6,354 research outputs found
Transmission-Line Analysis of Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ)-Filled Narrow Channels
Following our recent interest in metamaterial-based devices supporting
resonant tunneling, energy squeezing and supercoupling through narrow waveguide
channels and bends, here we analyze the fundamental physical mechanisms behind
this phenomenon using a transmission-line model. These theoretical findings
extend our theory, allowing us to take fully into account frequency dispersion
and losses and revealing the substantial differences between this unique
tunneling phenomenon and higher-frequency Fabry-Perot resonances. Moreover,
they represent the foundations for other possibilities to realize tunneling
through arbitrary waveguide bends, both in E and H planes of polarization,
waveguide connections and sharp abruptions and to obtain analogous effects with
geometries arguably simpler to realize.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure
Low sidelobe level low-cost earth station antennas for the 12 GHz broadcasting satellite service
An experimental investigation of the performance of 1.22 m and 1.83 m diameter paraboloid antennas with an f/D ratio of 0.38 and using a feed developed by Kumar is reported. It is found that sidelobes below 30 dB can be obtained only if the paraboloids are relatively free of surface errors. A theoretical analysis of clam shell distortion shows that this is a limiting factor in achieving low sidelobe levels with many commercially available low cost paraboloids. The use of absorbing pads and small reflecting plates for sidelobe reduction is also considered
Comparison of Gaussian process modeling software
Gaussian process fitting, or kriging, is often used to create a model from a
set of data. Many available software packages do this, but we show that very
different results can be obtained from different packages even when using the
same data and model. We describe the parameterization, features, and
optimization used by eight different fitting packages that run on four
different platforms. We then compare these eight packages using various data
functions and data sets, revealing that there are stark differences between the
packages. In addition to comparing the prediction accuracy, the predictive
variance--which is important for evaluating precision of predictions and is
often used in stopping criteria--is also evaluated
Coaxial prime focus feeds for paraboloidal reflectors
A TE11 - TM11 dual mode coaxial feed for use in prime focus paraboloidal antenna systems is investigated. The scattering matrix parameters of the internal bifurcation junction was determined by the residue calculus technique. The scattering parameters and radiation fields of the aperture were found from the Weinstein solution. The optimum modeing ratio for minimum cross-polarization was determined along with the corresponding optimum feed dimensions. A peak cross-polarization level of -58 dB is predicted. The frequency characteristics were also investigated and a bandwidth of 5% is predicted over which the cross-polarization remains below -30 dB, the input VSWR is below 1.15, and the phase error is less than 10 deg. Theoretical radiation patterns and efficiency curves for a paraboloidal reflector illuminated by this feed were computed. The predicted sidelobe level is below -30 dB and aperture efficiencies greater than 70% are possible. Experimental results are also presented that substantiates the theoretical results. In addition, experimental results for a 'short-cup' coaxial feed are given. The report includes extensive design data for the dual-mode feed along with performance curves showing cross-polarization as a function of feed parameters. The feed is useful for low-cost ground based receiving antennas for use in direct television satellite broadcasting service
Mesoscopic Quantum Thermo-mechanics: a new frontier of experimental physics
Within the last decade, experimentalists have demonstrated their impressive
ability to control mechanical modes within mesoscopic objects down to the
quantum level: it is now possible to create mechanical Fock states, to entangle
mechanical modes from distinct objects, store quantum information or transfer
it from one quantum bit to another, among the many possibilities found in
today's literature. Indeed mechanics is quantum, very much like spins or
electromagnetic degrees of freedom. And all of this is in particular referred
to as a new engineering resource for quantum technologies. But there is also
much more beyond this utilitarian aspect: invoking the original discussions of
Braginsky and Caves where a quantum oscillator is thought of as a quantum
detector for a classical field, namely a gravitational wave, it is also a
unique sensing capability for quantum fields. The subject of study is then the
baths to which the mechanical mode is coupled to, let them be known or unknown
in nature. This Letter is about this new potentiality, that addresses
stochastic thermodynamics, potentially down to its quantum version, the search
for a fundamental underlying (random) field postulated in recent theories that
can be affiliated to the class of the Wave-function Collapse models, and more
generally open questions of Condensed Matter like the actual nature of the
elusive (and ubiquitous) Two-Level Systems present within all mechanical
objects. But such research turns out to be much more demanding than the usage
of a few quantum mechanical modes: all the known baths have to be identified,
experiments have to be conducted in-equilibrium, and the word "mechanics" needs
to be justified by a real ability to move substantially the centre-of-mass when
a proper drive tone is applied to the system
Project of a superfluid He3 detector for direct detection of non-baryonic dark matter : MACHe3
MACHe3 (MAtrix of Cells of superfluid Helium 3) is a project of non-baryonic
Dark Matter search using superfluid He3 as sensitive medium. Simulations on a
high granularity matrix show very good rejection against background events.
First results on a prototype cell are very encouraging. Neutron detection has
been highlighted as well as cosmic muon detection. A phenomenological study has
been done with the DarkSUSY code to investigate complementarity of MACHe3 with
existing Dark Matter detectors.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Proceedings of the 4th Marseille
International Cosmology Conferenc
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A Dense Reference Network for Mass-Market Centimeter-Accurate Positioning
The quality of atmospheric corrections provided
by a dense reference network for centimeter-accurate carrierphase
differential GNSS (CDGNSS) positioning is investigated.
A dense reference network (less than 20 km inter-station distance)
offers significant benefits for mass-market users, enabling lowcost
(including single-frequency) CDGNSS positioning with rapid
integer ambiguity resolution. Precise positioning on a massmarket
platform would significantly influence the world economy,
ushering in a host of consumer-focused applications such as
globally-registered augmented and virtual reality and improved
all-weather safety and efficiency for intelligent transportation
systems, applications which have so far been hampered by the
several-meter-level errors in standard GNSS positioning. This
contribution examines CDGNSS integer ambiguity resolution
performance in terms of network correction uncertainty, and
network correction uncertainty, in turn, in terms of network
density. It considers the total error in network corrections: a
sum of ionospheric, tropospheric, and reference station multipath
components. The paper’s primary goal is to identify the network
density beyond which mass-market users would see no further
significant improvement in ambiguity resolution performance. It
finishes by describing development and deployment of a low-cost
dense reference network in Austin, Texas.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic
The Gut Microbiome in Neuromyelitis Optica.
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a rare, disabling, sometimes fatal central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating disease that is associated with antibodies ("NMO IgG") that target the water channel protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4) expressed on astrocytes. There is considerable interest in identifying environmental triggers that may elicit production of NMO IgG by AQP4-reactive B cells. Although NMO is considered principally a humoral autoimmune disease, antibodies of NMO IgG are IgG1, a T-cell-dependent immunoglobulin subclass, indicating that AQP4-reactive T cells have a pivotal role in NMO pathogenesis. When AQP4-specific proliferative T cells were first identified in patients with NMO it was discovered that T cells recognizing the dominant AQP4 T-cell epitope exhibited a T helper 17 (Th17) phenotype and displayed cross-reactivity to a homologous peptide sequence within a protein of Clostridium perfringens, a commensal bacterium found in human gut flora. The initial analysis of gut microbiota in NMO demonstrated that, in comparison to healthy controls (HC) and patients with multiple sclerosis, the microbiome of NMO is distinct. Remarkably, C. perfringens was the second most significantly enriched taxon in NMO, and among bacteria identified at the species level, C. perfringens was the one most highly associated with NMO. Those discoveries, along with evidence that certain Clostridia in the gut can regulate the balance between regulatory T cells and Th17 cells, indicate that gut microbiota, and possibly C. perfringens itself, could participate in NMO pathogenesis. Collectively, the evidence linking microbiota to humoral and cellular immunity in NMO underscores the importance for further investigating this relationship
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