544 research outputs found
Imaging Molecules from Within: Ultra-fast, {\AA}ngstr\"om Scale Structure Determination of Molecules via Photoelectron Holography using Free Electron Lasers
A new scheme based on (i) upcoming brilliant X-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL)
sources, (ii) novel energy and angular dispersive, large-area electron imagers
and (iii) the well-known photoelectron holography is elaborated that provides
time-dependent three-dimensional structure determination of small to medium
sized molecules with {\AA}ngstr\"om spatial and femtosecond time resolution.
Inducing molecular dynamics, wave-packet motion, dissociation, passage through
conical intersections or isomerization by a pump pulse this motion is
visualized by the X-ray FEL probe pulse launching keV photoelectrons within few
femtoseconds from specific and well-defined sites, deep core levels of
individual atoms, inside the molecule. On their way out the photoelectrons are
diffracted generating a hologram on the detector that encodes the molecular
structure at the instant of photoionization, thus providing 'femtosecond
snapshot images of the molecule from within'. Detailed calculations in various
approximations of increasing sophistication are presented and three-dimensional
retrieval of the spatial structure of the molecule with {\AA}ngstr\"om spatial
resolution is demonstrated. Due to the large photo-absorption cross sections
the method extends X-ray diffraction based, time-dependent structure
investigations envisioned at FELs to new classes of samples that are not
accessible by any other method. Among them are dilute samples in the gas phase
such as aligned, oriented or conformer selected molecules, ultra-cold ensembles
and/or molecular or cluster objects containing mainly light atoms that do not
scatter X-rays efficiently.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure
Long-term operation of a multi-channel cosmic muon system based on scintillation counters with MRS APD light readout
A Cosmic Ray Test Facility (CRTF) is the first large-scale implementation of
a scintillation triggering system based on a new scintillation technique known
as START. In START, the scintillation light is collected and transported by WLS
optical fibers, while light detection is performed by pairs of avalanche
photodiodes with the Metal-Resistor-Semiconductor structure operated in the
Geiger mode (MRS APD). START delivers 100% efficiency of cosmic muon detection,
while its intrinsic noise level is less than 10^{-2} Hz. CRTF, consisting of
160 START channels, has been continuously operated by the ALICE TOF
collaboration for more than 25 000 hours, and has demonstrated a high level of
stability. Fewer than 10% of MRS APDs had to be replaced during this period.Comment: Proceedings of NDIP-2008. 8 pages, 8 figures, 6 reference
Thresholded Covering Algorithms for Robust and Max-Min Optimization
The general problem of robust optimization is this: one of several possible
scenarios will appear tomorrow, but things are more expensive tomorrow than
they are today. What should you anticipatorily buy today, so that the
worst-case cost (summed over both days) is minimized? Feige et al. and
Khandekar et al. considered the k-robust model where the possible outcomes
tomorrow are given by all demand-subsets of size k, and gave algorithms for the
set cover problem, and the Steiner tree and facility location problems in this
model, respectively.
In this paper, we give the following simple and intuitive template for
k-robust problems: "having built some anticipatory solution, if there exists a
single demand whose augmentation cost is larger than some threshold, augment
the anticipatory solution to cover this demand as well, and repeat". In this
paper we show that this template gives us improved approximation algorithms for
k-robust Steiner tree and set cover, and the first approximation algorithms for
k-robust Steiner forest, minimum-cut and multicut. All our approximation ratios
(except for multicut) are almost best possible.
As a by-product of our techniques, we also get algorithms for max-min
problems of the form: "given a covering problem instance, which k of the
elements are costliest to cover?".Comment: 24 page
Scintillation counter with MRS APD light readout
START, a high-efficiency and low-noise scintillation detector for ionizing
particles, was developed for the purpose of creating a high-granular system for
triggering cosmic muons. Scintillation light in START is detected by MRS APDs
(Avalanche Photo-Diodes with Metal-Resistance-Semiconductor structure),
operated in the Geiger mode, which have 1 mm^2 sensitive areas. START is
assembled from a 15 x 15 x 1 cm^3 scintillating plastic plate, two MRS APDs and
two pieces of wavelength-shifting optical fiber stacked in circular coils
inside the plastic. The front-end electronic card is mounted directly on the
detector. Tests with START have confirmed its operational consistency, over 99%
efficiency of MIP registration and good homogeneity. START demonstrates a low
intrinsic noise of about 10^{-2} Hz. If these detectors are to be
mass-produced, the cost of a mosaic array of STARTs is estimated at a moderate
level of 2-3 kUSD/m^2.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
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