51,414 research outputs found
Plasmonic nanogaps for broadband and large spontaneous emission rate enhancement
We present the optical properties of a plasmonic nanogap formed between a silver metallic nanoparticle and an extended silver film that shows a strong enhancement in the spontaneous emission rate over the whole visible range. In particular, we use three-dimensional finite difference time domain calculations to study the spontaneous emission rate and the quantum efficiency of an emitting material placed within the gap region as a function of the geometrical parameters of the plasmonic nanogap. Our calculations reveal that the enhancements in the total decay rate can be divided into two regions as a function of wavelength; region I spans the wavelength range from 350 nm to 500 nm and peaks at approximately at 400 nm. Region II covers the spectral range between 500 nm and 1000 nm. The enhancements in total decay rate in region I are mainly dominated by Ohmic losses by the metal, while the enhancements in total decay rate in region II are mainly dominated by radiative decay rate enhancements. Furthermore, our calculations show over 100 times enhancement in the spontaneous emission rate in region II. We combine this with quantum efficiency enhancements of almost 30 times from materials with low intrinsic quantum efficiencies and only a small reduction in efficiency from those with high intrinsic quantum efficiencies. All results appear easily achievable using realistic geometrical parameters and simple synthesis techniques. These results are attributed to the strong field confinements in the nanogap region. The structures are of high interest for both the fundamental understanding of light mater interactions under extreme electromagnetic field confinements and also potential applications in quantum optics and Raman spectroscopy
An investigation into grid patching techniques
In the past decade significant advances were made using flow field methods in the calculation of external transonic flows over aerodynamic configurations. It is now possible to calculate inviscid transonic flow over three dimensional configurations by solving the potential equation. However, with the exception of the transonic small disturbance methods which have the advantage of a simple cartesian grid, the configurations over which it is possible to calculate such flows are relatively simple. The major reason for this is the difficulty of producing compatibility between grid generation and flow equation solutions. The main programs in use, use essentially analytic transformations for prescribed configurations and, as such, are not easy to extend. While there is work in progress to extend this type of system to a limited extent, the long term effort is directed towards a more general approach. This approach should not be restricted to producing grid systems in isolation but rather a consideration of the overall problem of flow field solution
UK open source crime data: accuracy and possibilities for research
In the United Kingdom, since 2011 data regarding individual police recorded crimes have been made openly available to the public via the police.uk website. To protect the location privacy of victims these data are obfuscated using geomasking techniques to reduce their spatial accuracy. This paper examines the spatial accuracy of the police.uk data to determine at what level(s) of spatial resolution – if any – it is suitable for analysis in the context of theory testing and falsification, evaluation research, or crime analysis. Police.uk data are compared to police recorded data for one large metropolitan Police Force and spatial accuracy is quantified for four different levels of geography across five crime types. Hypotheses regarding systematic errors are tested using appropriate statistical approaches, including methods of maximum likelihood. Finally, a “best-fit” statistical model is presented to explain the error as well as to develop a model that can correct it. The implications of the findings for researchers using the police.uk data for spatial analysis are discussed
Carbon coating of the SPS dipole chambers
The Electron Multipacting (EM) phenomenon is a limiting factor for the
achievement of high luminosity in accelerators for positively charged particles
and for the performance of RF devices. At CERN, the Super Proton Synchrotron
(SPS) must be upgraded in order to feed the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with 25
ns bunch spaced beams. At such small bunch spacing, EM may limit the
performance of the SPS and consequently that of the LHC. To mitigate this
phenomenon CERN is developing a carbon thin film coating with low Secondary
Electron Yield (SEY) to coat the internal walls of the SPS dipoles beam pipes.
This paper presents the progresses in the coating technology, the performance
of the carbon coatings and the strategy for a large scale production.Comment: 7 pages, contribution to the Joint INFN-CERN-EuCARD-AccNet Workshop
on Electron-Cloud Effects: ECLOUD'12; 5-9 Jun 2012, La Biodola, Isola d'Elba,
Italy; CERN Yellow Report CERN-2013-002, pp.141-14
Force correlations and arches formation in granular assemblies
In the context of a simple microscopic schematic scalar model we study the
effects of spatial correlations in force transmission in granular assemblies.
We show that the parameters of the normalized weights distribution function,
, strongly depend on the spatial extensions,
, of such correlations. We show, then, the connections between
measurable macroscopic quantities and microscopic mechanisms enhancing
correlations. In particular we evaluate how the exponential cut-off,
, and the small forces power law exponent, , depend
on the correlation length, . If correlations go to infinity, weights are
power law distributed.Comment: 6 page
Another determination of the quark condensate from an overlap action
I use the technique of Hernandez, et al (hep-lat/0106011) to convert a recent
calculation of the lattice-regulated quark condensate from an overlap action to
a continuum-regulated number. I find Sigma(MSbar)(mu = 2 GeV) = (282(6)
MeV)-cubed times (a-inverse/1766 MeV)-cubed from a calculation with the Wilson
gauge action at beta=5.9.Comment: 3 pages, Revtex, 1 postscript figure. References added. COLO-HEP-47
Matter-wave dark solitons in a double-well potential
We study stability of the first excited state of quasi-one-dimensional
Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential, which is called
"-state". The density notch in the -state can be regarded as a
standing dark soliton. From the excitation spectrum, we determine the critical
barrier height, above which the -state is dynamically unstable. We find
that the critical barrier height decreases monotonically as the number of
condensate atoms increases. We also simulate the dynamics of the -state by
solving the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. We show that due to the
dynamical instability the dark soliton starts to move away from the trap center
and exhibits a large-amplitude oscillation.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
Mechanism for the failure of the Edwards hypothesis in the SK spin glass
The dynamics of the SK model at T=0 starting from random spin configurations
is considered. The metastable states reached by such dynamics are atypical of
such states as a whole, in that the probability density of site energies,
, is small at . Since virtually all metastable states
have a much larger , this behavior demonstrates a qualitative failure of
the Edwards hypothesis. We look for its origins by modelling the changes in the
site energies during the dynamics as a Markov process. We show how the small
arises from features of the Markov process that have a clear physical
basis in the spin-glass, and hence explain the failure of the Edwards
hypothesis.Comment: 5 pages, new title, modified text, additional reference
The impact of Chinese import penetration on the South African manufacturing sector
This article uses a Chenery-type decomposition and econometric estimation to evaluate the impact of Chinese trade on production and employment in South African manufacturing from 1992 to 2010. The results suggest that increased import penetration from China caused South African manufacturing output to be 5 per cent lower in 2010 than it otherwise would have been. The estimated reduction of total employment in manufacturing as a result of trade with China is larger – in 2010 about 8 per cent – because the declines in output were concentrated on labour-intensive industries and because the increase in imports raised labour productivity within industries
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