Composite-type Rb-87 optical-pumping light source for the rubidium frequency standard

The light source is composed of a cylindrical Rb-87 lamp 10 mm diameter and a Rb-85 filter cell 3-7 mm long attached to the front flat face of the lamp. This composite type device is operated in an oven at about 100 C. Thus a light source for Rb-87 hyperfine optical pumping less than 4 cm long by 3 cm diameter was constructed

Global Climate Action 2022: How have international initiatives delivered, and what more is possible

Contains fulltext : 285265.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)This report is the latest stocktake of international cooper- ative climate action. International cooperative initiatives (ICIs) have been a major feature of international climate governance ever since the UNFCCC started recording them in 2013. These partnerships engage a wide range of non- state and subnational actors, including businesses, inves- tors, civil society, national governments, and international organizations. We identified 601 ICIs launched since 2013 with more than 70,000 instances1 of participation by cities and regions, businesses, and by domestic and international NGOs. The total number of ICIs covered in this study has more than doubled compared to previous analyses as a result of examining outcomes from all major climate summits and campaigns since 2014. The growth of active initiatives (85% of all ICIs launched since 2013) has flat- tened since 2019. This is partly explained by the expiration of many initiatives that were launched prior or around the UN Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic may also explain lower growth of new initiatives, especially in 2020. Overall productivity of initiatives is trending downwards. Through assessing the extent whether initiatives’ outputs (e.g., infrastructure, research, new installations) are consist- ent with their functions (e.g., training, norm-/standard set- ting, technical on-the-ground implementation), we observed a higher share of low or non-performing initiatives in both mitigation and adaptation since 2019. Overall productivity of initiatives is also trending downwards. ICIs have been launched without further implementation and operation- alization of commitments. This gap between commitments and implementation risks to undermine the credibility of ICIs and the campaigns and summits that convene them. The downwards trend in productivity may be explained by ICIs initially picking ‘low-hanging fruit’ and subsequently having to take more difficult measures. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has likely affected the performance of ICIs. During the pandemic, ICIs’ production of outputs that are location-specific (such as in-person trainings, and new infrastructure or installations) decreased at a faster rate than those that are not location specific (such as websites, online platforms, and research publications). Conversely, we observe a rapid growth of webcasted events, which may reflect a replacement of physical activities by virtual ones. Our analysis suggests a strong and growing underrep- resentation of the Global South. Although ICIs have great potential to contribute to sustainable development in devel- oping countries, studies have consistently shown a strong underrepresentation of the Global South. Implementation disproportionately takes place in the Global North. In line with previous assessments our analysis shows the under- representation of funders, leaders, and participants of ICIs based in non-OECD countries. Moreover, since 2015 the share of outputs produced in the Global North has steadily grown. Some imbalances are to be expected as they appro- priately and reflect differentiated responsibilities and the need for a strong focus on climate mitigation. Nonetheless, the benefits of ICIs, particularly adaptation and resilience building, should also accrue to developing countries. Summit and campaign organizers should steer towards higher performance by setting requirements for ICIs, particularly among initiatives that are launched at cli- mate conferences, summits and by COP presidencies. For instance, before featuring ICIs at climate conferences, organizers should require ICIs to provide evidence that they are making progress against targets and/or have capacities and resources to deliver on pledges. Possible measures identified in the literature include the appointment of dedi- cated staff and/or a secretariat, regular reporting, credible budgets, and openness for new partners to join an initiative, while facilitating interfaces between non-state, subnational actors, policymakers and funders. The report assessed the potential contributions of 12 international sector initiatives launched around and during COP26 (hereinafter, ‘Glasgow initiatives’) on future green- house gas (GHG) emission reductions. We found that the theoretical coverage of these Glasgow initiatives is large: they cover sectors that could potentially lead to 11 GtCO2e lower emissions in 2030 compared to the aggregate of NDCs, addressing a considerable part of the ‘ambition gap’ between the NDC scenario and the benchmark 1.5°C scenario (Figure ES-1). However, not all governments have signed up and impact of signatories is quite small because many already have the action included in their NDC: There- fore, a full implementation of the initiatives’ 1.5°C-aligned goals by the current signatories would only lead to about 5 GtCO2e of emission reductions additional to the NDC scenario (Figure ES- 1). Ambition can be raised in two ways based on these results: First, the biggest potential lies in additional governments signing up to initiatives that have not yet done so (6 GtCO2e). The theory of change of the initiatives is to put non-signatories on the spot, but membership since the Glasgow COP has changed only marginally. Second, govern- ments that have signed up have not yet fully taken these actions into account in their NDCs and therefore could increase the ambition in their NDCs (5 GtCO2e). Future COPs could generate momentum in sectors not covered by the Glasgow initiatives. Although the Glasgow initiatives’ emission reduction potential is substantial, there are still sectors in which momentum for rapid transition toward decarbonisation is needed, including the buildings sector and heavy industry sectors other than steel, such as chemicals and cement. These sectors have not been well covered by ICIs, especially by those that involve large emitting countries and established international institutions. The presidencies of the next few COPs as well as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions may take the leader- ship to generate momentum to accelerate decarbonisation in these sectors. We also compared these Glasgow initiatives to those pre- viously launched at major international conferences, which have shown mixed performance results , in terms of, for example, financing and reporting requirements. The lim- ited literature indicates that there continues to be a lack of enforcement mechanisms in some Glasgow initiatives. However, there are also noticeable improvements in other Glasgow initiatives , such as annual progress assessment mandated to international organisations and, more impor- tantly, securing finance for implementation. Continued political drive from national governments can help realize the Glasgow initiatives’ potential. The political drive as shown by the UK Presidency has been crucial for establishing the Glasgow initiatives with their launch. Continued political drive is required for the poten- tial impact of the initiatives to materialise and expand. Upcoming COP Presidencies and UN Climate Change High- Level Champions may represent this political drive and generate more leadership, particularly among large emitting countries, in order to maintain momentum and credibility after COP27 and to drive towards more signatories and implementation of global climate action.28 p

Anomalous Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Heavy-Fermion PrFe4P12

We have investigated the anisotropy of the magnetoresistance in the Pr-based HF compound PrFe4P12. The large anisotropy of effective mass and its strong field dependence have been confirmed by resistivity measurements. Particularly for H||[111], where the effective mass is most strongly enhanced, the non-Fermi liquid behavior has been observed. Also, we have found the angular dependence of the magnetoresistance sharply enhanced at H||[111], which is evidently correlated with both the non-Fermi liquid behavior and the high-field ordered state (B-phase).Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol.77, No.8, in pres

Розвиток етнографії в Наддніпрянській Україні наприкінці XIX – на початку XX століття (історіографічний аспект)

The researcher elucidates in detail the development of the Ukrainian ethnography (in a historiographical aspect) using the examples of the prominent personalities with their guiding works in this field. He makes a conclusion about the most important achievement of the ethnographers of a period ca. 1900s – the transition from the descriptive approach to the historically comparative method in the Ukrainian ethnography

A Novel Greeting Selection System for a Culture-Adaptive Humanoid Robot

Robots, especially humanoids, are expected to perform human-like actions and adapt to our ways of communication in order to facilitate their acceptance in human society. Among humans, rules of communication change depending on background culture: greetings are a part of communication in which cultural differences are strong. Robots should adapt to these specific differences in order to communicate effectively, being able to select the appropriate manner of greeting for different cultures depending on the social context. In this paper, we present the modelling of social factors that influence greeting choice, and the resulting novel culture-dependent greeting gesture and words selection system. An experiment with German participants was run using the humanoid robot ARMAR-IIIb. Thanks to this system, the robot, after interacting with Germans, can perform greeting gestures appropriate to German culture in addition to a repertoire of greetings appropriate to Japanese culture

On the origin of multiple ordered phases in PrFe4P12

The nature of multiple electronic orders in skutterudite PrFe_4P_{12} is discussed on the basis of a model with antiferro-quadrupole (AFQ) interaction of \Gamma_3 symmetry. The high-field phase can be reproduced qualitatively provided (i) ferro-type interactions are introduced between the dipoles as well as between the octupoles of localized f-electrons, and (ii) separation is vanishingly small between the \Gamma_1-\Gamma_4^{(1)} crystalline electric field (CEF) levels. The high-field phase can have either the same ordering vector q=(1,0,0) as in the low-field phase, or a different one q=0 depending on the parameters. In the latter case, distortion of the crystal perpendicular to the (111) axis is predicted. The corresponding anomaly in elastic constants should also appear. The electrical resistivity is calculated with account of scattering within the CEF quasi-quartet. It is found that the resistivity as a function of the direction of magnetic field shows a sharp maximum around the (111) axis at low temperatures because of the level crossing.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Fast Purcell-enhanced single photon source in 1,550-nm telecom band from a resonant quantum dot-cavity coupling

High-bit-rate nanocavity-based single photon sources in the 1,550-nm telecom band are challenges facing the development of fibre-based long-haul quantum communication networks. Here we report a very fast single photon source in the 1,550-nm telecom band, which is achieved by a large Purcell enhancement that results from the coupling of a single InAs quantum dot and an InP photonic crystal nanocavity. At a resonance, the spontaneous emission rate was enhanced by a factor of 5 resulting a record fast emission lifetime of 0.2 ns at 1,550 nm. We also demonstrate that this emission exhibits an enhanced anti-bunching dip. This is the first realization of nanocavity-enhanced single photon emitters in the 1,550-nm telecom band. This coupled quantum dot cavity system in the telecom band thus provides a bright high-bit-rate non-classical single photon source that offers appealing novel opportunities for the development of a long-haul quantum telecommunication system via optical fibres.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure