1,391 research outputs found
Three-dimensional carrier-dynamics simulation of terahertz emission from photoconductive switches
A semi-classical Monte Carlo model for studying three-dimensional carrier
dynamics in photoconductive switches is presented. The model was used to
simulate the process of photoexcitation in GaAs-based photoconductive antennas
illuminated with pulses typical of mode-locked Ti:Sapphire lasers. We analyzed
the power and frequency bandwidth of THz radiation emitted from these devices
as a function of bias voltage, pump pulse duration and pump pulse location. We
show that the mechanisms limiting the THz power emitted from photoconductive
switches fall into two regimes: when illuminated with short duration (<40 fs)
laser pulses the energy distribution of the Gaussian pulses constrains the
emitted power, while for long (>40 fs) pulses, screening is the primary
power-limiting mechanism. A discussion of the dynamics of bias field screening
in the gap region is presented. The emitted terahertz power was found to be
enhanced when the exciting laser pulse was in close proximity to the anode of
the photoconductive emitter, in agreement with experimental results. We show
that this enhancement arises from the electric field distribution within the
emitter combined with a difference in the mobilities of electrons and holes.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Spectral fluctuations of Schr\"odinger operators generated by critical points of the potential
Starting from the spectrum of Schr\"odinger operators on , we
propose a method to detect critical points of the potential. We argue
semi-classically on the basis of a mathematically rigorous version of
Gutzwiller's trace formula which expresses spectral statistics in term of
classical orbits. A critical point of the potential with zero momentum is an
equilibrium of the flow and generates certain singularities in the spectrum.
Via sharp spectral estimates, this fluctuation indicates the presence of a
critical point and allows to reconstruct partially the local shape of the
potential. Some generalizations of this approach are also proposed.\medskip
keywords : Semi-classical analysis; Schr\"odinger operators; Equilibriums in
classical mechanics.Comment: 18 pages, Final versio
Soutiens perçus, engagements affectifs et succès de carrière subjectif : une approche en termes de profils
Perceived support, affective commitments and subjective career success: a person-centred approach (Soutiens perçus, engagements affectifs et succès de carrière subjectif : une approche en termes de profils)
Influence of surface passivation on ultrafast carrier dynamics and terahertz radiation generation in GaAs
The carrier dynamics of photoexcited electrons in the vicinity of the surface
of (NH4)2S-passivated GaAs were studied via terahertz (THz) emission
spectroscopy and optical-pump THz-probe spectroscopy. THz emission spectroscopy
measurements, coupled with Monte Carlo simulations of THz emission, revealed
that the surface electric field of GaAs reverses after passivation. The
conductivity of photoexcited electrons was determined via optical-pump
THz-probe spectroscopy, and was found to double after passivation. These
experiments demonstrate that passivation significantly reduces the surface
state density and surface recombination velocity of GaAs. Finally, we have
demonstrated that passivation leads to an enhancement in the power radiated by
photoconductive switch THz emitters, thereby showing the important influence of
surface chemistry on the performance of ultrafast THz photonic devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Applied Physics Letter
The Diabolo photometer and the future of ground-based millimetric bolometer devices
The millimetric atmospheric windows at 1 and 2 mm are interesting targets for
cosmological studies. Two broad areas appear leading this field: 1) the search
for high redshift star-forming galaxies and 2) the measurement of
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect in clusters of galaxies at all redshifts. The
Diabolo photometer is a dual-channel photometer working at 1.2 and 2.1 mm and
dedicated to high angular resolution measurements of the Sunyaev--Zel'dovich
effect towards distant clusters. It uses 2 by 3 bolometers cooled down to 0.1 K
with a compact open dilution cryostat. The high resolution is provided by the
IRAM 30 m telescope. The result of several Winter campaigns are reported here,
including the first millimetric map of the SZ effect that was obtained by
Pointecouteau et al. (2001) on RXJ1347-1145, the non-detection of a millimetric
counterpart to the radio decrement towards PC1643+4631 and 2 mm number count
upper limits. We discuss limitations in ground-based single-dish millimetre
observations, namely sky noise and the number of detectors. We advocate the use
of fully sampled arrays of (100 to 1000) bolometers as a big step forward in
the millimetre continuum science. Efforts in France are briefly mentionned.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the 2K1BC
``Experimental Astronomy at millimeter wavelengths'', Breuil-Cervinia (AO)
Italy - July 9 - 13, 2001, Eds. M. De Petris et a
Comparing [CII], HI, and CO dynamics of nearby galaxies
The HI and CO components of the interstellar medium (ISM) are usually used to
derive the dynamical mass M_dyn of nearby galaxies. Both components become too
faint to be used as a tracer in observations of high-redshift galaxies. In
those cases, the 158 m line of atomic carbon [CII] may be the only way to
derive M_dyn. As the distribution and kinematics of the ISM tracer affects the
determination of M_dyn, it is important to quantify the relative distributions
of HI, CO and [CII]. HI and CO are well-characterised observationally, however,
for [CII] only very few measurements exist. Here we compare observations of CO,
HI, and [CII] emission of a sample of nearby galaxies, drawn from the HERACLES,
THINGS and KINGFISH surveys. We find that within R_25, the average [CII]
exponential radial profile is slightly shallower than that of the CO, but much
steeper than the HI distribution. This is also reflected in the integrated
spectrum ("global profile"), where the [CII] spectrum looks more like that of
the CO than that of the HI. For one galaxy, a spectrally resolved comparison of
integrated spectra was possible; other comparisons were limited by the
intrinsic line-widths of the galaxies and the coarse velocity resolution of the
[CII] data. Using high-spectral-resolution SOFIA [CII] data of a number of star
forming regions in two nearby galaxies, we find that their [CII] linewidths
agree better with those of the CO than the HI. As the radial extent of a given
ISM tracer is a key input in deriving M_dyn from spatially unresolved data, we
conclude that the relevant length-scale to use in determining M_dyn based on
[CII] data, is that of the well-characterised CO distribution. This length
scale is similar to that of the optical disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Evolution of dopant-induced helium nanoplasmas
Two-component nanoplasmas generated by strong-field ionization of doped
helium nanodroplets are studied in a pump-probe experiment using few-cycle
laser pulses in combination with molecular dynamics simulations. High yields of
helium ions and a pronounced, droplet size-dependent resonance structure in the
pump-probe transients reveal the evolution of the dopant-induced helium
nanoplasma. The pump-probe dynamics is interpreted in terms of strong inner
ionization by the pump pulse and resonant heating by the probe pulse which
controls the final charge states detected via the frustration of electron-ion
recombination
Comparing [C II], H I, and CO dynamics of nearby galaxies
The HI and CO components of the interstellar medium (ISM) are usually used to derive the dynamical mass M-dyn of nearby galaxies. Both components become too faint to be used as a tracer in observations of high-redshift galaxies. In those cases, the 158 mu m line of atomic carbon ([CII]) may be the only way to derive M-dyn. As the distribution and kinematics of the ISM tracer affects the determination of M-dyn, it is important to quantify the relative distributions of HI, CO, and [CII]. HI and CO are well-characterized observationally, however, for [CII] only very few measurements exist. Here we compare observations of CO, HI, and [CII] emission of a sample of nearby galaxies, drawn from the HERACLES, THINGS, and KINGFISH surveys. We find that within R-25, the average [CII] exponential radial profile is slightly shallower than that of the CO, but much steeper than the HI distribution. This is also reflected in the integrated spectrum ("global profile"), where the [CII] spectrum looks more like that of the CO than that of the HI. For one galaxy, a spectrally resolved comparison of integrated spectra was possible; other comparisons were limited by the intrinsic line-widths of the galaxies and the coarse velocity resolution of the [CII] data. Using high-spectral-resolution SOFIA [CII] data of a number of star forming regions in two nearby galaxies, we find that their [CII] linewidths agree better with those of the CO than the HI. As the radial extent of a given ISM tracer is a key input in deriving M-dyn from spatially unresolved data, we conclude that the relevant length-scale to use in determining M-dyn based on [CII] data, is that of the well-characterized CO distribution. This length scale is similar to that of the optical disk
NIKA: A millimeter-wave kinetic inductance camera
Current generation millimeter wavelength detectors suffer from scaling limits
imposed by complex cryogenic readout electronics. To circumvent this it is
imperative to investigate technologies that intrinsically incorporate strong
multiplexing. One possible solution is the kinetic inductance detector (KID).
In order to assess the potential of this nascent technology, a prototype
instrument optimized for the 2 mm atmospheric window was constructed. Known as
the N\'eel IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA), it was recently tested at the Institute for
Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) 30-meter telescope at Pico Veleta, Spain.
The measurement resulted in the imaging of a number of sources, including
planets, quasars, and galaxies. The images for Mars, radio star MWC349, quasar
3C345, and galaxy M87 are presented. From these results, the optical NEP was
calculated to be around WHz. A factor of 10
improvement is expected to be readily feasible by improvements in the detector
materials and reduction of performance-degrading spurious radiation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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