Dynamics of Primordial Hydrogen Recombination with Allowance for a Recoil for Scattering in the Ly-alpha Line

It is shown that taking into account a recoil for radiation scattering in the Ly-alpha line can lead to a noticable acceleration of primordial hydrogen recombination. Thus for LambdaCDM model a decrease of ionization degree exceeds 1% for redshifts z in a range 800 - 1050 achieving approximately 1.3% at z=900. Corresponding corrections to the cosmic microwave background power spectra can achieve 1.1% for TT spectra and 1.7% for EE ones. Radiative transfer in these calculations was treated in a quasistationary approximation. Numerical solutions are also obtained in diffusion approximation for a nonstationary problem of Ly-alpha line radiative transfer under partial frequency redistribution with a recoil. An evolution of a local line profile is traced to as well as an evolution of a relative number of uncompensated transitions from 2p state down to 1s one. It is shown that taking into account nonstationarity of Ly-alpha line radiative transfer can lead to an additional acceleration of primordial hydrogen recombination.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter

Optical Absorption and Raman Spectroscopy Study of the Fluorinated Double-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Double-wall carbon nanotube (DWNT) samples have been fluorinated at room temperature with varied concentration of a fluorinating agent BrF3. Content of the products estimated from X-ray photoelectron data was equal to CF0.20 and CF0.29 in the case of deficit and excess of BrF3. Raman spectroscopy showed considerable decrease of carbon nanotube amount in the fluorinated samples. Analysis of optical absorption spectra measured for pristine and fluorinated DWNT samples revealed a selectivity of carbon nanotube fluorination. Nanotubes with large chiral angle are more inert to the fluorinating agent used

Two-Photon 2s<->1s Transitions during Recombination of Hydrogen in the Universe

Based on the standard cosmological model, we calculate the correction to the rate of two-photon 2s1s transitions in the hydrogen atom under primordial hydrogen plasma recombination conditions that arises when the induced transitions under equilibrium background radiation with a blackbody spectrum and plasma recombination radiation are taken into account.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Elastic Spin Relaxation Processes in Semiconductor Quantum Dots

Electron spin decoherence caused by elastic spin-phonon processes is investigated comprehensively in a zero-dimensional environment. Specifically, a theoretical treatment is developed for the processes associated with the fluctuations in the phonon potential as well as in the electron procession frequency through the spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions in the semiconductor quantum dots. The analysis identifies the conditions (magnetic field, temperature, etc.) in which the elastic spin-phonon processes can dominate over the inelastic counterparts with the electron spin-flip transitions. Particularly, the calculation results illustrate the potential significance of an elastic decoherence mechanism originating from the intervalley transitions in semiconductor quantum dots with multiple equivalent energy minima (e.g., the X valleys in SiGe). The role of lattice anharmonicity and phonon decay in spin relaxation is also examined along with that of the local effective field fluctuations caused by the stochastic electronic transitions between the orbital states. Numerical estimations are provided for typical GaAs and Si-based quantum dots.Comment: 57 pages, 14 figure

Effects of CMB temperature uncertainties on cosmological parameter estimation

We estimate the effect of the experimental uncertainty in the measurement of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) on the extraction of cosmological parameters from future CMB surveys. We find that even for an ideal experiment limited only by cosmic variance up to l = 2500 for both the temperature and polarisation measurements, the projected cosmological parameter errors are remarkably robust against the uncertainty of 1 mK in the FIRAS instrument's CMB temperature monopole measurement. The maximum degradation in sensitivity is 20%, for the baryon density estimate, relative to the case in which the monopole is known infinitely well. While this degradation is acceptable, we note that reducing the uncertainty in the current temperature measurement by a factor of five will bring it down to the per cent level. We also estimate the effect of the uncertainty in the dipole temperature measurement. Assuming the overall calibration of the data to be dominated by the dipole error of 0.2% from FIRAS, the sensitivity degradation is insignificant and does not exceed 10% in any parameter direction.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, uses iopart.cls, v2: added discussion of CMB dipole uncertainty, version accepted by JCA

Atmospheric Gravity Perturbations Measured by Ground-Based Interferometer with Suspended Mirrors

A possibility of geophysical measurements using the large scale laser interferometrical gravitational wave antenna is discussed. An interferometer with suspended mirrors can be used as a gradiometer measuring variations of an angle between gravity force vectors acting on the spatially separated suspensions. We analyze restrictions imposed by the atmospheric noises on feasibility of such measurements. Two models of the atmosphere are invoked: a quiet atmosphere with a hydrostatic coupling of pressure and density and a dynamic model of moving region of the density anomaly (cyclone). Both models lead to similar conclusions up to numerical factors. Besides the hydrostatic approximation, we use a model of turbulent atmosphere with the pressure fluctuation spectrum f^{-7/3} to explore the Newtonian noise in a higher frequency domain (up to 10 Hz) predicting the gravitational noise background for modern gravitational wave detectors. Our estimates show that this could pose a serious problem for realization of such projects. Finally, angular fluctuations of spatially separated pendula are investigated via computer simulation for some realistic atmospheric data giving the level estimate 10^{-11} rad/sqrt(Hz) at frequency 10^{-4} Hz. This looks promising for the possibility of the measurement of weak gravity effects such as Earth inner core oscillations.Comment: 13 pages, 4 pigures, LaTeX. To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit

SiPM-based azimuthal position sensor in ANITA-IV Hi-Cal Antarctic balloon experiment

Hi-Cal (High-Altitude Calibration) is a balloon-borne experiment that will be launched in December, 2016 in Antarctica following ANITA-IV (Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna) and will generate a broad-band pulse over the frequency range expected from radiation induced by a cosmic ray shower. Here, we describe a device based on an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for determination of the azimuthal position of Hi-Cal. The angular resolution of the device is about 3 degrees. Since at the float altitude of ~38 km the pressure will be ~0.5 mbar and temperature ~ − 20 °C, the equipment has been tested in a chamber over a range of corresponding pressures (0.5 ÷ 1000) mbar and temperatures (−40 ÷ +50) °C

Реакция предварительно нагруженной оболочки вращения с жесткой носовой частью аппарата на ударную волну в жидкости

The article investigates the problem of hydro-elastic interaction of a weak shock wave with a rigid nosed rotation shell preloaded with axial forces. The shell is enclosed in a rigid parabolic screen, i.e. the impact of the end face and the shock wave diffraction are not considered. Liquid is regarded to be perfectly compressible. Its applied summing hydrodynamic pressure during complex interaction with the shell surface can be classified into the incident, reflected and radiated waves. The problem of hydro-elastic interaction of these shock fronts with a preloaded parabolic rigid nosed shell in a related setting is reduced to the solution of the wave equations of nonlinear system of equations for shell motion under particular initial and boundary conditions, in which the dimensionless displacement of this nose section under the impact of hydrodynamic forces is determined by integrating its motion equation. The equations, describing the dependences of nose section displacements on shock wave interaction time, take into account generalized hydrodynamic forces, including the second category directly related to the mass of the attached fluid. Determination of stress-strain state in case of interaction with the shock wave in the liquid of elastic rotation paraboloid in the form of the shell containing a rigid insertion in the nose section is reduced to the solution of a nonlinear equations system of shell motion considering the boundary conditions along fastenings at the end face of the shell and interface conditions of the shell and insertion. Dimensionless displacements of the nose section caused by hydrodynamic forces are defined by integrating the equations of motion under the initial conditions along insertion offsets in the axial directions.В статье исследуется задача гидроупругого взаимодействия слабой ударной волны с предварительно нагруженной осевыми усилиями оболочкой вращения с жесткой носовой частью. Оболочка заключена в жесткий параболический экран, то есть влияние торца и дифракция ударной волны не учитываются. Идеально сжимаемой считается жидкость, передаваемое полное гидродинамическое давление которой при комплексном взаимодействии с поверхностью оболочки может быть разложено на падающую, отраженную и излученную волны. Задача гидроупругого взаимодействия указанных ударных фронтов с нагруженной параболической оболочкой, имеющей жесткую носовую часть, в связанной постановке сводится к решению волновых уравнений нелинейной системы уравнений движения оболочки при соответствующих начальных и граничных условиях, в которых безразмерное смещение этой носовой части под действием гидродинамических сил определяется интегрированием ее уравнения движения. Уравнения, описывающие зависимости перемещений носовой части от времени взаимодействия с ударной волной, учитывают обобщенные гидродинамические силы, в том числе второй категории, непосредственно связанные с массой присоединенной жидкости. Определение напряженно-деформированного состояния при взаимодействии с ударной волной в жидкости упругого параболоида вращения в виде оболочки, содержащей в носовой части жесткую вставку, сводится к решению системы нелинейных уравнений движения оболочки с учетом граничных условий по закреплениям в торце оболочки и условий сопряжения оболочки и вставки. Безразмерные перемещения носовой части под действием гидродинамических сил определяются интегрированием уравнений движения при начальных условиях по смещениям вставки в осевых направлениях

Geophysical studies with laser-beam detectors of gravitational waves

The existing high technology laser-beam detectors of gravitational waves may find very useful applications in an unexpected area - geophysics. To make possible the detection of weak gravitational waves in the region of high frequencies of astrophysical interest, ~ 30 - 10^3 Hz, control systems of laser interferometers must permanently monitor, record and compensate much larger external interventions that take place in the region of low frequencies of geophysical interest, ~ 10^{-5} - 3 X 10^{-3} Hz. Such phenomena as tidal perturbations of land and gravity, normal mode oscillations of Earth, oscillations of the inner core of Earth, etc. will inevitably affect the performance of the interferometers and, therefore, the information about them will be stored in the data of control systems. We specifically identify the low-frequency information contained in distances between the interferometer mirrors (deformation of Earth) and angles between the mirrors' suspensions (deviations of local gravity vectors and plumb lines). We show that the access to the angular information may require some modest amendments to the optical scheme of the interferometers, and we suggest the ways of doing that. The detailed evaluation of environmental and instrumental noises indicates that they will not prevent, even if only marginally, the detection of interesting geophysical phenomena. Gravitational-wave instruments seem to be capable of reaching, as a by-product of their continuous operation, very ambitious geophysical goals, such as observation of the Earth's inner core oscillations.Comment: 29 pages including 8 figures, modifications and clarifications in response to referees' comments, to be published in Class. Quant. Gra