2,319 research outputs found
An apertureless near-field microscope for fluorescence imaging
We describe an apertureless near field microscope for imaging fluorescent samples. Optical contrast is generated by exploiting fluorescent quenching near a metallized atomic force microscope tip. This microscope has been used to image fluorescent latex beads with subdiffraction limit resolution. The use of fluorescence allows us to prove that the contrast mechanism is indeed spectroscopic in origin
Tip-Enhanced Fluorescence Microscopy at 10 Nanometer Resolution
We demonstrate unambiguously that the field enhancement near the apex of a laser-illuminated silicon tip decays according to a power law that is moderated by a single parameter characterizing the tip sharpness. Oscillating the probe in intermittent contact with a semiconductor nanocrystal strongly modulates the fluorescence excitation rate, providing robust optical contrast and enabling excellent background rejection. Laterally encoded demodulation yields images with <10 nm spatial resolution, consistent with independent measurements of tip sharpness
Scanning apertureless fluorescence microscope
We describe a near-field apertureless fluorescence microscope, capable of imaging fluorescent latex beads with subwavelength precision. The instrument is based on a home- built tapping-mode atomic-force microscope, to which an inverted optical microscope was added. The fact that the wavelength of the fluorescence that we observe is different from the wavelength of the illumination allows for a relatively straightforward detection mechanism. Sample images are presented, along with evidence that the observe effect is of optical origin
Analysis of Compression Pad Cavities for the Orion Heatshield
Current results of a program for analysis of the compression pad cavities on the Orion heatshield are reviewed. The program was supported by experimental tests, engineering modeling, and applied computations with an emphasis on the latter presented in this paper. The computational tools and approach are described along with calculated results for wind tunnel and flight conditions. Correlations of the computed results are shown which can produce a credible prediction of heating augmentation due to cavity disturbances. The models developed for use in preliminary design of the Orion heatshield are presented
A New Measurement of Cosmic Ray Composition at the Knee
The Dual Imaging Cerenkov Experiment (DICE) was designed and operated for
making elemental composition measurements of cosmic rays near the knee of the
spectrum at several PeV. Here we present the first results using this
experiment from the measurement of the average location of the depth of shower
maximum, , in the atmosphere as a function of particle energy. The value
of near the instrument threshold of ~0.1 PeV is consistent with
expectations from previous direct measurements. At higher energies there is
little change in composition up to ~5 PeV. Above this energy is deeper
than expected for a constant elemental composition implying the overall
elemental composition is becoming lighter above the knee region. These results
disagree with the idea that cosmic rays should become on average heavier above
the knee. Instead they suggest a transition to a qualitatively different
population of particles above 5 PeV.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX, two eps figures, aas2pp4.sty and epsf.sty included,
accepted by Ap.J. Let
Tunneling Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Co/AlOx/Au Tunnel Junctions
We observe spin-valve-like effects in nano-scaled thermally evaporated
Co/AlOx/Au tunnel junctions. The tunneling magnetoresistance is anisotropic and
depends on the relative orientation of the magnetization direction of the Co
electrode with respect to the current direction. We attribute this effect to a
two-step magnetization reversal and an anisotropic density of states resulting
from spin-orbit interaction. The results of this study points to future
applications of novel spintronics devices involving only one ferromagnetic
layer.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accpted for publishing on Nano Letters, 200
TeV neutrinos and gamma rays from pulsars
Recent studies suggest that pulsars could be strong sources of TeV muon
neutrinos provided positive ions are accelerated by pulsar polar caps to PeV
energies. In such a situation muon neutrinos are produced through the delta
resonance in interactions of pulsar accelerated ions with its thermal radiation
field. High energy gamma rays also should be produced simultaneously in pulsar
environment as both charged and neutral pions are generated in the interactions
of energetic hadrons with the ambient photon fields. Here we estimate TeV gamma
ray flux at Earth from few nearby young pulsars. When compared with the
observations we find that proper consideration of the effect of polar cap
geometry in flux calculation is important. Incorporating such an effect we
obtain the (revised) event rates at Earth due to few potential nearby pulsars.
The results suggest that pulsars are unlikely to be detected by the upcoming
neutrino telescopes. We also estimate TeV gamma ray and neutrino fluxes from
pulsar nebulae for the adopted model of particle acceleration.Comment: Six pages, accepted in MNRA
Near-Infrared Synchrotron Emission from Cas A
High energy observations of Cas A suggested the presence of synchrotron
radiation, implying acceleration of cosmic rays by young supernova remnants. We
detect synchrotron emission from Cas A in the near-infrared using Two Micron
All Sky Survey (2MASS) and Palomar 200 inch PFIRCAM observations. The remnant
is detected in J, H, and Ks bands, with Ks band brightest and J faint. In the J
and H bands, bright [Fe II] lines (1.24um and 1.64um) are detected
spectroscopically. The Palomar observations include Ks continuum, narrow-band
1.64um (centered on [Fe II]) and 2.12um (centered on H2(1-0)) images. While the
narrow-band 1.64um image shows filamentary and knotty structures, similar to
the optical image, the Ks image shows a relatively smooth, diffuse shell,
remarkably similar to the radio image. The broad-band near-infrared fluxes of
Cas A are generally consistent with, but a few tens of percent higher than, an
extrapolation of the radio fluxes. The hardening to higher frequencies is
possibly due to nonlinear shock acceleration and/or spectral index variation
across the remnant. We show evidence of spectral index variation. The presence
of near-infrared synchrotron radiation requires the roll-off frequency to be
higher than 1.5e14 Hz, implying that electrons are accelerated to energies of
at least 0.2 TeV. The morphological similarity in diffuse emission between the
radio and Ks band images implies that synchrotron losses are not dominant. Our
observations show unambiguous evidence that the near-infrared Ks band emission
of Cas A is from synchrotron emission by accelerated cosmic-ray electrons.Comment: accepted by Ap
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