3,862 research outputs found
Magnetic shielding and exotic spin-dependent interactions
Experiments searching for exotic spin-dependent interactions typically employ
magnetic shielding between the source of the exotic field and the interrogated
spins. We explore the question of what effect magnetic shielding has on
detectable signals induced by exotic fields. Our general conclusion is that for
common experimental geometries and conditions, magnetic shields should not
significantly reduce sensitivity to exotic spin-dependent interactions,
especially when the technique of comagnetometry is used. However, exotic fields
that couple to electron spin can induce magnetic fields in the interior of
shields made of a soft ferro- or ferrimagnetic material. This induced magnetic
field must be taken into account in the interpretation of experiments searching
for new spin-dependent interactions and raises the possibility of using a flux
concentrator inside magnetic shields to amplify exotic spin-dependent signals.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
AC Stark shift noise in QND measurement arising from quantum fluctuations of light polarization
In a recent letter [Auzinsh {\it{et. al.}} (physics/0403097)] we have
analyzed the noise properties of an idealized atomic magnetometer that utilizes
spin squeezing induced by a continuous quantum nondemolition measurement. Such
a magnetometer measures spin precession of atomic spins by detecting
optical rotation of far-detuned probe light. Here we consider maximally
squeezed probe light, and carry out a detailed derivation of the contribution
to the noise in a magnetometric measurement due to the differential AC Stark
shift between Zeeman sublevels arising from quantum fluctuations of the probe
polarization.Comment: This is a companion note to physics/040309
Can a quantum nondemolition measurement improve the sensitivity of an atomic magnetometer?
Noise properties of an idealized atomic magnetometer that utilizes spin
squeezing induced by a continuous quantum nondemolition measurement are
considered. Such a magnetometer measures spin precession of atomic spins by
detecting optical rotation of far-detuned light. Fundamental noise sources
include the quantum projection noise and the photon shot-noise. For measurement
times much shorter than the spin-relaxation time observed in the absence of
light () divided by , the optimal sensitivity of the
magnetometer scales as , so an advantage over the usual sensitivity
scaling as can be achieved. However, at longer measurement times,
the optimized sensitivity scales as , as for a usual shot-noise
limited magnetometer. If strongly squeezed probe light is used, the Heisenberg
uncertainty limit may, in principle, be reached for very short measurement
times. However, if the measurement time exceeds , the
scaling is again restored.Comment: Some details of calculations can be found in a companion note:
physics/040712
Increasing subsurface water storage in discontinuous permafrost areas of the Lena River basin, Eurasia, detected from GRACE
We use monthly measurements of time-variable gravity from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission to quantify changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) in the Lena river basin, Eurasia, during the period April 2002 to September 2010. We estimate a TWS increase of 32 ± 10 km3/yr for the entire basin, equivalent to an increase in water thickness of 1.3 ± 0.4 cm/yr over a basin of 2.4 million km2. We compare TWS estimates from GRACE with time series of precipitation (P) minus evapotranspiration (ET) from ERA-Interim reanalysis minus observational river discharge (R). We find an excellent agreement in annual and inter-annual variability between the two time series. Furthermore, we find that a bias of −20 ± 10% in P-ET is sufficient to effectively close the water budget with GRACE. When we account for this bias, the time series of cumulative TWS from GRACE and climatological data agree to within ±3.8 cm of water thickness, or ±9% of the mean annual P. The TWS increase is not uniform across the river basin and exhibits a peak, over an area of 502,400 km2, centered at 118.5°E, 62.5°N, and underlain by discontinuous permafrost. In this region, we attribute the observed TWS increase of 68 ± 19 km3 to an increase in subsurface water storage. This large subsurface water signal will have a significant impact on the terrestrial hydrology of the region, including increased baseflow and alteration of seasonal runoff
Hyperpolarized xenon nuclear spins detected by optical atomic magnetometry
We report the use of an atomic magnetometer based on nonlinear
magneto-optical rotation with frequency modulated light (FM NMOR) to detect
nuclear magnetization of xenon gas. The magnetization of a
spin-exchange-polarized xenon sample (cm at a pressure of bar,
natural isotopic abundance, polarization 1%), prepared remotely to the
detection apparatus, is measured with an atomic sensor (which is insensitive to
the leading field of 0.45 G applied to the sample; an independent bias field at
the sensor is G). An average magnetic field of nG induced by
the xenon sample on the 10-cm diameter atomic sensor is detected with
signal-to-noise ratio , limited by residual noise in the magnetic
environment. The possibility of using modern atomic magnetometers as detectors
of nuclear magnetic resonance and in magnetic resonance imaging is discussed.
Atomic magnetometers appear to be ideally suited for emerging low-field and
remote-detection magnetic resonance applications.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
XWeB: the XML Warehouse Benchmark
With the emergence of XML as a standard for representing business data, new
decision support applications are being developed. These XML data warehouses
aim at supporting On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) operations that
manipulate irregular XML data. To ensure feasibility of these new tools,
important performance issues must be addressed. Performance is customarily
assessed with the help of benchmarks. However, decision support benchmarks do
not currently support XML features. In this paper, we introduce the XML
Warehouse Benchmark (XWeB), which aims at filling this gap. XWeB derives from
the relational decision support benchmark TPC-H. It is mainly composed of a
test data warehouse that is based on a unified reference model for XML
warehouses and that features XML-specific structures, and its associate XQuery
decision support workload. XWeB's usage is illustrated by experiments on
several XML database management systems
What Do You Think Would Make You Happier? What Do You Think You Would Choose?
Would people choose what they think would maximize their subjective well-being (SWB)? We present survey respondents with hypothetical scenarios and elicit both choice and predicted SWB rankings of two alternatives. While choice and predicted SWB rankings usually coincide in our data, we find systematic reversals. We identify factors—such as predicted sense of purpose, control over one\u27s life, family happiness, and social status—that help explain hypothetical choice controlling for predicted SWB. We explore how our findings vary by SWB measure and by scenario. Our results have implications regarding the use of SWB survey questions as a proxy for utility
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