158 research outputs found
A simple scheme for precise relative frequency stabilization of lasers
We present a simple scheme for tuneable relative frequency stabilization of lasers. A highly sensitive and accurate frequency-to-voltage converter is used to derive an error signal from the beat note between two lasers. We analyze in detail detector noise and drift, modulation detection bandwidth, and cross-talk from power modulation. The results indicate that sub-kHz relative linewidth and a locking point drift on the order of 100 Hz for times scales of 1 h are achievable. The scheme can, therefore, be applied to situations where up to now only optical PLLs could provide sufficient accuracy and precision. To demonstrate its potential for high-resolution, high-precision spectroscopy we lock a diode laser to a fs-frequency comb and find a relative linear drift of 314 Hz during a 2.8 h period
Frequency comb-referenced narrow linewidth diode laser system for coherent molecular spectroscopy
We analyze in detail the frequency noise properties of a grating enhanced external cavity diode laser (GEECDL). This system merges two diode laser concepts, the grating stabilized diode laser and the diode laser with resonant optical feedback, thus combining a large tuning range with an excellent short-term frequency stability. We compare the frequency noise spectrum of a GEECDL to that of a grating stabilized diode laser and demonstrate a 10-fold reduction of the frequency noise linear spectral density. The GEECDL is phase locked to a similar laser and to a fs-frequency comb with a servo loop providing an open-loop unity-gain frequency of only 237 kHz, which is a tenth of the bandwidth typically required for grating stabilized diode lasers. We achieve a residual rms phase error as small as 72 mrad (≈ 200 mrad) for stabilization to a similar laser (to the fs-frequency comb). We demonstrate that the novel diode laser can phase-coherently track a stable optical reference with an instability of 1.8×10-16 at 1 s. This laser system is well suited for applications that require phase locking to a low-power optical reference under noisy conditions. It may also be considered for the implementation of optical clock lasers
Demonstration of a Transportable 1 Hz-Linewidth Laser
We present the setup and test of a transportable clock laser at 698 nm for a
strontium lattice clock. A master-slave diode laser system is stabilized to a
rigidly mounted optical reference cavity. The setup was transported by truck
over 400 km from Braunschweig to D\"usseldorf, where the cavity-stabilized
laser was compared to a stationary clock laser for the interrogation of
ytterbium (578 nm). Only minor realignments were necessary after the transport.
The lasers were compared by a Ti:Sapphire frequency comb used as a transfer
oscillator. The thus generated virtual beat showed a combined linewidth below 1
Hz (at 1156 nm). The transport back to Braunschweig did not degrade the laser
performance, as was shown by interrogating the strontium clock transition.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
The Influence of Temperature on Coumarin 153 Fluorescence Kinetics
The influence of temperature varied in the range 183 K–323 K on the fluorescence quantum yield, fluorescence lifetime, absorption and emission transition moments and non-radiative deactivation rate was determined for the well known and largely used dye Coumarin 153, dissolved in 1-chloropropane. The Kennard-Stepanov relation connecting the absorption and emission spectra was used to check for the presence of more than one absorbing/emitting species and to investigate whether intramolecular vibrational redistribution completes in the C153 excited S1 state before the emission takes place. The emission spectrum corresponding to S1→S0 transition, was fitted at each temperature to the model function including the information on the dye vibrational modes coupling. In this way the displacement in equilibrium distance for the most active vibrational mode was determined for C153 in S1 and in S0. Using the temperature dependence of the fluorescence decay time and quantum yield, the non-radiative deactivation rate was determined. Its temperature dependence was compared to that calculated using the theoretical model with the most active vibrational mode displacement values taken from steady-state spectra analysis. The somewhat surprising dependence of the fluorescence decay time and quantum yield on temperature was related to non-trivial coupling between low-frequency vibrational modes of C153 in the excited and ground states
Promoting influenza prevention for elderly people in Hong Kong using health action process approach: Study protocol
Background: People 65 years or older are at greater risk of serious complications from the seasonal influenza compared with young. To promote elderly people's behavioral compliance toward influenza prevention, the aim of the current project is to develop, implement, and evaluate a theory-based low-administration-cost intervention building on a leading psychological theory, the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). Methods: The target group is Hong Kong Chinese elderly people aged 65 or older who rarely or never adopt any preventive actions. This project will be conducted in three phases over 24 months. In phase 1, intervention program will be developed building on the HAPA theoretical framework which comprises both the initiation and maintenance of influenza prevention behaviors. In phase 2, intervention will be implemented and evaluated using a randomized controlled trial, including: (a) behavior initiation only, (b) behavior initiation + behavior maintenance, and (c) control group. Both the initiation and maintenance components will comprise weekly-delivered telephone-based individual intervention sessions in 3 months. In phase 3, outcome evaluation of behavioral and psychological variables and process evaluation will be conducted. The effectiveness of the intervention will be analyzed using a series of linear mixed models on each behavioral and psychological outcome variable. Structural equation modelling will be used to test the hypothesized theoretical sequence in the HAPA model. Discussion: The proposed project is expected to design theory-based intervention materials to promote the influenza prevention behaviors in Hong Kong elderly people and provide information on its effectiveness and the potential changing mechanism of behavior initiation and maintenance. Trial registration: This randomized controlled trial was funded by the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), Food and Health Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ref: 16151222) and was registered on 13/10/2017 at CCRB Clinical Trials Registry of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a Partner Registry of a WHO Primary Registry (Ref: CUHK-CCRB00567)
DenseNet and Support Vector Machine classifications of major depressive disorder using vertex-wise cortical features
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex psychiatric disorder that
affects the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe. Even
today, researchers debate if morphological alterations in the brain are linked
to MDD, likely due to the heterogeneity of this disorder. The application of
deep learning tools to neuroimaging data, capable of capturing complex
non-linear patterns, has the potential to provide diagnostic and predictive
biomarkers for MDD. However, previous attempts to demarcate MDD patients and
healthy controls (HC) based on segmented cortical features via linear machine
learning approaches have reported low accuracies. In this study, we used
globally representative data from the ENIGMA-MDD working group containing an
extensive sample of people with MDD (N=2,772) and HC (N=4,240), which allows a
comprehensive analysis with generalizable results. Based on the hypothesis that
integration of vertex-wise cortical features can improve classification
performance, we evaluated the classification of a DenseNet and a Support Vector
Machine (SVM), with the expectation that the former would outperform the
latter. As we analyzed a multi-site sample, we additionally applied the ComBat
harmonization tool to remove potential nuisance effects of site. We found that
both classifiers exhibited close to chance performance (balanced accuracy
DenseNet: 51%; SVM: 53%), when estimated on unseen sites. Slightly higher
classification performance (balanced accuracy DenseNet: 58%; SVM: 55%) was
found when the cross-validation folds contained subjects from all sites,
indicating site effect. In conclusion, the integration of vertex-wise
morphometric features and the use of the non-linear classifier did not lead to
the differentiability between MDD and HC. Our results support the notion that
MDD classification on this combination of features and classifiers is
unfeasible
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