28,660 research outputs found
KWISP: an ultra-sensitive force sensor for the Dark Energy sector
An ultra-sensitive opto-mechanical force sensor has been built and tested in
the optics laboratory at INFN Trieste. Its application to experiments in the
Dark Energy sector, such as those for Chameleon-type WISPs, is particularly
attractive, as it enables a search for their direct coupling to matter. We
present here the main characteristics and the absolute force calibration of the
KWISP (Kinetic WISP detection) sensor. It is based on a thin Si3N4
micro-membrane placed inside a Fabry-Perot optical cavity. By monitoring the
cavity characteristic frequencies it is possible to detect the tiny membrane
displacements caused by an applied force. Far from the mechanical resonant
frequency of the membrane, the measured force sensitivity is 5.0e-14
N/sqrt(Hz), corresponding to a displacement sensitivity of 2.5e-15 m/sqrt(Hz),
while near resonance the sensitivity is 1.5e-14 N/sqrt(Hz), reaching the
estimated thermal limit, or, in terms of displacement, 7.5e-16 N/sqrt(Hz).
These displacement sensitivities are comparable to those that can be achieved
by large interferometric gravitational wave detectors.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures in colo
Detecting solar chameleons through radiation pressure
Light scalar fields can drive the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Hence, they are obvious dark energy candidates. To make such models compatible
with tests of General Relativity in the solar system and "fifth force" searches
on Earth, one needs to screen them. One possibility is the so-called
"chameleon" mechanism, which renders an effective mass depending on the local
matter density. If chameleon particles exist, they can be produced in the sun
and detected on Earth exploiting the equivalent of a radiation pressure. Since
their effective mass scales with the local matter density, chameleons can be
reflected by a dense medium if their effective mass becomes greater than their
total energy. Thus, under appropriate conditions, a flux of solar chameleons
may be sensed by detecting the total instantaneous momentum transferred to a
suitable opto-mechanical force/pressure sensor. We calculate the solar
chameleon spectrum and the reach in the chameleon parameter space of an
experiment using the preliminary results from a force/pressure sensor,
currently under development at INFN Trieste, to be mounted in the focal plane
of one of the X-Ray telescopes of the CAST experiment at CERN. We show, that
such an experiment signifies a pioneering effort probing uncharted chameleon
parameter space.Comment: revised versio
Controlling the stability transfer between oppositely traveling waves and standing waves by inversion-symmetry-breaking perturbations
The effect of an externally applied flow on symmetry degenerated waves
propagating into opposite directions and standing waves that exchange stability
with the traveling waves via mixed states is analyzed. Wave structures that
consist of spiral vortices in the counter rotating Taylor-Couette system are
investigated by full numerical simulations and explained quantitatively by
amplitude equations containing quintic coupling terms. The latter are
appropriate to describe the influence of inversion symmetry breaking
perturbations on many oscillatory instabilities with O(2) symmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Electronic Raman scattering of Tl-2223 and the symmetry of the supercon- ducting gap
Single crystalline Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 was studied using electronic Raman
scattering. The renormalization of the scattering continuum was investigated as
a function of the scattering geometry to determine the superconducting energy
gap 2Delta(k). The A1g- and B2g-symmetry component show a linear frequency
behaviour of the scattering intensity with a peak related to the energy gap,
while the B1g-symmetry component shows a characteristic behaviour at higher
frequencies. The observed frequency dependencies are consistent with a
dx^2-y^2-wave symmetry of the gap and yield a ratio of 2Delta/k_BT_c=7.4. With
the polarization of the scattered and incident light either parallel or
perpendicular to the CuO2-planes a strong anisotropy due to the layered
structure was detected, which indicates an almost 2 dimensional behaviour of
this system.Comment: 2 pages, Postscript-file including 2 figures. Accepted for
publication in the Proceedings of the M^2SHTSC IV Conference, Grenoble
(France), 5-9 July 1994. Proceedings to be published in Physica C. Contact
address: [email protected]
Spectral properties and geology of bright and dark material on dwarf planet Ceres
Variations and spatial distributions of bright and dark material on dwarf
planet Ceres play a key role in understanding the processes that have led to
its present surface composition. We define limits for bright and dark material
in order to distinguish them consistently, based on the reflectance of the
average surface using Dawn Framing Camera data. A systematic classification of
four types of bright material is presented based on their spectral properties,
composition, spatial distribution, and association with specific
geomorphological features. We found obvious correlations of reflectance with
spectral shape (slopes) and age; however, this is not unique throughout the
bright spots. Although impact features show generally more extreme reflectance
variations, several areas can only be understood in terms of inhomogeneous
distribution of composition as inferred from Dawn Visible and Infrared
Spectrometer data. Additional material with anomalous composition and spectral
properties are rare. The identification of the composition and origin of the
dark, particularly the darkest material, remains to be explored. The spectral
properties and the morphology of the dark sites suggest an endogenic origin,
but it is not clear whether they are more or less primitive surficial exposures
or excavated subsurface but localized material. The reflectance, spectral
properties, inferred composition, and geologic context collectively suggest
that the bright and dark material tends to gradually change toward the average
surface over time. This could be because of multiple processes, i.e., impact
gardening/space weathering, and lateral mixing, including thermal and aqueous
alteration, accompanied by changes in composition and physical properties such
as grain size, surface temperature, and porosity (compaction).Comment: Meteoritics and Planetary Science; Dawn at Ceres special issu
A new doubly discrete analogue of smoke ring flow and the real time simulation of fluid flow
Modelling incompressible ideal fluids as a finite collection of vortex
filaments is important in physics (super-fluidity, models for the onset of
turbulence) as well as for numerical algorithms used in computer graphics for
the real time simulation of smoke. Here we introduce a time-discrete evolution
equation for arbitrary closed polygons in 3-space that is a discretisation of
the localised induction approximation of filament motion. This discretisation
shares with its continuum limit the property that it is a completely integrable
system. We apply this polygon evolution to a significant improvement of the
numerical algorithms used in Computer Graphics.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
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