1,351 research outputs found
Classical Rotons in Cold Atomic Traps
We predict the emergence of a roton minimum in the dispersion relation of
elementary excitations in cold atomic gases in the presence of diffusive light.
In large magneto-topical traps, multiple-scattering of light is responsible for
the collective behavior of the system, which is associated to an effective
Coulomb-like interaction between the atoms. In optically thick clouds, the
re-scattered light undergoes diffusive propagation, which is responsible for a
stochastic short-range force acting on the atoms. We show that the dynamical
competition between these two forces results on a new polariton mode, which
exhibits a roton minimum. Making use of Feynman's formula for the static
structure factor, we show that the roton minimum is related to the appearance
of long-range order in the system.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Reflective Ghost Imaging through Turbulence
Recent work has indicated that ghost imaging may have applications in
standoff sensing. However, most theoretical work has addressed
transmission-based ghost imaging. To be a viable remote-sensing system, the
ghost imager needs to image rough-surfaced targets in reflection through long,
turbulent optical paths. We develop, within a Gaussian-state framework,
expressions for the spatial resolution, image contrast, and signal-to-noise
ratio of such a system. We consider rough-surfaced targets that create fully
developed speckle in their returns, and Kolmogorov-spectrum turbulence that is
uniformly distributed along all propagation paths. We address both classical
and nonclassical optical sources, as well as a computational ghost imager.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Space-frequency correlation of classical waves in disordered media: high-frequency and small scale asymptotics
Two-frequency radiative transfer (2f-RT) theory is developed for geometrical
optics in random media. The space-frequency correlation is described by the
two-frequency Wigner distribution (2f-WD) which satisfies a closed form
equation, the two-frequency Wigner-Moyal equation. In the RT regime it is
proved rigorously that 2f-WD satisfies a Fokker-Planck-like equation with
complex-valued coefficients. By dimensional analysis 2f-RT equation yields the
scaling behavior of three physical parameters: the spatial spread, the
coherence length and the coherence bandwidth. The sub-transport-mean-free-path
behavior is obtained in a closed form by analytically solving a paraxial 2f-RT
equation
Spectral Dependence of Coherent Backscattering of Light in a Narrow-Resonance Atomic System
We report a combined theoretical and experimental study of the spectral and
polarization dependence of near resonant radiation coherently backscattered
from an ultracold gas of 85Rb atoms. Measurements in an approximately 6 MHz
range about the 5s^{2}S_{1/2}- 5p^{2}P_{3/2}, F=3 - F'=4 hyperfine transition
are compared with simulations based on a realistic model of the experimental
atomic density distribution. In the simulations, the influence of heating of
the atoms in the vapor, magnetization of the vapor, finite spectral bandwidth,
and other nonresonant hyperfine transitions are considered. Good agreement is
found between the simulations and measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figur
Cooperative resonance linewidth narrowing in a planar metamaterial
We theoretically analyze the experimental observations of a spectral line
collapse in a metamaterial array of asymmetric split ring resonators [Fedotov
et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 223901 (2010)]. We show that the ensemble of
closely-spaced resonators exhibits cooperative response, explaining the
observed system-size dependent narrowing of the transmission resonance
linewidth. We further show that this cooperative narrowing depends sensitively
on the lattice spacing and that significantly stronger narrowing could be
achieved in media with suppressed ohmic losses.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic
Light-cone fluctuations and the renormalized stress tensor of a massless scalar field
We investigate the effects of light-cone fluctuations over the renormalized
vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a real massless
minimally coupled scalar field defined in a ()-dimensional flat space-time
with topology . For modeling the influence of
light-cone fluctuations over the quantum field, we consider a random
Klein-Gordon equation. We study the case of centered Gaussian processes. After
taking into account all the realizations of the random processes, we present
the correction caused by random fluctuations. The averaged renormalized vacuum
expectation value of the stress-energy associated with the scalar field is
presented
Chemical Abundance Gradients in the Star-Forming Ring Galaxies
Ring waves of star formation, propagating outwardly in the galactic disks,
leave chemical abundance gradients in their wakes. We show that the relative
[Fe/O] abundance gradients in ring galaxies can be used as a tool for
determining the role of the SNIa explosions in their chemical enrichment. We
consider two mechanisms which can create outwardly propagating star forming
rings in a purely gaseous disk -- a self-induced wave and a density wave, and
demonstrate that the radial distribution of the relative [Fe/O] abundance
gradients does not depend on the particular mechanism of the wave formation or
on the parameters of the star-forming process. We show that the [Fe/O] profile
is determined by the velocity of the wave, initial mass function, and the
initial chemical composition of the star-forming gas. If the role of SNIa
explosions is negligible in the chemical enrichment, the ratio [Fe/O] remains
constant throughout the galactic disk with a steep gradient at the wave front.
If SNIa stars are important in the production of cosmic iron, the [Fe/O] ratio
has gradient in the wake of the star-forming wave with the value depending on
the frequency of SNIa explosions.Comment: Uses aas2pp4.sty and epsfig.sty, 7 pages including one figure To
appear in Astrophysical Journa
Oxygen Absorption in M87: Evidence for a Warm+Hot ISM
We present a re-analysis of the ROSAT PSPC data within the central 100 kpc of
M87 to search for intrinsic oxygen absorption similar to that recently measured
in several galaxies and groups. Using a spatial-spectral deprojection analysis
we find the strongest evidence to date for intrinsic oxygen absorption in the
hot gas of a galaxy, group, or cluster. Single-phase plasma models modified by
intervening Galactic absorption cannot fit the 0.2-2.2 keV PSPC data as they
under-predict the 0.2-0.4 keV region and over-predict the 0.5-0.8 keV region
where the emission and absorption residuals are obvious upon visual inspection
of the spectral fits. Since the excess emission between 0.2-0.4 keV rules out
intrinsic absorption from cold gas or dust, the most reasonable model for the
excess emission and absorption features is warm, collisionally ionized gas with
a temperature of ~10^6 K. Simple multiphase models (cooling flow, two phases)
modified by both intervening Galactic absorption and by a single oxygen edge
provide good fits and yield temperatures and Fe abundances of the hot gas that
agree with previous determinations by ASCA and SAX. The multiphase models of
M87 inferred from the PSPC can account for the excess EUV emission observed
with EUVE and the excess X-ray absorption inferred from EINSTEIN and ASCA data
above 0.5 keV. Although the total mass of the warm gas implied by the oxygen
absorption is consistent with the matter deposited by a cooling flow, the
suppression of the mass deposition rate and the distortion of the X-ray
isophotes in the region where the radio emission is most pronounced suggest
some feedback effect from the AGN on the cooling gas. (Abridged)Comment: 17 pages (13 figures), Accepted for Publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Iron Abundance Profiles of 12 Clusters of Galaxies Observed With BeppoSAX
We have derived azimuthally-averaged radial iron abundance profiles of the
X-ray gas contained within 12 clusters of galaxies with redshift 0.03 < z < 0.2
observed with BeppoSAX. We find evidence for a negative metal abundance
gradient in most of the clusters, particularly significant in clusters that
possess cooling flows. The composite profile from the 12 clusters resembles
that of cluster simulations of Metzler & Evrard (1997). This abundance gradient
could be the result of the spatial distribution of gas-losing galaxies within
the cluster being more centrally condensed than the primordial hot gas. Both
inside and outside the core region, we find a higher abundance in cooling flow
clusters than in non-cooling flow clusters. Outside of the cooling region this
difference cannot be the result of more efficient sputtering of metals into the
gaseous phase in cooling flow clusters, but might be the result of the mixing
of low metallicity gas from the outer regions of the cluster during a merger.Comment: 8 pages, 2 embedded Postscript figures, accepted by Astrophysical
Journa
A Phase transition in acoustic propagation in 2D random liquid media
Acoustic wave propagation in liquid media containing many parallel air-filled
cylinders is considered. A self-consistent method is used to compute rigorously
the propagation, incorporating all orders of multiple scattering. It is shown
that under proper conditions, multiple scattering leads to a peculiar phase
transition in acoustic propagation. When the phase transition occurs, a
collective behavior of the cylinders appears and the acoustic waves are
confined in a region of space in the neighborhood of the transmission source. A
novel phase diagram is used to describe such phase transition.
Originally submitted on April 6, 99.Comment: 5 pages, 5 color figure
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