11,401 research outputs found
Automated Coronal Hole Identification via Multi-Thermal Intensity Segmentation
Coronal holes (CH) are regions of open magnetic fields that appear as dark
areas in the solar corona due to their low density and temperature compared to
the surrounding quiet corona. To date, accurate identification and segmentation
of CHs has been a difficult task due to their comparable intensity to local
quiet Sun regions. Current segmentation methods typically rely on the use of
single EUV passband and magnetogram images to extract CH information. Here, the
Coronal Hole Identification via Multi-thermal Emission Recognition Algorithm
(CHIMERA) is described, which analyses multi-thermal images from the
Atmospheric Image Assembly (AIA) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
to segment coronal hole boundaries by their intensity ratio across three
passbands (171 \AA, 193 \AA, and 211 \AA). The algorithm allows accurate
extraction of CH boundaries and many of their properties, such as area,
position, latitudinal and longitudinal width, and magnetic polarity of
segmented CHs. From these properties, a clear linear relationship was
identified between the duration of geomagnetic storms and coronal hole areas.
CHIMERA can therefore form the basis of more accurate forecasting of the start
and duration of geomagnetic storms
Mechanical effect of van der Waals interactions observed in real time in an ultracold Rydberg gas
We present time-resolved spectroscopic measurements of Rydberg-Rydberg
interactions in an ultracold gas, revealing the pair dynamics induced by
long-range van der Waals interactions between the atoms. By detuning the
excitation laser, a specific pair distribution is prepared. Penning ionization
on a microsecond timescale serves as a probe for the pair dynamics under the
influence of the attractive long-range forces. Comparison with a Monte Carlo
model not only explains all spectroscopic features but also gives quantitative
information about the interaction potentials. The results imply that the
interaction-induced ionization rate can be influenced by the excitation laser.
Surprisingly, interaction-induced ionization is also observed for Rydberg
states with purely repulsive interactions
Many-body theory of excitation dynamics in an ultracold Rydberg gas
We develop a theoretical approach for the dynamics of Rydberg excitations in
ultracold gases, with a realistically large number of atoms. We rely on the
reduction of the single-atom Bloch equations to rate equations, which is
possible under various experimentally relevant conditions. Here, we explicitly
refer to a two-step excitation-scheme. We discuss the conditions under which
our approach is valid by comparing the results with the solution of the exact
quantum master equation for two interacting atoms. Concerning the emergence of
an excitation blockade in a Rydberg gas, our results are in qualitative
agreement with experiment. Possible sources of quantitative discrepancy are
carefully examined. Based on the two-step excitation scheme, we predict the
occurrence of an antiblockade effect and propose possible ways to detect this
excitation enhancement experimentally in an optical lattice as well as in the
gas phase.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Spatiotemporal dynamics of quantum jumps with Rydberg atoms
We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum jumps in a one-dimensional
chain of atoms. Each atom is driven on a strong transition to a short-lived
state and on a weak transition to a metastable state. We choose the metastable
state to be a Rydberg state so that when an atom jumps to the Rydberg state, it
inhibits or enhances jumps in the neighboring atoms. This leads to rich
spatiotemporal dynamics that are visible in the fluorescence of the strong
transition.Comment: 10 page
Collective quantum jumps of Rydberg atoms
We study an open quantum system of atoms with long-range Rydberg interaction,
laser driving, and spontaneous emission. Over time, the system occasionally
jumps between a state of low Rydberg population and a state of high Rydberg
population. The jumps are inherently collective and in fact exist only for a
large number of atoms. We explain how entanglement and quantum measurement
enable the jumps, which are otherwise classically forbidden.Comment: 4 page
Effect of edge transmission and elastic scattering on the resistance of magnetic barriers
Strong magnetic barriers are defined in two-dimensional electron gases by
magnetizing dysprosium ferromagnetic platelets on top of a Ga[Al]As
heterostructure. A small resistance across the barrier is observed even deep
inside the closed regime. We have used semiclassical simulations to explain
this behavior quantitatively in terms of a combined effect of elastic electron
scattering inside the barrier region and E x B drift at the intersection of the
magnetic barrier with the edge of the Hall bar.Comment: 7 pages 4 figure
Strongly correlated gases of Rydberg-dressed atoms: quantum and classical dynamics
We discuss techniques to generate long-range interactions in a gas of
groundstate alkali atoms, by weakly admixing excited Rydberg states with laser
light. This provides a tool to engineer strongly correlated phases with reduced
decoherence from inelastic collisions and spontaneous emission. As an
illustration, we discuss the quantum phases of dressed atoms with dipole-dipole
interactions confined in a harmonic potential, as relevant to experiments. We
show that residual spontaneous emission from the Rydberg state acts as a
heating mechanism, leading to a quantum-classical crossover.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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