6,263 research outputs found
Graphite/epoxy composite adapters for the Space Shuttle/Centaur vehicle
The decision to launch various NASA satellite and Air Force spacecraft from the Space Shuttle created the need for a high-energy upper stage capable of being deployed from the cargo bay. Two redesigned versions of the Centaur vehicle which employed a graphite/epoxy composite material for the forward and aft adapters were selected. Since this was the first time a graphite/epoxy material was used for Centaur major structural components, the development of the adapters was a major effort. An overview of the composite adapter designs, subcomponent design evaluation test results, and composite adapter test results from a full-scale vehicle structural test is presented
Magnetic fluctuation power near proton temperature anisotropy instability thresholds in the solar wind
The proton temperature anisotropy in the solar wind is known to be
constrained by the theoretical thresholds for pressure anisotropy-driven
instabilities. Here we use approximately 1 million independent measurements of
gyroscale magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind to show for the first time
that these fluctuations are enhanced along the temperature anisotropy
thresholds of the mirror, proton oblique firehose, and ion cyclotron
instabilities. In addition, the measured magnetic compressibility is enhanced
at high plasma beta () along the mirror instability
threshold but small elsewhere, consistent with expectations of the mirror mode.
The power in this frequency (the 'dissipation') range is often considered to be
driven by the solar wind turbulent cascade, an interpretation which should be
qualified in light of the present results. In particular, we show that the
short wavelength magnetic fluctuation power is a strong function of
collisionality, which relaxes the temperature anisotropy away from the
instability conditions and reduces correspondingly the fluctuation power.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Robust entanglement generation by reservoir engineering
Following a recent proposal [C. Muschik et. al., Phys. Rev. A 83, 052312
(2011)], engineered dissipative processes have been used for the generation of
stable entanglement between two macroscopic atomic ensembles at room
temperature [H. Krauter et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 080503 (2011)]. This
experiment included the preparation of entangled states which are continuously
available during a time interval of one hour. Here, we present additional
material, further-reaching data and an extension of the theory developed in [C.
Muschik et. al., Phys. Rev. A 83, 052312 (2011)]. In particular, we show how
the combination of the entangling dissipative mechanism with measurements can
give rise to a substantial improvement of the generated entanglement in the
presence of noise.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Physics B, special issue on "Quantum Memory
First principles structures and circular dichroism spectra for the close-packed and the 7/2 motif of collagen
The recently proposed close-packed motif for collagen is investigated using
first principles semi-empirical wave function theory and Kohn-Sham density
functional theory. Under these refinements the close-packed motif is shown to
be stable. For the case of the 7/2 motif a similar stability exists. The
electronic circular dichroism of the close-packed model has a significant
negative bias and a large signal. An interesting feature of the close-packed
structure is the existence of a central channel. Simulations show that, if
hydrogen atoms are placed in the cavity, a chain of molecular hydrogens is
formed suggesting a possible biological function for molecular hydrogen.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; 3(PPG)_6 xyz file attached; v2: minor
modification
Stringent Phenomenological Investigation into Heterotic String Optical Unification
For the weakly coupled heterotic string (WCHS) there is a well-known factor
of twenty conflict between the minimum string coupling unification scale,
Lambda_H ~5x10^(17) GeV, and the projected MSSM unification scale, Lambda_U ~
2.5x10^(16) GeV, assuming an intermediate scale desert (ISD). Renormalization
effects of intermediate scale MSSM-charged exotics (ISME) (endemic to
quasi-realistic string models) can resolve this issue, pushing the MSSM scale
up to the string scale. However, for a generic string model, this implies that
the projected Lambda_U unification under ISD is accidental. If the true
unification scale is 5.0x10^(17) GeV, is it possible that illusionary
unification at 2.5x10^(17) GeV in the ISD scenario is not accidental? If it is
not, then under what conditions would the assumption of ISME in a WCHS model
imply apparent unification at Lambda_U when ISD is falsely assumed? Geidt's
"optical unification" suggests that Lambda_U is not accidental, by offering a
mechanism whereby a generic MSSM scale Lambda_U < Lambda_H is guaranteed. A
WCHS model was constructed that offers the possibility of optical unification,
depending on the availability of anomaly-cancelling flat directions meeting
certain requirements. This paper reports on the systematic investigation of the
optical unification properties of the set of stringent flat directions of this
model. Stringent flat directions can be guaranteed to be F-flat to all finite
order (or to at least a given finite order consistent with electroweak scale
supersymmetry breaking) and can be viewed as the likely roots of more general
flat directions. Analysis of the phenomenology of stringent flat directions
gives an indication of the remaining optical unification phenomenology that
must be garnered by flat directions developed from them.Comment: standard latex, 18 pages of tex
Entanglement generated by dissipation and steady state entanglement of two macroscopic objects
Entanglement is a striking feature of quantum mechanics and an essential
ingredient in most applications in quantum information. Typically, coupling of
a system to an environment inhibits entanglement, particularly in macroscopic
systems. Here we report on an experiment, where dissipation continuously
generates entanglement between two macroscopic objects. This is achieved by
engineering the dissipation using laser- and magnetic fields, and leads to
robust event-ready entanglement maintained for 0.04s at room temperature. Our
system consists of two ensembles containing about 10^{12} atoms and separated
by 0.5m coupled to the environment composed of the vacuum modes of the
electromagnetic field. By combining the dissipative mechanism with a continuous
measurement, steady state entanglement is continuously generated and observed
for up to an hour.Comment: This is an update of the preprint from June 2010. It includes new
results on the creation of steady state entanglement, which has been
maintained up to one hou
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