Ultrafast Deflection of Spatial Solitons in AlGaAs Slab Waveguides

We demonstrate ultrafast all-optical deflection of spatial solitons in an AlGaAs slab waveguide using 190 fs, 1550 nm pulses which are used to generate and deflect the spatial soliton. The steering beam is focused onto the top of the waveguide near the soliton pathway and the soliton is steered due to refractive index changes induced by optical Kerr, or free carrier (Drude) effects. Angular deflections up to 8 mR are observed.Comment: accept. for publ. in Optics Letter

A Measurement of the Interference Structure Function, R_LT, for the 12C(e,e'p) reaction in the Quasielastic Region

The coincidence cross-section and the interference structure function, R_LT, were measured for the 12C(e,e'p) 11B reaction at quasielastic kinematics and central momentum transfer of q=400 MeV/c. The measurement was at an opening angle of theta_pq=11 degrees, covering a range in missing energy of E_m = 0 to 65 MeV. The R_LT structure function is found to be consistent with zero for E_m > 50 MeV, confirming an earlier study which indicated that R_L vanishes in this region. The integrated strengths of the p- and s-shell are compared with a Distorted Wave Impulse Approximation calculation. The s-shell strength and shape are compared with a Hartree Fock-Random Phase Approximation calculation. The DWIA calculation overestimates the cross sections for p- and s-shell proton knockout as expected, but surprisingly agrees with the extracted R_LT value for both shells. The HF-RPA calculation describes the data more consistently, which may be due to the inclusion of 2-body currents in this calculation.Comment: 8 Pages LaTex, 5 postscript figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry:Workshop Summary

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049