GONG p-mode parameters through two solar cycles

We investigate the parameters of global solar p-mode oscillations, namely damping width $\Gamma$, amplitude $A$, mean squared velocity $\langle v^2\rangle$, energy $E$, and energy supply rate $\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d} t$, derived from two solar cycles' worth (1996 - 2018) of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) time series for harmonic degrees $l=0 - 150$. We correct for the effect of fill factor, apparent solar radius, and spurious jumps in the mode amplitudes. We find that the amplitude of the activity related changes of $\Gamma$ and $A$ depends on both frequency and harmonic degree of the modes, with the largest variations of $\Gamma$ for modes with $2400\,\mu\text{Hz}\le \nu \le 3300\,\mu\text{Hz}$ and $31\le l \le 60$ with a min-to-max variation of $26.6\pm0.3\%$ and of $A$ for modes with $2400\,\mu\text{Hz}\le\nu\le 3300\,\mu\text{Hz}$ and $61\le l \le 100$ with a min-to-max variation of $27.4\pm0.4\%$. The level of correlation between the solar radio flux $F_{10.7}$ and mode parameters also depends on mode frequency and harmonic degree. As a function of mode frequency, the mode amplitudes are found to follow an asymmetric Voigt profile with $\nu_{\text{max}}=3073.59\pm0.18\,\mu\text{Hz}$. From the mode parameters, we calculate physical mode quantities and average them over specific mode frequency ranges. This way, we find that the mean squared velocities $\langle v^2\rangle$ and energies $E$ of p modes are anti-correlated with the level of activity, varying by $14.7\pm0.3\%$ and $18.4\pm0.3\%$, respectively, and that the mode energy supply rates show no significant correlation with activity. With this study we expand previously published results on the temporal variation of solar p-mode parameters. Our results will be helpful to future studies of the excitation and damping of p modes, i.e., the interplay between convection, magnetic field, and resonant acoustic oscillations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics. 33 pages, 16 figures, 5 table

Adaptive Sensor Data Acquisition for Gait Analysis

AbstractIn this paper a method is presented that uses one sensor configuration for both static and dynamic loading conditions to capture plantar pressure distribution values. In the gait analysis, different phases are from interest. The phases produces highly different signals and with conventional sensors and static data acquisition systems it is often difficult to achieve high precision measure- ments. An advanced programmable amplifier can be used to adapt the full resolution of the measurement system dynamically to the needs of the gait analyses. With the proposed system, it is possible to precisely measure the gait phases without changing any hardware. While the system is performing it is energy efficient as it only consumes power if needed. Furthermore, it is highly integrated and space saving. Thus, ideally suited for mobile outdoor applications. The technology used in this example can be applied to many different general sensor measurement questions in sports engineering

HELAS Local Helioseismology Activities

The main goals of the HELAS local helioseismology network activity are to consolidate this field of research in Europe, to organise scientific workshops, and to facilitate the distribution of observations and data analysis software. Most of this is currently accomplished via a dedicated website at http://www.mps.mpg.de/projects/seismo/NA4/ . In this paper we list the outreach material, observational data, analysis tools and modelling tools currently available from the website and describe the focus of the scientific workshops and their proceedings.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

A Comparison of Stripe Modulations in La1.875_{1.875}Ba0.125_{0.125}CuO4_4 and La1.48_{1.48}Nd0.4_{0.4}Sr0.12_{0.12}CuO4_4

We report combined soft and hard x-ray scattering studies of the electronic and lattice modulations associated with stripe order in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$ and La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$. We find that the amplitude of both the electronic modulation of the hole density and the strain modulation of the lattice is significantly larger in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$ than in La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$ and is also better correlated. The in-plane correlation lengths are isotropic in each case; for La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$, $\xi^{hole}=255\pm 5$ \AA\ whereas for La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$F, $\xi^{hole}=111\pm 7$ \AA. We find that the modulations are temperature independent in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$ in the low temperature tetragonal phase. In contrast, in La$_{1.48}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{0.12}$CuO$_4$, the amplitude grows smoothly from zero, beginning 13 K below the LTT phase transition. We speculate that the reduced average tilt angle in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$ results in reduced charge localization and incoherent pinning, leading to the longer correlation length and enhanced periodic modulation amplitude.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Entanglement correlations, Bell inequalities, and the concurrence

Probabilities of measurement outcomes of two-particle entangled states give a physically transparent interpretation of the concurrence and of the I-concurrence as entanglement measures. The (I)-concurrence can thus be measured experimentally. The tight connection between these measures and Bell inequalities is highlighted.Comment: Updated version of quant-ph/0110139, with extension to mixed states. To appear in Phys. Lett.

Squeezed light from a silicon micromechanical resonator

Monitoring a mechanical object’s motion, even with the gentle touch of light, fundamentally alters its dynamics. The experimental manifestation of this basic principle of quantum mechanics, its link to the quantum nature of light and the extension of quantum measurement to the macroscopic realm have all received extensive attention over the past half-century. The use of squeezed light, with quantum fluctuations below that of the vacuum field, was proposed nearly three decades ago as a means of reducing the optical read-out noise in precision force measurements. Conversely, it has also been proposed that a continuous measurement of a mirror’s position with light may itself give rise to squeezed light. Such squeezed-light generation has recently been demonstrated in a system of ultracold gas-phase atoms whose centre-of-mass motion is analogous to the motion of a mirror. Here we describe the continuous position measurement of a solid-state, optomechanical system fabricated from a silicon microchip and comprising a micromechanical resonator coupled to a nanophotonic cavity. Laser light sent into the cavity is used to measure the fluctuations in the position of the mechanical resonator at a measurement rate comparable to its resonance frequency and greater than its thermal decoherence rate. Despite the mechanical resonator’s highly excited thermal state (10^4 phonons), we observe, through homodyne detection, squeezing of the reflected light’s fluctuation spectrum at a level 4.5 ± 0.2 percent below that of vacuum noise over a bandwidth of a few megahertz around the mechanical resonance frequency of 28megahertz. With further device improvements, on-chip squeezing at significant levels should be possible, making such integrated microscale devices well suited for precision metrology applications

Characterization of the Positivity of the Density Matrix in Terms of the Coherence Vector Representation

A parameterization of the density operator, a coherence vector representation, which uses a basis of orthogonal, traceless, Hermitian matrices is discussed. Using this parameterization we find the region of permissible vectors which represent a density operator. The inequalities which specify the region are shown to involve the Casimir invariants of the group. In particular cases, this allows the determination of degeneracies in the spectrum of the operator. The identification of the Casimir invariants also provides a method of constructing quantities which are invariant under {\it local} unitary operations. Several examples are given which illustrate the constraints provided by the positivity requirements and the utility of the coherence vector parameterization.Comment: significantly rewritten and submitted for publicatio

Stakes are High: Essays on Brazil and the Future of the Global Internet

This workbook seeks to provide some background to the Global Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance (NETmundial) scheduled for April 23rd and 24th 2014 in São Paulo, Brazil. It is designed to help outline the internet policy issues that are at stake and will be discussed at NETmundial, as well as background on internet policy in Brazil. The workbook includes essays on the history of the NETmundial meeting and the Marco Civil process in Brazil; some background on the environment in Germany—with particular attention to the link between the meeting and the Snowden case; questions of legitimacy surrounding open processes for lawmaking; and comments on the material presented to the organizing committee by official and unofficial commenters. This workbook was produced as a part of the Internet Policy Observatory, a program at the Center for Global Communication Studies, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. It was edited and curated by a steering committee including Ellery Roberts Biddle of Global Voices, Ronaldo Lemos of the Rio Institute for Technology and Society, and Monroe Price of the Annenberg School for Communication. They were assisted by Alexandra Esenler, Laura Schwartz-Henderson, and Briar Smith

Near collapse of the meridional SST gradient in the eastern equatorial Pacific during Heinrich Stadial 1

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 28 (2013): 663–674, doi:10.1002/2013PA002499.Sea surface temperatures (SST) and inorganic continental input over the last 25,000 years (25 ka) are reconstructed in the far eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) based on three cores stretching from the equatorial front (~0.01°N, ME0005-24JC) into the cold tongue region (~3.6°S; TR163-31P and V19-30). We revisit previously published alkenone-derived SST records for these sites and present a revised chronology for V19-30. Inorganic continental input is quantified at all three sites based on 230Th-normalized fluxes of the long-lived continental isotope thorium-232 and interpreted to be largely dust. Our data show a very weak meridional (cross-equatorial) SST gradient during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, 18–15 ka B.P.) and high dust input along with peak export production at and north of the equator. These findings are corroborated by an Earth system model experiment for HS1 that simulates intensified northeasterly trade winds in the EEP, stronger equatorial upwelling, and surface cooling. Furthermore, the related southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during HS1 is also indicative of drier conditions in the typical source regions for dust.This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada and the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA. A. Timmermann and T. Friedrich were supported by NSF grant 1010869.2014-05-2