4,501 research outputs found
Observing Coherence Effects in an Overdamped Quantum System
It is usually considered that the spectrum of an optical cavity coupled to an
atomic medium does not exhibit a normal-mode splitting unless the system
satisfies the strong coupling condition, meaning the Rabi frequency of the
coherent coupling exceeds the decay rates of atom and cavity excitations. Here
we show that this need not be the case, but depends on the way in which the
coupled system is probed. Measurements of the reflection of a probe laser from
the input mirror of an overdamped cavity reveal an avoided crossing in the
spectrum which is not observed when driving the atoms directly and measuring
the Purcell-enhanced cavity emission. We understand these observations by
noting a formal correspondence with electromagnetically-induced transparency of
a three-level atom in free space, where our cavity acts as the absorbing medium
and the coupled atoms play the role of the control field
Short gamma-ray bursts within 200 Mpc
We present a systematic search for short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the local Universe based on 14 yr of observations with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We cross-correlate the GRB positions with the GLADE catalogue of nearby galaxies, and find no event at a distance ≲100 Mpc and four plausible candidates in the range 100 Mpc ≲ D ≲ 200 Mpc. Although affected by low statistics, this number is higher than the one expected for chance alignments to random galaxies, and possibly suggests a physical association between these bursts and nearby galaxies. By assuming a local origin, we use these events to constrain the range of properties for X-ray counterparts of neutron star mergers. Optical upper limits place tight constraints on the onset of a blue kilonova, and imply either low masses (≲10−3M⊙) of lanthanide-poor ejecta or unfavorable orientations (θ_(obs) ≳ 30 deg). Finally, we derive that the all-sky rate of detectable short GRBs within 200 Mpc is 1.3^(+1.7)_(−0.8) yr⁻¹ (68 per cent confidence interval), and discuss the implications for the GRB outflow structure. If these candidates are instead of cosmological origin, we set a upper limit of ≲2.0 yr⁻¹ (90 per cent confidence interval) to the rate of nearby events detectable with operating gamma-ray observatories, such as Swift and Fermi
Measurement of Lagrangian velocity in fully developed turbulence
We have developed a new experimental technique to measure the Lagrangian
velocity of tracer particles in a turbulent flow, based on ultrasonic Doppler
tracking. This method yields a direct access to the velocity of a single
particule at a turbulent Reynolds number . Its dynamics is
analyzed with two decades of time resolution, below the Lagrangian correlation
time. We observe that the Lagrangian velocity spectrum has a Lorentzian form
, in agreement
with a Kolmogorov-like scaling in the inertial range. The probability density
function (PDF) of the velocity time increments displays a change of shape from
quasi-Gaussian a integral time scale to stretched exponential tails at the
smallest time increments. This intermittency, when measured from relative
scaling exponents of structure functions, is more pronounced than in the
Eulerian framework.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. to appear in PR
Sensitive gravity-gradiometry with atom interferometry: progress towards an improved determination of the gravitational constant
We here present a high sensitivity gravity-gradiometer based on atom
interferometry. In our apparatus, two clouds of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are
launched in fountain configuration and interrogated by a Raman interferometry
sequence to probe the gradient of gravity field. We recently implemented a
high-flux atomic source and a newly designed Raman lasers system in the
instrument set-up. We discuss the applications towards a precise determination
of the Newtonian gravitational constant G. The long-term stability of the
instrument and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting
perspectives for pushing the measurement precision below the 100 ppm level
The relation between column densities of interstellar OH and CH molecules
We present a new, close relation between column densities of OH and CH
molecules based on 16 translucent sightlines (six of them new) and confirm the
theoretical oscillator strengths of the OH A--X transitions at 3078 and 3082
\AA (0.00105, 0.000648) and CH B--X transitions at 3886 and 3890 \AA, (0.00320,
0.00210), respectively. We also report no difference between observed and
previously modelled abundances of the OH molecule.Comment: 4 pages, 0 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Short gamma-ray bursts within 200 Mpc
We present a systematic search for short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the local Universe based on 14 yr of observations with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We cross-correlate the GRB positions with the GLADE catalogue of nearby galaxies, and find no event at a distance ≲100 Mpc and four plausible candidates in the range 100 Mpc ≲ D ≲ 200 Mpc. Although affected by low statistics, this number is higher than the one expected for chance alignments to random galaxies, and possibly suggests a physical association between these bursts and nearby galaxies. By assuming a local origin, we use these events to constrain the range of properties for X-ray counterparts of neutron star mergers. Optical upper limits place tight constraints on the onset of a blue kilonova, and imply either low masses (≲10−3M⊙) of lanthanide-poor ejecta or unfavorable orientations (θ_(obs) ≳ 30 deg). Finally, we derive that the all-sky rate of detectable short GRBs within 200 Mpc is 1.3^(+1.7)_(−0.8) yr⁻¹ (68 per cent confidence interval), and discuss the implications for the GRB outflow structure. If these candidates are instead of cosmological origin, we set a upper limit of ≲2.0 yr⁻¹ (90 per cent confidence interval) to the rate of nearby events detectable with operating gamma-ray observatories, such as Swift and Fermi
Universal Crossover between Efros-Shklovskii and Mott Variable-Range-Hopping Regimes
A universal scaling function, describing the crossover between the Mott and
the Efros-Shklovskii hopping regimes, is derived, using the percolation picture
of transport in strongly localized systems. This function is agrees very well
with experimental data. Quantitative comparison with experiment allows for the
possible determination of the role played by polarons in the transport.Comment: 7 pages + 1 figure, Revte
PERFLUOROOCTANE SULFONATE (PFOS) AND PERFLUOROOCTANOATE (PFOA) CONTAMINATION OF WATER ENVIRONMENT IN ASIAN COUNTRIES
Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart
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