Lifetimes of ultralong-range strontium Rydberg molecules in a dense BEC

The lifetimes and decay channels of ultralong-range Rydberg molecules created in a dense BEC are examined by monitoring the time evolution of the Rydberg population using field ionization. Studies of molecules with values of principal quantum number, $n$, in the range $n=49$ to $n=72$ that contain tens to hundreds of ground state atoms within the Rydberg electron orbit show that their presence leads to marked changes in the field ionization characteristics. The Rydberg molecules have lifetimes of $\sim1-5\,\mu$s, their destruction being attributed to two main processes: formation of Sr$^+_2$ ions through associative ionization, and dissociation induced through $L$-changing collisions. The observed loss rates are consistent with a reaction model that emphasizes the interaction between the Rydberg core ion and its nearest neighbor ground-state atom. The measured lifetimes place strict limits on the time scales over which studies involving Rydberg species in cold, dense atomic gases can be undertaken and limit the coherence times for such measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Vacuum chamber pressure effects on thrust measurements of low Reynolds number nozzles

Tests were conducted to investigate the effect of vacuum facility pressure on the performance of small thruster nozzles. Thrust measurements of two converging-diverging nozzles with an area ratio of 140 and an orifice plate flowing unheated nitrogen and hydrogen were taken over a wide range of vacuum facility pressures and nozzle throat Reynolds numbers. In the Reynolds number range of 2200 to 12 000 there was no discernable viscous effect on thrust below an ambient to total pressure ratio of 1000. In nearly all cases, flow separation occurred at a pressure ratio of about 1000. This was the upper limit for obtaining an accurate thrust measurement for a conical nozzle with an area ratio of 140

Toward the assessment of the susceptibility of a digital system to lightning upset

Accomplishments and directions for further research aimed at developing methods for assessing a candidate design of an avionic computer with respect to susceptability to lightning upset are reported. Emphasis is on fault tolerant computers. Both lightning stress and shielding are covered in a review of the electromagnetic environment. Stress characterization, system characterization, upset detection, and positive and negative design features are considered. A first cut theory of comparing candidate designs is presented including tests of comparative susceptability as well as its analysis and simulation. An approach to lightning induced transient fault effects is included

Radiation Hydrodynamical Instabilities in Cosmological and Galactic Ionization Fronts

Ionization fronts, the sharp radiation fronts behind which H/He ionizing photons from massive stars and galaxies propagate through space, were ubiquitous in the universe from its earliest times. The cosmic dark ages ended with the formation of the first primeval stars and galaxies a few hundred Myr after the Big Bang. Numerical simulations suggest that stars in this era were very massive, 25 - 500 solar masses, with H II regions of up to 30,000 light-years in diameter. We present three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamical calculations that reveal that the I-fronts of the first stars and galaxies were prone to violent instabilities, enhancing the escape of UV photons into the early intergalactic medium (IGM) and forming clumpy media in which supernovae later exploded. The enrichment of such clumps with metals by the first supernovae may have led to the prompt formation of a second generation of low-mass stars, profoundly transforming the nature of the first protogalaxies. Cosmological radiation hydrodynamics is unique because ionizing photons coupled strongly to both gas flows and primordial chemistry at early epochs, introducing a hierarchy of disparate characteristic timescales whose relative magnitudes can vary greatly throughout a given calculation. We describe the adaptive multistep integration scheme we have developed for the self-consistent transport of both cosmological and galactic ionization fronts.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for proceedings of HEDLA2010, Caltech, March 15 - 18, 201

Theory of excitation of Rydberg polarons in an atomic quantum gas

We present a quantum many-body description of the excitation spectrum of Rydberg polarons in a Bose gas. The many-body Hamiltonian is solved with functional determinant theory, and we extend this technique to describe Rydberg polarons of finite mass. Mean-field and classical descriptions of the spectrum are derived as approximations of the many-body theory. The various approaches are applied to experimental observations of polarons created by excitation of Rydberg atoms in a strontium Bose-Einstein condensate.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1706.0371

Creation of Rydberg Polarons in a Bose Gas

We report spectroscopic observation of Rydberg polarons in an atomic Bose gas. Polarons are created by excitation of Rydberg atoms as impurities in a strontium Bose-Einstein condensate. They are distinguished from previously studied polarons by macroscopic occupation of bound molecular states that arise from scattering of the weakly bound Rydberg electron from ground-state atoms. The absence of a $p$-wave resonance in the low-energy electron-atom scattering in Sr introduces a universal behavior in the Rydberg spectral lineshape and in scaling of the spectral width (narrowing) with the Rydberg principal quantum number, $n$. Spectral features are described with a functional determinant approach (FDA) that solves an extended Fr\"{o}hlich Hamiltonian for a mobile impurity in a Bose gas. Excited states of polyatomic Rydberg molecules (trimers, tetrameters, and pentamers) are experimentally resolved and accurately reproduced with FDA.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Application of Adaptive Learning Networks for the Characterization of Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Defects in Solids

The objective of the work was to develop an ultrasonic inversion procedure which (1) discriminates, (2) sizes, and (3) determines the orientation of two-dimensional (crack-like) and· three-dimensional (void-like) defects in materials. Adaptive learning networks (ALN\u27s) were used to estimate directly the defect size and orientation parameters from the spectrum of the echo transient. A 19-element hexagonal synthetic array measured the scattered field within a 60-degree solid angle aperture. The ALN\u27 s were trained on theoretically generated spectral data where the crack forward scattering model was based on the Geometrical Diffraction Theory and the void model was based on the exact Scattering Matrix Theory. The theoretically trained models were evaluated on both theoretical and experimental data. Excellent results were obtained, and the errors for size and odentation estimates were, in general, less than 10%. The significance of this work is that: (1) the ALN approach to defect characteristics provides a systematic procedure for discovering relationships in the data which could otherwise be overlooked, and (2) significant economic benefits can be gained by simulating difficult-to-produce defect reflector scenarios. Furthermore, a result of this work has been the development of an algorithm which can ultimately be applied in field and industrial use