Cold atoms near superconductors: Atomic spin coherence beyond the Johnson noise limit

We report on the measurement of atomic spin coherence near the surface of a superconducting niobium wire. As compared to normal conducting metal surfaces, the atomic spin coherence is maintained for time periods beyond the Johnson noise limit. The result provides experimental evidence that magnetic near field noise near the superconductor is strongly suppressed. Such long atomic spin coherence times near superconductors open the way towards the development of coherently coupled cold atom / solid state hybrid quantum systems with potential applications in quantum information processing and precision force sensing.Comment: Major revisions of the text for submission to New Journal of Physics 8 pages, 4 figure

Электропривод насоса перекачки золошлаковой пульпы

Объектом исследования является система автоматического управления насоса перекачки золошлаковой пульпы. Цель работы – разработка и исследование электропривода насоса перекачки золошлаковой пульпы. В выпускной квалификационной работе произведён расчет и выбор приводного двигателя преобразователя частоты для управления электроприводами. Обоснован выбор способа управления, рассчитаны механические и электромеханические характеристики.The object of study is an automatic control system for the pump for transferring ash and slag pulp. The purpose of the work is the development and study of the electric drive of the pump for transferring ash and slag pulp. In the final qualification work, the calculation and selection of the drive motor of the frequency converter for controlling electric drives were made. The choice of control method is justified, mechanical and electromechanical characteristics are calculated

Photochemical formation of intricarene

Sunlight is the ultimate driver of biosynthesis but photochemical steps late in biosynthetic pathways are very rare. They appear to play a role in the formation of certain furanocembranoids isolated from Caribbean corals. One of these compounds, intricarene, has been suspected to arise from an intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition involving an oxidopyrylium. Here we show, by a combination of experiments and theory, that the oxidopyrylium forms under photochemical conditions and that its cycloaddition occurs via a triplet state. The formation of a complex by-product can be rationalized by another photochemical step that involves a conical intersection. Our work raises the question whether intricarene is biosynthesized in the natural habitat of the corals or is an artefact formed during workup. It also demonstrates that the determination of exact irradiation spectra, in combination with quantum chemical calculations, enables the rationalization of complex reaction pathways that involve multiple excited states

Trapping of ultra-cold atoms with the magnetic field of vortices in a thin film superconducting micro-structure

We store and control ultra-cold atoms in a new type of trap using magnetic fields of vortices in a high temperature superconducting micro-structure. This is the first time ultra-cold atoms have been trapped in the field of magnetic flux quanta. We generate the attractive trapping potential for the atoms by combining the magnetic field of a superconductor in the remanent state with external homogeneous magnetic fields. We show the control of crucial atom trap characteristics such as an efficient intrinsic loading mechanism, spatial positioning of the trapped atoms and the vortex density in the superconductor. The measured trap characteristics are in good agreement with our numerical simulations.Comment: 4pages, comments are welcom

Hole-transfer induced energy transfer in perylene diimide dyads with a donor–spacer–acceptor motif

We investigate the photoinduced dynamics of perylene diimide dyads based on a donor–spacer–acceptor motif with polyyne spacers of varying length by pump–probe spectroscopy, time resolved fluorescence, chemical variation and quantum chemistry. While the dyads with pyridine based polyyne spacers undergo energy transfer with near-unity quantum efficiency, in the dyads with phenyl based polyyne spacers the energy transfer efficiency drops below 50%. This suggests the presence of a competing electron transfer process from the spacer to the energy donor as the excitation sink. Transient absorption spectra, however, reveal that the spacer actually mediates the energy transfer dynamics. The ground state bleach features of the polyyne spacers appear due to the electron transfer decay with the same time constant present in the rise of the ground state bleach and stimulated emission of the perylene energy acceptor. Although the electron transfer process initially quenches the fluorescence of the donor it does not inhibit energy transfer to the perylene energy acceptor. The transient signatures reveal that electron and energy transfer processes are sequential and indicate that the donor–spacer electron transfer state itself is responsible for the energy transfer. Through the introduction of a Dexter blocker unit into the spacer we can clearly exclude any through bond Dexter-type energy transfer. Ab initio calculations on the donor–spacer and the donor–spacer–acceptor systems reveal the existence of a bright charge transfer state that is close in energy to the locally excited state of the acceptor. Multipole–multipole interactions between the bright charge transfer state and the acceptor state enable the energy transfer. We term this mechanism coupled hole-transfer FRET. These dyads represent a first example that shows how electron transfer can be connected to energy transfer for use in novel photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices

Direct neutron capture of 48Ca at kT = 52 keV

The neutron capture cross section of 48Ca was measured relative to the known gold cross section at kT = 52 keV using the fast cyclic activation technique. The experiment was performed at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator, Universitaet Tuebingen. The new experimental result is in good agreement with a calculation using the direct capture model. The 1/v behaviour of the capture cross section at thermonuclear energies is confirmed, and the adopted reaction rate which is based on several previous experimental investigations remains unchanged.Comment: 9 pages (uses Revtex), 2 postscript figures, accepted for publication as Brief Report in Phys. Rev.

Comparison of low--energy resonances in 15N(alpha,gamma)19F and 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne and related uncertainties

A disagreement between two determinations of Gamma_alpha of the astro- physically relevant level at E_x=4.378 MeV in 19F has been stated in two recent papers by Wilmes et al. and de Oliveira et al. In this work the uncertainties of both papers are discussed in detail, and we adopt the value Gamma_alpha=(1.5^{+1.5}_{-0.8})10^-9eV for the 4.378 MeV state. In addition, the validity and the uncertainties of the usual approximations for mirror nuclei Gamma_gamma(19F) approx Gamma_gamma(19Ne), theta^2_alpha(19F) approx theta^2_alpha(19Ne) are discussed, together with the resulting uncertainties on the resonance strengths in 19Ne and on the 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne rate.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, To appear in Phys. Rev.

Expert Elicitation on Wind Farm Control

Wind farm control is an active and growing field of research in which the control actions of individual turbines in a farm are coordinated, accounting for inter-turbine aerodynamic interaction, to improve the overall performance of the wind farm and to reduce costs. The primary objectives of wind farm control include increasing power production, reducing turbine loads, and providing electricity grid support services. Additional objectives include improving reliability or reducing external impacts to the environment and communities. In 2019, a European research project (FarmConners) was started with the main goal of providing an overview of the state-of-the-art in wind farm control, identifying consensus of research findings, data sets, and best practices, providing a summary of the main research challenges, and establishing a roadmap on how to address these challenges. Complementary to the FarmConners project, an IEA Wind Topical Expert Meeting (TEM) and two rounds of surveys among experts were performed. From these events we can clearly identify an interest in more public validation campaigns. Additionally, a deeper understanding of the mechanical loads and the uncertainties concerning the effectiveness of wind farm control are considered two major research gaps