352 research outputs found
Quantum interference of single photons from remote nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
We demonstrate quantum interference between indistinguishable photons emitted
by two nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in distinct diamond samples separated by
two meters. Macroscopic solid immersion lenses are used to enhance photon
collection efficiency. Quantum interference is verified by measuring a value of
the second-order cross-correlation function .
In addition, optical transition frequencies of two separated NV centers are
tuned into resonance with each other by applying external electric fields.
Extension of the present approach to generate entanglement of remote
solid-state qubits is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Four Years of Realtime GRB Followup by BOOTES-1B (2005-2008)
Four years of BOOTES-1B GRB follow-up history are summarised for the first
time in the form of a table. The successfully followed events are described
case by case.
Further, the data are used to show the GRB trigger rate in Spain on a
per-year basis, resulting in an estimate of 18 triggers and about 51 h of
telescope time per year for real time triggers. These numbers grow to about 22
triggers and 77 h per year if we include also the GRBs observable within 2
hours after the trigger.Comment: 16 pages, Accepted into Proceedings of AstroRob Malaga 200
Nanodiamonds carrying quantum emitters with almost lifetime-limited linewidths
Nanodiamonds (NDs) hosting optically active defects are an important
technical material for applications in quantum sensing, biological imaging, and
quantum optics. The negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV) defect is known to
fluoresce in molecular sized NDs (1 to 6 nm) and its spectral properties depend
on the quality of the surrounding host lattice. This defect is therefore a good
probe to investigate the material properties of small NDs. Here we report
unprecedented narrow optical transitions for SiV colour centers hosted in
nanodiamonds produced using a novel high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT)
technique. The SiV zero-phonon lines were measured to have an inhomogeneous
distribution of 1.05 nm at 5 K across a sample of numerous NDs. Individual
spectral lines as narrow as 354 MHz were measured for SiV centres in
nanodiamonds smaller than 200 nm, which is four times narrower than the best
SiV line previously reported for nanodiamonds. Correcting for apparent spectral
diffusion yielded a homogeneous linewith of about 200 MHz, which is close to
the width limit imposed by the radiative lifetime. These results demonstrate
that the direct HPHT synthesis technique is capable of producing nanodiamonds
with high crystal lattice quality, which are therefore a valuable technical
material
Recent GRBs observed with the 1.23m CAHA telescope and the status of its upgrade
We report on optical observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) followed up by
our collaboration with the 1.23m telescope located at the Calar Alto
observatory. The 1.23m telescope is an old facility, currently undergoing
upgrades to enable fully autonomous response to GRB alerts. We discuss the
current status of the control system upgrade of the 1.23m telescope. The
upgrade is being done by the ARAE our group, based on members of IAA (Instituto
de Astrofiisica de Andalucia). Currently the ARAE group is responsible to
develop the BOOTES network of robotic telescopes based on the Remote Telescope
System, 2nd Version (RTS2), which controls the available instruments and
interacts with the EPICS database of Calar Alto. Currently the telescope can
run fully autonomously or under observer supervision using RTS2. The fast
reaction response mode for GRB reaction (typically with response times below 3
minutes from the GRB onset) still needs some development and testing. The
telescope is usually operated in legacy interactive mode, with periods of
supervised autonomous runs under RTS2. We show the preliminary results of
several GRBs followed up with observer intervention during the testing phase of
the 1.23m control software upgrade.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in the Special issue
"Robotic Astronomy" of Advances in Astronomy. It includes two iterations with
the referee
The tracking of speech envelope in the human cortex
Abstract Humans are highly adept at processing speech. Recently, it has been shown that slow temporal information in speech (i.e., the envelope of speech) is critical for speech comprehension. Furthermore, it has been found that evoked electric potentials in human cortex are correlated with the speech envelope. However, it has been unclear whether this essential linguistic feature is encoded differentially in specific regions, or whether it is represented throughout the auditory system. To answer this question, we recorded neural data with high temporal resolution directly from the cortex while human subjects listened to a spoken story. We found that the gamma activity in human auditory cortex robustly tracks the speech envelope. The effect is so marked that it is observed during a single presentation of the spoken story to each subject. The effect is stronger in regions situated relatively early in the auditory pathway (belt areas) compared to other regions involved in speech processing, including the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the posterior inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's region). To further distinguish whether speech envelope is encoded in the auditory system as a phonological (speech-related), or instead as a more general acoustic feature, we also probed the auditory system with a melodic stimulus. We found that belt areas track melody envelope weakly, and as the only region considered. Together, our data provide the first direct electrophysiological evidence that the envelope of speech is robustly tracked in non-primary auditory cortex (belt areas in particular), and suggest that the considered higher-order regions (STG and Broca's region) partake in a more abstract linguistic analysis
Development of the Arizona Robotic Telescope Network
The Arizona Robotic Telescope Network (ARTN) project is a long term effort to
develop a system of telescopes to carry out a flexible program of PI observing,
survey projects, and time domain astrophysics including monitoring, rapid
response, and transient/target-of-opportunity followup. Steward Observatory
operates and shares in several 1-3m class telescopes with quality sites and
instrumentation, largely operated in classical modes. Science programs suited
to these telescopes are limited by scheduling flexibility and people-power of
available observers. Our goal is to adapt these facilities for multiple
co-existing queued programs, interrupt capability, remote/robotic operation,
and delivery of reduced data. In the long term, planning for the LSST era, we
envision an automated system coordinating across multiple telescopes and sites,
where alerts can trigger followup, classification, and triggering of further
observations if required, such as followup imaging that can trigger
spectroscopy. We are updating telescope control systems and software to
implement this system in stages, beginning with the Kuiper 61'' and Vatican
Observatory 1.8-m telescopes. The Kuiper 61'' and its Mont4K camera can now be
controlled and queue-scheduled by the RTS2 observatory control software, and
operated from a remote room at Steward. We discuss science and technical
requirements for ARTN, and some of the challenges in adapting heterogenous
legacy facilities, scheduling, data pipelines, and maintaining capabilities for
a diverse user base.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes & Instrumentation 2018,
Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems VI
Patterns and dynamics of rapid local adaptation and sex in varying habitat types in rotifers
Local adaptation is an important principle in a world of environmental change and might be critical for species persistence. We tested the hypothesis that replicated populations can attain rapid local adaptation under two varying laboratory environments. Clonal subpopulations of the cyclically parthenogenetic rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus were allowed to adapt to two varying harsh and a benign environment: a high-salt, a food-limited environment and untreated culture medium (no salt addition, high food). In contrast to most previous studies, we re-adjusted rotifer density to a fixed value (two individuals per ml) every 3–4 days of unrestricted population growth, instead of exchanging a fixed proportion of the culture medium. Thus our dilution regime specifically selected for high population growth during the entire experiment and it allowed us to continuously track changes in fitness (i.e., maximum population growth under the prevailing conditions) in each population. After 56 days (43 asexual and eight sexual generations) of selection, the populations in the harsh environments showed a significant increase in fitness over time relative to the beginning compared to the population in untreated culture medium. Furthermore, the high-salt population exhibited a significantly elevated ratio of sexual offspring from the start of the experiment, which suggested that this environment either triggered higher rates of sex or that the untreated medium and the food-limited environment suppressed sex. In a following assay of local adaptation we measured population fitness under “local” versus “foreign” conditions (populations adapted to this environment compared to those of the other environment) for both harsh habitats. We found significantly higher fitness values for the local populations (on average, a 38% higher fitness) compared to the foreign populations. Overall, local adaptation was formed rapidly and it seemed to be more pronounced in the high-salt treatment
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