Gaseous 3^3He Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Probe for Cryogenic Environments

Normal nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes cannot be used to make high frequency resolution measurements in a cryogenic environment because they lose their frequency resolution when the liquid sample in the probe freezes. A gaseous $^3$He NMR probe, designed and constructed to work naturally in such cryogenic environments, is demonstrated at 4.2 K and 5.3 Tesla to have a frequency resolution better than 0.4 part per billion. As a demonstration of its usefulness, the cryogenic probe is used to shim a superconducting solenoid with a cryogenic interior to produce a magnetic field with a high spatial homogeneity, and to measure the magnetic field stability.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure

Towards an Improved Test of the Standard Model's Most Precise Prediction

The electron and positron magnetic moments are the most precise prediction of the standard model of particle physics. The most accurate measurement of a property of an elementary particle has been made to test this result. A new experimental method is now being employed in an attempt to improve the measurement accuracy by an order of magnitude. Positrons from a "student source" now suffice for the experiment. Progress toward a new measurement is summarized

Frequency-tunable metamaterials using broadside-coupled split ring resonators

We present frequency tunable metamaterial designs at terahertz (THz) frequencies using broadside-coupled split ring resonator (BC-SRR) arrays. Frequency tuning, arising from changes in near field coupling, is obtained by in-plane horizontal or vertical displacements of the two SRR layers. For electrical excitation, the resonance frequency continuously redshifts as a function of displacement. The maximum frequency shift occurs for displacement of half a unit cell, with vertical displacement resulting in a shift of 663 GHz (51% of f0) and horizontal displacement yielding a shift of 270 GHz (20% of f0). We also discuss the significant differences in tuning that arise for electrical excitation in comparison to magnetic excitation of BC-SRRs

An energetic blast wave from the December 27 giant flare of the soft gamma-ray repeater 1806-20

Recent follow-up observations of the December 27 giant flare of SGR 1806-20 have detected a multiple-frequency radio afterglow from 240 MHz to 8.46 GHz, extending in time from a week to about a month after the flare. The angular size of the source was also measured for the first time. Here we show that this radio afterglow gives the first piece of clear evidence that an energetic blast wave sweeps up its surrounding medium and produces a synchrotron afterglow, the same mechanism as established for gamma-ray burst afterglows. The optical afterglow is expected to be intrinsically as bright as $m_R\simeq13$ at t\la 0.1 days after the flare, but very heavy extinction makes the detection difficult because of the low galactic latitude of the source. Rapid infrared follow-up observations to giant flares are therefore crucial for the low-latitude SGRs, while for high-latitude SGRs (e.g. SGR 0526-66), rapid follow-ups should result in identification of their possible optical afterglows. Rapid multi-wavelength follow-ups will also provide more detailed information of the early evolution of a fireball as well as its composition.Comment: Updated version, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

GALS for Bursty Data Transfer based on Clock Coupling

In this paper we introduce a novel burst-mode GALS technique. The goal of this technique is improving the performance of the GALS approach for systems with predominantly bursty data transfer. This new technique has been used to implement a GALS-based version of a hardware accelerator of a 60 GHz OFDM baseband processor. The simulation results show a significant performance improvement in comparison with a classical implementation of GALS using pausible clocking. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

GALS for Bursty Data Transfer based on Clock Coupling

In this paper we introduce a novel burst-mode GALS technique. The goal of this technique is improving the performance of the GALS approach for systems with predominantly bursty data transfer. This new technique has been used to implement a GALS-based version of a hardware accelerator of a 60 GHz OFDM baseband processor. The simulation results show a significant performance improvement in comparison with a classical implementation of GALS using pausible clocking. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

k-Component q-deformed charge coherent states and their nonclassical properties

k-Component q-deformed charge coherent states are constructed, their (over)completeness proved and their generation explored. The q-deformed charge coherent states and the even (odd) q-deformed charge coherent states are the two special cases of them as k becomes 1 and 2, respectively. A D-algebra realization of the SU$_q$(1,1) generators is given in terms of them. Their nonclassical properties are studied and it is shown that for $k\geq3$, they exhibit two-mode q-antibunching, but neither SU$_q$(1,1) squeezing, nor one- or two-mode q-squeezing.Comment: LaTeX, 29 pages, 2 Postscript figures, minor change

A network-based structure-preserving dynamical model for the study of cascading failures in power grids

In this work we show that simple classic models of power grids, albeit frequently utilized in many applications, may not be reliable for investigating cascading failures problems. For this purpose, we develop a novel model, based on a structure-preserving approach, to obtain a network-based description of a power grid, where nodes correspond to generators and buses, while the links correspond to the physical lines connecting them. In addition, we also consider classic voltage and frequency protection mechanisms for lines and buses. Considering the Italian power grid as a case study of interest, we then investigate the propagation of an initial failure of any line of the power system, and compare the predicted impact of the failure according to different assumptions in the model such as the presence or absence of protection mechanisms and a simplified description of the system dynamics. In particular, it can be observed that more realistic models are crucial to determine the size of the cascading failure, as well as the sequence of links that may be involved in the cascade