Theory of fishnet negative-index optical metamaterials

We theoretically study fishnet metamaterials at optical frequencies. In contrast to earlier works, we provide a microscopic description by tracking the transversal and longitudinal flows of energy through the fishnet mesh composed of intersecting subwavelength plasmonic waveguides. The analysis is supported by a semi-analytical model based on surface-plasmon coupled-mode equations, which provides accurate formulas for the fishnet refractive index, including the real-negative and imaginary parts. The model simply explains how the surface plasmons couple at the waveguide intersections and it shines new light on the fishnet negative-index paradigm at optical frequencies. Extension of the theory for loss-compensated metamaterials with gain media is also presented.Comment: 4 figure

Homogenization of an ensemble of interacting resonant scatterers

We study theoretically the concept of homogenization in optics using an ensemble of randomly distributed resonant stationary atoms with density $\rho$. The ensemble is dense enough for the usual condition for homogenization, viz. $\rho\lambda^3 \gg 1$, to be reached. Introducing the coherent and incoherent scattered powers, we define two criteria to define the homogenization regime. We find that when the excitation field is tuned in a broad frequency range around the resonance, none of the criteria for homogenization is fulfilled, meaning that the condition $\rho\lambda^3\gg 1$ is not sufficient to characterize the homogenized regime around the atomic resonance. We interpret these results as a consequence of the light-induced dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms, which implies a description of scattering in terms of collective modes rather than as a sequence of individual scattering events. Finally, we show that, although homogenization can never be reached for a dense ensemble of randomly positioned laser-cooled atoms around resonance, it becomes possible if one introduces spatial correlations in the positions of the atoms or non-radiative losses, such as would be the case for organic molecules or quantum dots coupled to a phonon bath.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Corrected mistakes in reference

Measurement of the properties of a Higgs boson with the CMS detector

A new boson has been discovered using proton–proton collision data recorded by CMS during the first run of the LHC, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5.1 fb−1 at 7TeV and 19.6 fb−1 at 8TeV. It has been observed in several decay channels with a best-fit signal strength, expressed in units of standard model Higgs boson cross section, of 0.80±0.14 at the measured mass of 125.7±0.3 (stat.)±0.3 (syst.)GeV. Consistency of its couplings with respect to the expectation from a standard model Higgs boson has been tested and no significant deviation has been observed

Slow-wave effect and mode-profile matching in Photonic Crystal microcavities

Physical mechanisms involved in the light confinement in photonic crystal slab microcavities are investigated. We first present a full three-dimensional numerical study of these microcavities. Then, to gain physical insight into the confinement mechanisms, we develop a Fabry-Perot model. This model provides accurate predictions and sheds new light on the physics of light confinement. We clearly identify two mechanisms to enhance the Q factor of these microcavities. The first one consists in improving the mode-profile matching at the cavity terminations and the second one in using a slow wave in the cavity.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B, 8 pages, 4 figure

Single-Proton Removal Reaction Study of 16B

The low-lying level structure of the unbound system $^{16}$B has been investigated via single-proton removal from a 35 MeV/nucleon $^{17}$C beam. The coincident detection of the beam velocity $^{15}$B fragment and neutron allowed the relative energy of the in-flight decay of $^{16}$B to be reconstructed. The resulting spectrum exhibited a narrow peak some 85 keV above threshold. It is argued that this feature corresponds to a very narrow ($\Gamma \ll$100 keV) resonance, or an unresolved multiplet, with a dominant $\pi (p_{3/2})^{-1} \otimes \nu (d_{5/2}^3)_{J=3/2^+}$ + $\pi (p_{3/2})^{-1} \otimes \nu (d_{5/2}^2,s_{1/2})_{J=3/2^+}$ configuration which decays by d-wave neutron emission.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Relevance of d-D interactions on neutron and tritium production in IFMIF-EVEDA accelerator prototype

In the IFMIF-EVEDA accelerator prototype, deuterium is implanted in the components due to beam losses and in the beam dump, where the beam is stopped. The interaction of the deuterons with the deuterium previously implanted leads to the production of neutrons and tritium, which are important issues for radioprotection and safety analysis. A methodology to assess these production pathways in more realistic approach has been developed. The new tools and their main achievement are: (i) an “effective diffusivity coefficient” (deduced from available experimental data) that enables simulation of the diffusion phase, and (ii) the MCUNED code (able to handle deuteron transport libraries) allows to simulate the transport-slowdown of deuteron/tritium (to get the concentration profiles) and the neutron/tritium productions from d-Cu and d-D for up to 9 MeV incident deuteron. The results with/without theses tools are presented and their effect on the relevance of d-D sources versus d-Cu is evaluated

Extended sudden approximation model for high-energy nucleon removal reactions

A model based on the sudden approximation has been developed to describe high energy single nucleon removal reactions. Within this approach, which takes as its starting point the formalism of Hansen \cite{Anne2}, the nucleon-removal cross section and the full 3-dimensional momentum distributions of the core fragments including absorption, diffraction, Coulomb and nuclear-Coulomb interference amplitudes, have been calculated. The Coulomb breakup has been treated to all orders for the dipole interaction. The model has been compared to experimental data for a range of light, neutron-rich psd-shell nuclei. Good agreement was found for both the inclusive cross sections and momentum distributions. In the case of $^{17}$C, comparison is also made with the results of calculations using the transfer-to-the-continuum model. The calculated 3-dimensional momentum distributions exhibit longitudinal and transverse momentum components that are strongly coupled by the reaction for s-wave states, whilst no such effect is apparent for d-waves. Incomplete detection of transverse momenta arising fromlimited experimental acceptances thus leads to a narrowing of the longitudinal distributions for nuclei with significant s-wave valence neutron configurations, as confirmed by the data. Asymmetries in the longitudinal momentum distributions attributed to diffractive dissociation are also explored.Comment: 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.