Cavity optomechanics with stoichiometric SiN films

We study high-stress SiN films for reaching the quantum regime with mesoscopic oscillators connected to a room-temperature thermal bath, for which there are stringent requirements on the oscillators' quality factors and frequencies. Our SiN films support mechanical modes with unprecedented products of mechanical quality factor $Q_m$ and frequency $\nu_m$ reaching $Q_{m} \nu_m \simeq2 \times 10^{13}$ Hz. The SiN membranes exhibit a low optical absorption characterized by Im$(n) \lesssim 10^{-5}$ at 935 nm, representing a 15 times reduction for SiN membranes. We have developed an apparatus to simultaneously cool the motion of multiple mechanical modes based on a short, high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity and present initial cooling results along with future possibilities.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Self-consistent treatment of the self-energy in nuclear matter

The influence of hole-hole propagation in addition to the conventional particle-particle propagation, on the energy per nucleon and the momentum distribution is investigated. The results are compared to the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) calculations with a continuous choice and conventional choice for the single-particle spectrum. The Bethe-Goldstone equation has been solved using realistic $NN$ interactions. Also, the structure of nucleon self-energy in nuclear matter is evaluated. All the self-energies are calculated self-consistently. Starting from the BHF approximation without the usual angle-average approximation, the effects of hole-hole contributions and a self-consistent treatment within the framework of the Green function approach are investigated. Using the self-consistent self-energy, the hole and particle self-consistent spectral functions including the particle-particle and hole-hole ladder contributions in nuclear matter are calculated using realistic $NN$ interactions. We found that, the difference in binding energy between both results, i.e. BHF and self-consistent Green function, is not large. This explains why is the BHF ignored the 2h1p contribution.Comment: Preprint 20 pages including 15 figures and one tabl

Absolute Measurements for Uranium Verification Content in Radiographic Containers

Depleted Uranium (DU) is used for its very high density in civilian uses include radiation shielding in medical radiation therapy, industrial radiography equipment, containers used to transport radioactive materials. Absolute measurements have been performed for verification of uranium mass content in gamma radiography by using detector’s model developed with MCNP in nuclear safeguard inspection for these samples. Both the experimental results obtained as well as MCNP results are used to estimate the 238U mass content. The determined and the declared 238U masses values are found in an agreement with accuracy from -1.74 % to 1.80 %

Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment Using Different Overlay and Index Methods for Quaternary Aquifer of Wadi El-Tumilat, East Delta, Egypt

Contamination from rapid urban development, industrialization and agricultural sources increasingly threatens the groundwater resource in the shallow phreatic Quaternary Aquifer of the Wadi El-Tumilat (QAWT), East Delta, Egypt. In this paper, fourteen environmental sensitive heavy metals and two minor elements (PO4-- and NO3-) were checked by the chemical analysis of both 25 surface and groundwater samples at 2006. An assessment of the QAWT intrinsic vulnerability was carried out in this paper based on GOD, PRAST and DRASTIC methods. The calculated vulnerability indexes resulted from the three methods showed great differences due to the different criterions used. Moreover, a weight modification was assumed to adequate the arid zone. The obtained QAWT vulnerability maps showed the high extension of medium vulnerability zones. The high vulnerability zones occupied about 35% and 31% from applying PRAST and DRASTIC methods respectively. The high vulnerability in these areas was mainly related to the low values of depth to water (less than 10 m), the high permeability of the soils (9 m/day) and the high permeability of the vadose zone materials (more than 11 m/day). The most suitable areas for new reclamation activity were located in the southern boundary of Wadi El Tumilat especially the strip south El Mahsama drain by 5 km. These resulted maps may provide planners with tools for a preliminary selection of priority areas for different forms of sustainable development

Utilization of Agricultural Waste in Treating Water Pollutants

This study investigated the applicability of chemically (phosphoric acid) activated bagasse pith and date pits in the adsorption of water pollutants. The textural properties including porous parameters, monolayer equivalent surface area, total pore volumes, average pore radius, Methylene blue number and other physic-chemical characterization were investigated. The activated carbons were analyzed for moisture content, ash content. Ultimate analysis was done by using CHNS analyzer (Cairo University, Micro-analytical Center). To investigate the effect of phosphoric acid on the raw material, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermo gravimetric (DTG) recordings were determined. The adsorption of heavy metals as pollutants, including Co, Sr, Cu, Cs, Pb, Cd, Ni, Fe, Zn, was studied in a batch experiments. Comparison of date pits activated carbon with commercial activated carbon was done, and the results indicated that using of prepared activated carbon for removal of Co, Sr, Cu, Cs, Pb, Cd, Ni,  Fe, Zn was  more effective than commercial activated carbon

Scalar FCNC and rare top decays in a two Higgs doublet model "for the top"

In the so called two Higgs doublet model for the top-quark (T2HDM), first suggested by Das and Kao, the top quark receives a special status, which endows it with a naturally large mass, and also potentially gives rise to large flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) only in the up-quark sector. In this paper we calculate the branching ratio (BR) for the rare decays t->ch and h->tc (h is a neutral Higgs) in the T2HDM, at tree level and at 1-loop when it exceeds the tree-level. We compare our results to predictions from other versions of 2HDM's and find that the scalar FCNC in the T2HDM can play a significant role in these decays. In particular, the 1-loop mediated decays can be significantly enhanced in the T2HDM compared to the 2HDM of types I and II, in some instances reaching BR~10^-4 which is within the detectable level at the LHC.Comment: added two references. 15 pages, 14 figure

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy characterization of the pseudogap and the x = 1/8 anomaly in La2-xSrxCuO4 thin films

Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy we examined the local density of states of thin c-axis La2-xSrxCuO4 films, over wide doping and temperature ranges. We found that the pseudogap exists only at doping levels lower than optimal. For x = 0.12, close to the 'anomalous' x = 1/8 doping level, a zero bias conductance peak was the dominant spectral feature, instead of the excepted V- shaped (c-axis tunneling) gap structure. We have established that this surprising effect cannot be explained by tunneling into (110) facets. Possible origins for this unique behavior are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Energy and Momentum densities of cosmological models, with equation of state ρ=μ\rho=\mu, in general relativity and teleparallel gravity

We calculated the energy and momentum densities of stiff fluid solutions, using Einstein, Bergmann-Thomson and Landau-Lifshitz energy-momentum complexes, in both general relativity and teleparallel gravity. In our analysis we get different results comparing the aforementioned complexes with each other when calculated in the same gravitational theory, either this is in general relativity and teleparallel gravity. However, interestingly enough, each complex's value is the same either in general relativity or teleparallel gravity. Our results sustain that (i) general relativity or teleparallel gravity are equivalent theories (ii) different energy-momentum complexes do not provide the same energy and momentum densities neither in general relativity nor in teleparallel gravity. In the context of the theory of teleparallel gravity, the vector and axial-vector parts of the torsion are obtained. We show that the axial-vector torsion vanishes for the space-time under study.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, Minor typos corrected; version to appear in International Journal of Theoretical Physic

Energy and Momentum Distributions of Kantowski and Sachs Space-time

We use the Einstein, Bergmann-Thomson, Landau-Lifshitz and Papapetrou energy-momentum complexes to calculate the energy and momentum distributions of Kantowski and Sachs space-time. We show that the Einstein and Bergmann-Thomson definitions furnish a consistent result for the energy distribution, but the definition of Landau-Lifshitz do not agree with them. We show that a signature switch should affect about everything including energy distribution in the case of Einstein and Papapetrou prescriptions but not in Bergmann-Thomson and Landau-Lifshitz prescriptions.Comment: 12 page

Effect of fiber orientation on shape and stability of air-water interface on submerged superhydrophobic electrospun thin coatings

To better understand the role of fiber orientation on the stability of superhydrophobicelectrospun coatings under hydrostaticpressures, an integro-differential equation is developed from the balance of forces across the air–water interface between the fibers. This equation is solved numerically for a series of superhydrophobicelectrospun coatings comprised of random and orthogonal fiber orientations to obtain the exact 3D shape of the air–water interface as a function of hydrostaticpressure. More important, this information is used to predict the pressure at which the coatings start to transition from the Cassie state to the Wenzel state, i.e., the so-called critical transition pressure. Our results indicate that coatings composed of orthogonal fibers can withstand higher elevated hydrostaticpressures than those made up of randomly orientated fibers. Our results also prove that thin superhydrophobic coatings can better resist the elevated pressures. The modeling methodology presented here can be used to design nanofibrous superhydrophobic coatings for underwater applications