5,917 research outputs found
Comment on "Perfect imaging with positive refraction in three dimensions"
Leonhard and Philbin [Phys. Rev. A 81, 011804(R) (2010)] have recently
constructed a mathematical proof that the Maxwell's fish-eye lens provides
perfect imaging of electromagnetic waves without negative refraction. In this
comment, we argue that the unlimited resolution is an artifact of having
introduced an unphysical drain at the position of the geometrical image. The
correct solution gives focusing consistent with the standard diffraction limit
Exciton Beats in GaAs Quantum Wells: Bosonic Representation and Collective Effects
We discuss light-heavy hole beats observed in transient optical experiments
in GaAs quantum wells in terms of a free-boson coherent state model. This
approach is compared with descriptions based on few-level representations.
Results lead to an interpretation of the beats as due to classical
electromagnetic interference. The boson picture correctly describes photon
excitation of extended states and accounts for experiments involving coherent
control of the exciton density and Rayleigh scattering beating.Comment: 4 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication in Solid State
Communication
Near-infrared spatially resolved spectroscopy of (136108) Haumea's multiple system
The transneptunian region of the solar system is populated by a wide variety
of icy bodies showing great diversity. The dwarf planet (136108) Haumea is
among the largest TNOs and displays a highly elongated shape and hosts two
moons, covered with crystalline water ice like Hamuea. Haumea is also the
largest member of the sole TNO family known to date. A catastrophic collision
is likely responsible for its unique characteristics. We report here on the
analysis of a new set of observations of Haumea obtained with SINFONI at the
ESO VLT. Combined with previous data, and using light-curve measurements in the
optical and far infrared, we carry out a rotationally resolved spectroscopic
study of the surface of Haumea. We describe the physical characteristics of the
crystalline water ice present on the surface of Haumea for both regions, in and
out of the Dark Red Spot (DRS), and analyze the differences obtained for each
individual spectrum. The presence of crystalline water ice is confirmed over
more than half of the surface of Haumea. Our measurements of the average
spectral slope confirm the redder characteristic of the spot region. Detailed
analysis of the crystalline water-ice absorption bands do not show significant
differences between the DRS and the remaining part of the surface. We also
present the results of applying Hapke modeling to our data set. The best
spectral fit is obtained with a mixture of crystalline water ice (grain sizes
smaller than 60 micron) with a few percent of amorphous carbon. Improvements to
the fit are obtained by adding ~10% of amorphous water ice. Additionally, we
used the IFU-reconstructed images to measure the relative astrometric position
of the largest satellite Hi`iaka and determine its orbital elements. An orbital
solution was computed with our genetic-based algorithm GENOID and our results
are in full agreement with recent results.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
T-PHOT version 2.0: improved algorithms for background subtraction, local convolution, kernel registration, and new options
We present the new release v2.0 of T-PHOT, a publicly available software
package developed to perform PSF-matched, prior-based, multiwavelength
deconfusion photometry of extragalactic fields. New features included in the
code are presented and discussed: background estimation, fitting using position
dependent kernels, flux prioring, diagnostical statistics on the residual
image, exclusion of selected sources from the model and residual images,
individual registration of fitted objects. These new options improve on the
performance of the code, allowing for more accurate results and providing
useful aids for diagnostics.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Exciton condensates in semiconductor quantum wells emit coherent light
We show that a quasi-two dimensional condensate of optically active excitons
emits coherent light even in the absence of population inversion. This allows
an unambiguous and clear experimental detection of the condensed phase. We
prove that, due to the exciton-photon coupling, quantum and thermal
fluctuations do not destroy condensation at finite temperature. Suitable
conditions to achieve condensation are temperatures of a few K for typical
exciton densities, and the use of a pulsed, and preferably circularly
polarized, laser.Comment: 5 pages, no figure
Long-lived optical phonons in ZnO studied with impulsive stimulated Raman scattering
The anharmonic properties of the low-frequency E2 phonon in ZnO were measured
using impulsive stimulated Raman scattering. At 5 K, the frequency and lifetime
are (2.9787 +/- 0.0002) THz and (211 +/- 7) ps. The unusually long lifetime and
the high accuracy in the determination of the frequency hold promise for
applications in metrology, quantum computation and materials characterization.
The temperature dependence of the lifetime is determined by two-phonon
up-conversion decay contributions, which vanish at zero temperature. Results
suggest that the lifetime is limited by isotopic disorder and that values in
the nanosecond range may be achievable in isotopically-pure samples
Plasduino: an inexpensive, general purpose data acquisition framework for educational experiments
Based on the Arduino development platform, Plasduino is an open-source data
acquisition framework specifically designed for educational physics
experiments. The source code, schematics and documentation are in the public
domain under a GPL license and the system, streamlined for low cost and ease of
use, can be replicated on the scale of a typical didactic lab with minimal
effort. We describe the basic architecture of the system and illustrate its
potential with some real-life examples.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, presented at the XCIX conference of the
Societ\`a Italiana di Fisic
Thermodynamical fingerprints of fractal spectra
We investigate the thermodynamics of model systems exhibiting two-scale
fractal spectra. In particular, we present both analytical and numerical
studies on the temperature dependence of the vibrational and electronic
specific heats. For phonons, and for bosons in general, we show that the
average specific heat can be associated to the average (power law) density of
states. The corrections to this average behavior are log-periodic oscillations
which can be traced back to the self-similarity of the spectral staircase. In
the electronic case, even if the thermodynamical quantities exhibit a strong
dependence on the particle number, regularities arise when special cases are
considered. Applications to substitutional and hierarchical structures are
discussed.Comment: 8 latex pages, 9 embedded PS figure
Assessment of Damage to Nucleic Acids and Repair Machinery in Salmonella typhimurium Exposed to Chlorine
Water disinfection is usually evaluated using mandatory methods based on cell culturability. However, such methods do not consider the potential of cells to recover, which should also be kept as low as possible. In this paper, we hypothesized that a successful disinfection is achieved only when the applied chlorine leads to both intracellular nucleic acid damage and strong alterations of the DNA repair machinery. Monitoring the SOS system responsiveness with a umuC’-‘lacZ reporter fusion, we found that the expression of this important cellular machinery was altered after the beginning of membrane permeabilization but prior to the total decline of both the cell culturability and the nucleic acid integrity as revealed by Sybr-II staining. Rapid measurement of such nucleic acid alterations by fluorochrome-based staining could be used as an alternative method for assessing the effectiveness of disinfection with chlorine
The monoclinic phase of PZT ceramics: Raman and phenomenological theory studies
This work reports on the first Raman detection of the tetragonal to
monoclinic phase transition in PZT ceramics near morphotropic phase boundary at
low temperatures. The transition is characterized by changes in the frequency
of lattice modes with the temperature. The results presented here confirm the
previous one recently reported by Noheda et al. using high-resolution
synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction technique and dielectric measurements. The
stability of the new phase is discussed within the framework of
phenomenological Landau-Devonshire Theory.Comment: 6 pages including 4 figures, Latex, submitted to Applied Physics
Letter
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