7,761 research outputs found
Simulations of the angular dependence of the dipole-dipole interaction among Rydberg atoms
The dipole-dipole interaction between two Rydberg atoms depends on the
relative orientation of the atoms and on the change in the magnetic quantum
number. We simulate the effect of this anisotropy on the energy transport in an
amorphous many atom system subject to a homogeneous applied electric field. We
consider two experimentally feasible geometries and find that the effects
should be measurable in current generation imaging experiments. In both
geometries atoms of character are localized to a small region of space
which is immersed in a larger region that is filled with atoms of
character. Energy transfer due to the dipole-dipole interaction can lead to a
spread of character into the region initially occupied by atoms. Over
long timescales the energy transport is confined to the volume near the border
of the region which is suggestive of Anderson localization. We calculate a
correlation length of 6.3~m for one particular geometry.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, revised draf
High-Order Multipole Radiation from Quantum Hall States in Dirac Materials
We investigate the optical response of strongly disordered quantum Hall
states in two-dimensional Dirac materials and find qualitatively different
effects in the radiation properties of the bulk versus the edge. We show that
the far-field radiation from the edge is characterized by large multipole
moments (> 50) due to the efficient transfer of angular momentum from the
electrons into the scattered light. The maximum multipole transition moment is
a direct measure of the coherence length of the edge states. Accessing these
multipole transitions would provide new tools for optical spectroscopy and
control of quantum Hall edge states. On the other hand, the far-field radiation
from the bulk appears as random dipole emission with spectral properties that
vary with the local disorder potential. We determine the conditions under which
this bulk radiation can be used to image the disorder landscape. Such optical
measurements can probe sub-micron length scales over large areas and provide
complementary information to scanning probe techniques. Spatially resolving
this bulk radiation would serve as a novel probe of the percolation transition
near half-filling.Comment: v2: 8 pages, 4 figure
Instrument to collect fogwater for chemical analysis
An instrument is presented which collects large samples of ambient fogwater by impaction of droplets on a screen. The collection efficiency of the instrument is determined as a function of droplet size, and it is shown that fog droplets in the range 3–100-µm diameter are efficiently collected. No significant evaporation or condensation occurs at any stage of the collection process. Field testing indicates that samples collected are representative of the ambient fogwater. The instrument may easily be automated, and is suitable for use in routine air quality monitoring programs
A dynamic model for the production of H^+NO_3^−, and SO_4^(2−) in urban fog
The chemical composition of nighttime urban fog has been investigated using a hybrid kinetic and equilibrium model. Extremely high acidity may be imparted to the droplets by condensation and growth on acidic condensation nuclei or by in situ S(IV) oxidation. Important oxidants of S(IV) were found to be O_2 as catalyzed by Fe(III) and Mn(II), H_2O_2, and O_3. Formation of hydroxymethanesulfonate ion (HMSA) via the nucleophilic addition of HSO_3^− to CH_2O(I) significantly increased the droplet capacity for S(IV) but did not slow down the net S(IV) oxidation rate leading to fog acidification. Gas phase nitric acid, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide were scavenged efficiently, although aqueous phase hydrogen peroxide was depleted rapidly by reduction with S(IV). Nitrate production in the aqueous phase was found to be dominated by HNO_3 gas phase scavenging. Major aqueous phase species concentrations were controlled primarily by condensation, evaporation, and pH
Recommended from our members
Aberrant activity in conceptual networks underlies N400 deficits and unusual thoughts in schizophrenia.
BackgroundThe N400 event-related potential (ERP) is triggered by meaningful stimuli that are incongruous, or unmatched, with their semantic context. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified brain regions activated by semantic incongruity, but their precise links to the N400 ERP are unclear. In schizophrenia (SZ), N400 amplitude reduction is thought to reflect overly broad associations in semantic networks, but the abnormalities in brain networks underlying deficient N400 remain unknown. We utilized joint independent component analysis (JICA) to link temporal patterns in ERPs to neuroanatomical patterns from fMRI and investigate relationships between N400 amplitude and neuroanatomical activation in SZ patients and healthy controls (HC).MethodsSZ patients (n = 24) and HC participants (n = 25) performed a picture-word matching task, in which words were either matched (APPLE→apple) by preceding pictures, or were unmatched by semantically related (in-category; IC, APPLE→lemon) or unrelated (out of category; OC, APPLE→cow) pictures, in separate ERP and fMRI sessions. A JICA "data fusion" analysis was conducted to identify the fMRI brain regions specifically associated with the ERP N400 component. SZ and HC loading weights were compared and correlations with clinical symptoms were assessed.ResultsJICA identified an ERP-fMRI "fused" component that captured the N400, with loading weights that were reduced in SZ. The JICA map for the IC condition showed peaks of activation in the cingulate, precuneus, bilateral temporal poles and cerebellum, whereas the JICA map from the OC condition was linked primarily to visual cortical activation and the left temporal pole. Among SZ patients, fMRI activity from the IC condition was inversely correlated with unusual thought content.ConclusionsThe neural networks associated with the N400 ERP response to semantic violations depends on conceptual relatedness. These findings are consistent with a distributed network underlying neural responses to semantic incongruity including unimodal visual areas as well as integrative, transmodal areas. Unusual thoughts in SZ may reflect impaired processing in transmodal hub regions such as the precuneus, leading to overly broad semantic associations
New Analysis Indicates No Thermal Inversion in the Atmosphere of HD 209458b
An important focus of exoplanet research is the determination of the
atmospheric temperature structure of strongly irradiated gas giant planets, or
hot Jupiters. HD 209458b is the prototypical exoplanet for atmospheric thermal
inversions, but this assertion does not take into account recently obtained
data or newer data reduction techniques. We re-examine this claim by
investigating all publicly available Spitzer Space Telescope secondary-eclipse
photometric data of HD 209458b and performing a self-consistent analysis. We
employ data reduction techniques that minimize stellar centroid variations,
apply sophisticated models to known Spitzer systematics, and account for
time-correlated noise in the data. We derive new secondary-eclipse depths of
0.119 +/- 0.007%, 0.123 +/- 0.006%, 0.134 +/- 0.035%, and 0.215 +/- 0.008% in
the 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 micron bandpasses, respectively. We feed these
results into a Bayesian atmospheric retrieval analysis and determine that it is
unnecessary to invoke a thermal inversion to explain our secondary-eclipse
depths. The data are well-fitted by a temperature model that decreases
monotonically between pressure levels of 1 and 0.01 bars. We conclude that
there is no evidence for a thermal inversion in the atmosphere of HD 209458b.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
A photometrically and spectroscopically confirmed population of passive spiral galaxies
We have identified a population of passive spiral galaxies from photometry and integral field spectroscopy. We selected z < 0.035 spiral galaxies that have WISE colours consistent with little mid-infrared emission from warm dust. Matched aperture photometry of 51 spiral galaxies in ultraviolet, optical and mid-infrared show these galaxies have colours consistent with passive galaxies. Six galaxies form a spectroscopic pilot study and were observed using the Wide-Field Spectrograph to check for signs of nebular emission from star formation. We see no evidence of substantial nebular emission found in previous red spiral samples. These six galaxies possess absorption-line spectra with 4000 Å breaks consistent with an average luminosity-weighted age of 2.3 Gyr. Our photometric and integral field spectroscopic observations confirm the existence of a population of local passive spiral galaxies, implying that transformation into early-type morphologies is not required for the quenching of star formation
- …