13,000 research outputs found
On-sky observations with an achromatic hybrid phase knife coronagraph in the visible
CONTEXT: The four-quadrant phase mask stellar coronagraph, introduced by D.
Rouan et al., is capable of achieving very high dynamical range imaging and was
studied in the context of the direct detection of extra-solar planets.
Achromatic four-quadrant phase mask is currently being developed for broadband
IR applications. AIMS: We report on laboratory and on-sky tests of a prototype
coronagraph in the visible. This prototype, the achromatic hybrid phase knife
coronagraph, was derived from the four-quadrant phase mask principle. METHODS:
The instrumental setup implementing the coronagraph itself was designed to
record the pre- and post-coronagraphic images simultaneously so that an
efficient real-time image selection procedure can be performed. We describe the
coronagraph and the associated tools that enable robust and repeatable
observations. We present an algorithm of image selection that has been tested
against the real on-sky data of the binary star HD80081 (* 38 Lyn). RESULTS
Although the observing conditions were poor, the efficiency of the proposed
method is proven. From this experiment, we derive procedures that can apply to
future focal instruments associating adaptive optics and coronagraphy,
targeting high dynamic range imaging in astronomy, such as detecting
extra-solar planets
Surface wave generation and propagation on metallic subwavelength structures measured by far-field interferometry
Transmission spectra of metallic films or membranes perforated by arrays of
subwavelength slits or holes have been widely interpreted as resonance
absorption by surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Alternative interpretations
involving evanescent waves diffracted on the surface have also been proposed.
These two approaches lead to divergent predictions for some surface wave
properties. Using far-field interferometry, we have carried out a series of
measurements on elementary one-dimensional (1-D) subwavelength structures with
the aim of testing key properties of the surface waves and comparing them to
predictions of these two points of view
Deformation of grain boundaries in polar ice
The ice microstructure (grain boundaries) is a key feature used to study ice
evolution and to investigate past climatic changes. We studied a deep ice core,
in Dome Concordia, Antarctica, which records past mechanical deformations. We
measured a "texture tensor" which characterizes the pattern geometry and
reveals local heterogeneities of deformation along the core. These results
question key assumptions of the current models used for dating
Production of a high-density state-selected metastable neon beam
We have developed a high-density source of metastable neon and have selectively quenched both metastable species using a standing-wave dye laser. The source is compact, stable, and produces an average intensity of 3.6 x 1014 sr -1 s -1 and a density on target of 7.7 x 106 cm-3
Secondary schooling and rural youth transitions in Lesotho and Zimbabwe
Based on case studies centred on two rural secondary schools in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, this paper examines the gendered impacts of schooling on young people’s transitions to adulthood. School attendance is shown, first, to disrupt the conventional pathways to adulthood: young people attending school may leave home sooner than they otherwise would, and take responsibility for their day-to-day survival, while marriage and childbearing are often delayed. More significantly, secondary schooling reflects, and contributes to, a growing sense that adulthood itself is not fixed. An alternative version of adulthood is promoted through schools in which formal sector employment is central. Yet while young people are encouraged to opt for, and work towards, this goal, only a minority are able to obtain paid employment. The apparent possibility of determining one’s own lifecourse serves to cast the majority of young people as failures in their transitions to adulthood
Un-reduction
This paper provides a full geometric development of a new technique called
un-reduction, for dealing with dynamics and optimal control problems posed on
spaces that are unwieldy for numerical implementation. The technique, which was
originally concieved for an application to image dynamics, uses Lagrangian
reduction by symmetry in reverse. A deeper understanding of un-reduction leads
to new developments in image matching which serve to illustrate the
mathematical power of the technique.Comment: 25 pages, revised versio
Color Evaporation and Elastic Photoproduction at DESY HERA
The diffractive photoproduction of vector mesons is usually described
considering the two-gluon (Pomeron) exchange, non-diagonal parton distributions
and the contribution of the real part to the cross section. In this letter we
analyze the diffractive photoproduction of the at HERA using an
alternative model, the Color Evaporation Model (CEM), where the cross section
is simply determined by the boson-gluon cross section and an assumption for the
production of the colorless state. We verify that, similarly to the
case, the HERA data for this process can be well described by the CEM.
Moreover, we propose the analyzes of the ratio to discriminate between the distinct approaches.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PRD (Brief Reports
A propòsit de les suposades pintures i gravats prehistòrics de la cova d'en Dayna (Romanyà de la Selva. Baix Empordà )
Spin- and angle-resolved photoemission studies of the electronic structure of Si(110)"16x2" surfaces
The electronic structure of Si(110)"16 x 2" double-domain, single-domain and
1 x 1 surfaces have been investigated using spin- and angle-resolved
photoemission at sample temperatures of 77 K and 300 K. Angle-resolved
photoemission was conducted using horizontally- and vertically-polarised 60 eV
and 80 eV photons. Band-dispersion maps revealed four surface states ( to
) which were assigned to silicon dangling bonds on the basis of measured
binding energies and photoemission intensity changes between horizontal and
vertical light polarisations. Three surface states (, and ),
observed in the Si(110)"16 x 2" reconstruction, were assigned to Si adatoms and
Si atoms present at the edges of the corrugated terrace structure. Only one of
the four surface states, , was observed in both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1
x 1 band maps and consequently attributed to the pervasive Si zigzag chains
that are components of both the Si(110)"16 x 2" and 1 x 1 surfaces. A state in
the bulk-band region was attributed to an in-plane bond. All data were
consistent with the adatom-buckling model of the Si(110)"16 x 2" surface.
Whilst room temperature measurements of and were statistically
compatible with zero, measurements of the enantiomorphic A-type and
B-type Si(110)"16 x 2" surfaces gave small average polarisations of around
1.5\% that were opposite in sign. Further measurements at 77 K on A-type
Si(110)"16 x 2" surface gave a smaller value of +0.3\%. An upper limit of
may thus be taken for the longitudinal polarisation.Comment: Main paper: 12 pages and 11 figures. Supplemental information: 5
pages and 2 figure
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