3,476 research outputs found
General limit to non-destructive optical detection of atoms
We demonstrate that there is a fundamental limit to the sensitivity of
phase-based detection of atoms with light for a given maximum level of
allowable spontaneous emission. This is a generalisation of previous results
for two-level and three-level atoms. The limit is due to an upper bound on the
phase shift that can be imparted on a laser beam for a given excited state
population. Specifially, we show that no single-pass optical technique using
classical light, based on any number of lasers or coherences between any number
of levels, can exceed the limit imposed by the two-level atom. This puts
significant restrictions on potential non-destructive optical measurement
schemes.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
Applying local cooccurring patterns for object detection from aerial images
Developing a spatial searching tool to enhance the search car pabilities of large spatial repositories for Geographical Information System (GIS) update has attracted more and more attention. Typically, objects to be detected are represented by many local features or local parts. Testing images are processed by extracting local features which are then matched with the object's model image. Most existing work that uses local features assumes that each of the local features is independent to each other. However, in many cases, this is not true. In this paper, a method of applying the local cooccurring patterns to disclose the cooccurring relationships between local features for object detection is presented. Features including colour features and edge-based shape features of the interested object are collected. To reveal the cooccurring patterns among multiple local features, a colour cooccurrence histogram is constructed and used to search objects of interest from target images. The method is demonstrated in detecting swimming pools from aerial images. Our experimental results show the feasibility of using this method for effectively reducing the labour work in finding man-made objects of interest from aerial images. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007
Resonance fluorescence in a band gap material: Direct numerical simulation of non-Markovian evolution
A numerical method of calculating the non-Markovian evolution of a driven
atom radiating into a structured continuum is developed. The formal solution
for the atomic reduced density matrix is written as a Markovian algorithm by
introducing a set of additional, virtual density matrices which follow, to the
level of approximation of the algorithm, all the possible trajectories of the
photons in the electromagnetic field. The technique is perturbative in the
sense that more virtual density matrices are required as the product of the
effective memory time and the effective coupling strength become larger. The
number of density matrices required is given by where is the number
of timesteps per memory time. The technique is applied to the problem of a
driven two-level atom radiating close to a photonic band gap and the
steady-state correlation function of the atom is calculated.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Modelling the hepatitis B vaccination programme in prisons
A vaccination programme offering hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine at reception into prison has been introduced into selected prisons in England and Wales. Over the coming years it is anticipated this vaccination programme will be extended. A model has been developed to assess the potential impact of the programme on the vaccination coverage of prisoners, ex-prisoners, and injecting drug users (IDUs). Under a range of coverage scenarios, the model predicts the change over time in the vaccination status of new entrants to prison, current prisoners and IDUs in the community. The model predicts that at baseline in 2012 57% of the IDU population will be vaccinated with up to 72% being vaccinated depending on the vaccination scenario implemented. These results are sensitive to the size of the IDU population in England and Wales and the average time served by an IDU during each prison visit. IDUs that do not receive HBV vaccine in the community are at increased risk from HBV infection. The HBV vaccination programme in prisons is an effective way of vaccinating this hard-to-reach population although vaccination coverage on prison reception must be increased to achieve this
Nanocrystallization and Amorphization Induced by Reactive Nitrogen Sputtering in Iron and Permalloy
Thin films of iron and permalloy Ni80Fe20 were prepared using an Ar+N2
mixture with magnetron sputtering technique at ambient temperature. The
nitrogen partial pressure, during sputtering process was varied in the range of
0 to 100%, keeping the total gas flow at constant. At lower nitrogen pressures
RN2<33% both Fe and NiFe, first form a nanocrystalline structure and an
increase in nitrogen partail pressure results in formation of an amorphous
structure. At intermediate nitrogen partial pressures, nitrides of Fe and NiFe
were obtained while at even higher nitrogen partial pressures, nitrides
themselves became nanocrystalline or amorphous. The surface, structural and
magnetic properties of the deposited films were studied using x-ray reflection
and diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, polarized neutron
reflectivity and using a DC extraction magnetometer. The growth behavior for
amorphous film was found different as compared with poly or nanocrystalline
films. The soft-magnetic properties of FeN were improved on nanocrystallization
while those of NiFeN were degraded. A mechanism inducing nanocrystallization
and amorphization in Fe and NiFe due to reactive nitrogen sputtering is
discussed in the present article.Comment: 13 Pages, 15 Figure
Diffusion effects in gradient echo memory
We study the effects of diffusion on a Lambda-gradient echo memory, which is a coherent optical quantum memory, using thermal gases. The efficiency of this memory is high for short storage time, but decreases exponentially due to decoherence as the storage time is increased. We study the effects of both longitudinal and transverse diffusion in this memory system, and give both analytical and numerical results that are in good agreement. Our results show that diffusion has a significant effect on the efficiency. Further, we suggest ways to reduce these effects to improve storage efficiency. We also report on a mechanism by which the rate of expansion of the transverse width of the beam is reduced compared to the naive expectation of diffusive effects, as observed in recent experiments
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