90 degree polarization rotator using a bilayered chiral metamaterial with giant optical activity

A bilayered chiral metamaterial (CMM) is proposed to realize a 90 degree polarization rotator, whose giant optical activity is due to the transverse magnetic dipole coupling among the metallic wire pairs of enantiomeric patterns. By transmission through this thin bilayered structure of less than \lambda/30 thick, a linearly polarized wave is converted to its cross polarization with a resonant polarization conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 90%. Meanwhile, the axial ratio of the transmitted wave is better than 40 dB. It is demonstrated that the chirality in the propagation direction makes this efficient cross-polarization conversion possible. The transversely isotropic property of this polarization rotator is also experimentally verified. The optical activity of the present structure is about 2700 degree/\lambda, which is the largest optical activity that can be found in literature.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Two Particle States and the SS-matrix Elements in Multi-channel Scattering

Using a quantum mechanical model, the exact energy eigenstates for two-particle two-channel scattering are studied in a cubic box with periodic boundary conditions in all three directions. A relation between the exact energy eigenvalue in the box and the two-channel $S$-matrix elements in the continuum is obtained. This result can be viewed as a generalization of the well-known L\"uscher's formula which establishes a similar relation in elastic scattering.Comment: 18 pages, no figures. minor changes compared with previous versio

Laminarisation of flow at low Reynolds number due to streamwise body force

It is well established that when a turbulent flow is subjected to a non-uniform body force, the turbulence may be significantly suppressed in comparison with that of the flow of the same flow rate and hence the flow is said to be laminarised. This is the situation in buoyancy-aided mixed convection when severe heat transfer deterioration may occur. Here we report results of direct numerical simulations of flow with a linear or a step-change profile of body force. In contrast to the conventional view, we show that applying a body force to a turbulent flow while keeping the pressure force unchanged causes little changes to the key characteristics of the turbulence. In particular, the mixing characteristics of the turbulence represented by the turbulent viscosity remain largely unaffected. The so-called flow laminarisation due to a body force is in effect a reduction in the apparent Reynolds number of the flow, based on an apparent friction velocity associated with only the pressure force of the flow (i.e. excluding the contribution of the body force). The new understanding allows the level of the flow ‘laminarisation’ and when the full laminarisation occurs to be readily predicted. In terms of the near-wall turbulence structure, the numbers of ejections and sweeps are little influenced by the imposition of the body force, whereas the strength of each event may be enhanced if the coverage of the body force extends significantly away from the wall. The streamwise turbulent stress is usually increased in accordance with the observation of more and stronger elongated streaks, but the wall-normal and the circumferential turbulent stresses are largely unchanged

Picking battles: The impact of trust assumptions on the elaboration of security requirements

This position paper describes work on trust assumptions in the con-text of security requirements. We show how trust assumptions can affect the scope of the analysis, derivation of security requirements, and in some cases how functionality is realized. An example shows how trust assumptions are used by a requirements engineer to help define and limit the scope of analysis and to document the decisions made during the process

A Model for Dark Energy decay

We discuss a model of non perturbative decay of dark energy into hot and cold dark matter. This model provides a mechanism from the field theory to realize the energy transfer from dark energy into dark matter, which is the requirement to alleviate the coincidence problem. The advantage of the model is the fact that we accommodate a mean life compatible with the age of the universe. We also argue that supersymmetry is a natural set up, though not essential.Comment: 5 pages to be published in Physics Letters

Hyper Analysis Toolkit (HAT): A Case Study in Faculty Developed Software

The availability of inexpensive, high-powered personal computing environments i.s revolutionizing the business of higher education. The past “textbook-centric”world of academia is rapidly changing into a new “software-centric’’form. As such, many faculty are now interested in creating educational software but, because the process is unlike that of writing a textbook, have little experience with or understanding of the task

Design constraints and higher temperature intermetallic bond coatings

Bond coat interlayers in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems must perform reliably in the complex thermal, chemical and mechanical environment of the turbine engine. To achieve higher temperatures and /or longer cyclic lives, a spectrum of intrinsic failure modes must be suppressed. Failure may occur at the bond coat – thermally grown oxide (TGO) interface, at the TGO-TBC interface or by oxidation-enhanced propagation of cracks from the coating into the substrate. Models for the failure processes suggest that bond coatings should possess improved high temperature strength (creep resistance), low oxide growth stresses and high interfacial toughnesses. Oxide growth stresses have been measured across a spectrum of bond coat compositions. A new femtosecond laser-based approach to measuring interfacial toughness will be discussed. Finally, the behavior of multilayered intermetallic coatings designed to be thermodynamically compatible with the superalloy substrate under cyclic oxidation conditions will be presented

The Private Higgs

We introduce Higgs democracy in the Yukawa sector by constructing a model with a private Higgs and a dark scalar for each fermion thus addressing the large hierarchy among fermion masses. The model has interesting implications for the LHC, while the Standard Model phenomenology is recovered at low energies. We discuss some phenomenological implications such as FCNC, new Higgses at the TeV scale and dark matter candidates.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Version published in Phys. Lett.