluctuations of photoelectron production show that the total mis-identification
rate for electrons and muons should be larger than or equal to 20 % for sub-GeV
region. Even in the multi-GeV region we expect a mis-identification rate of
several % based on our MC simulations taking into account the ring patterns.
The mis-identified events are mostly of muonic origin.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure
Nonchaotic Stagnant Motion in a Marginal Quasiperiodic Gradient System
A one-dimensional dynamical system with a marginal quasiperiodic gradient is
presented as a mathematical extension of a nonuniform oscillator. The system
exhibits a nonchaotic stagnant motion, which is reminiscent of intermittent
chaos. In fact, the density function of residence times near stagnation points
obeys an inverse-square law, due to a mechanism similar to type-I
intermittency. However, unlike intermittent chaos, in which the alternation
between long stagnant phases and rapid moving phases occurs in a random manner,
here the alternation occurs in a quasiperiodic manner. In particular, in case
of a gradient with the golden ratio, the renewal of the largest residence time
occurs at positions corresponding to the Fibonacci sequence. Finally, the
asymptotic long-time behavior, in the form of a nested logarithm, is
theoretically derived. Compared with the Pomeau-Manneville intermittency, a
significant difference in the relaxation property of the long-time average of
the dynamical variable is found.Comment: 11pages, 5figure
Noise spectroscopy of optical microcavity
The intensity noise spectrum of the light passed through an optical
microcavity is calculated with allowance for thermal fluctuations of its
thickness. The spectrum thus obtained reveals a peak at the frequency of
acoustic mode localized inside the microcavity and depends on the size of the
illuminated area. The estimates of the noise magnitude show that it can be
detected using the up-to-date noise spectroscopy technique.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
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Keratoconus and granular dystrophy
Concurrent bilateral keratoconus and granular dystrophy is reported in a 32 year old patient with decreased vision. Initially contact lenses were attempted unsuccessfully to treat the conditions. There are a handful of other reports of these combined pathologies in the literature, and the likelihood of a chance cause or possible genetic linkage between the conditions is discussed
Abrupt appearance of the domain pattern and fatigue of thin ferroelectric films
We study the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films with a `passive'
layer (material with damaged ferroelectric properties) at the interface between
the film and electrodes within a continuous medium approximation. An abrupt
transition from a monodomain to a polydomain state has been found with the
increase of the `passive' layer thickness . The domain width changes very
quickly at the transition (exponentially with ). We have estimated the
dielectric response (the slope of the hysteresis loop) in the
`fatigued' multidomain state and found that it is in agreement with experiment,
assuming realistic parameters of the layer. We derive a simple universal
relation for the dielectric response, which scales as , involving only the
properties of the passive layer. This relation qualitatively reproduces the
evolution of the hysteresis loop in fatigued samples and it could be tested
with controlled experiments. It is expected that the coercive field should
increase with decreasing lateral size of the film. We believe that specific
properties of the domain structure under bias voltage in ferroelectrics with a
passive layer can resolve the long-standing `paradox of the coercive field'.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX 3.1 with two eps-figures. Minor amendments. To appear
in Phys. Rev. Letter
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