19,772 research outputs found
Apparatus for precision focussing and positioning of a beam waist on a target
The invention relates to optical focussing apparatus and, more particularly, to optical apparatus for focussing a highly collimated Gaussian beam which provides independent and fine control over the focus waist diameter, the focus position both along the beam axis and transverse to the beam, and the focus angle. A beam focussing and positioning apparatus provides focussing and positioning for the waist of a waisted beam at a desired location on a target such as an optical fiber. The apparatus includes a first lens, having a focal plane f sub 1, disposed in the path of an incoming beam and a second lens, having a focal plane f sub 2 and being spaced downstream from the first lens by a distance at least equal to f sub 1 + 10 f sub 2, which cooperates with the first lens to focus the waist of the beam on the target. A rotatable optical device, disposed upstream of the first lens, adjusts the angular orientation of the beam waist. The transverse position of the first lens relative to the axis of the beam is varied to control the transverse position of the beam waist relative to the target (a fiber optic as shown) while the relative axial positions of the lenses are varied to control the diameter of the beam waist and to control the axial position of the beam waist. Mechanical controllers C sub 1, C sub 2, C sub 3, C sub 4, and C sub 5 control the elements of the optical system. How seven adjustments can be made to correctly couple a laser beam into an optical fiber is illustrated. Prior art systems employing optical techniques to couple a laser beam into an optical fiber or other target simply do not provide the seven necessary adjustments. The closest known prior art, a Newport coupler, provides only two of the seven required adjustments
Light transmission assisted by Brewster-Zennek modes in chromium films carrying a subwavelength hole array
This work confirms that not only surface plasmons but many other kinds of
electromagnetic eigenmodes should be considered in explaining the values of the
transmittivity through a slab bearing a two-dimensional periodic corrugation.
Specifically, the role of Brewster-Zennek modes appearing in metallic films
exhibiting regions of weak positive dielectric constant. It is proposed that
these modes play a significant role in the light transmission in a thin
chromium film perforated with normal cylindrical holes, for appropriate lattice
parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Published versio
Neutron spectroscopic factors of Ni isotopes from transfer reactions
177 neutron spectroscopic factors for nickel isotopes have been extracted by
performing a systematic analysis of the angular distributions measured from
(d,p) transfer reactions. A subset of the extracted spectroscopic factors are
compared to predictions of large-basis shell models in the full pf model space
using the GXPF1A effective interaction, and the (f5/2, p3/2, p1/2, g9/2) model
space using the JJ4PNA interaction. For ground states, the predicted
spectroscopic factors using the GXPF1A effective interaction in the full pf
model space agree very well with the experimental values, while predictions
based on several other effective interactions and model spaces are about 30%
higher than the experimental values. For low-energy excited states (<3.5 MeV),
the agreement between the extracted spectroscopic factors and shell model
calculations is not better than a factor of two.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. accepted for publication in PR
Transport Model Simulations of Projectile Fragmentation Reactions at 140 MeV/nucleon
The collisions in four different reaction systems using Ca and
Ni isotope beams and a Be target have been simulated using the Heavy
Ion Phase Space Exploration and the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics models.
The present study mainly focuses on the model predictions for the excitation
energies of the hot fragments and the cross sections of the final fragments
produced in these reactions. The effects of various factors influencing the
final fragment cross sections, such as the choice of the statistical decay code
and its parameters have been explored. The predicted fragment cross sections
are compared to the projectile fragmentation cross sections measured with the
A1900 mass separator. At MeV, reaction dynamics can significantly
modify the detection efficiencies for the fragments and make them different
from the efficiencies applied to the measured data reported in the previous
work. The effects of efficiency corrections on the validation of event
generator codes are discussed in the context of the two models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure
The Influence of in-medium NN cross-sections, symmetry potential and impact parameter on the isospin observables
We explore the influence of in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section, symmetry
potential and impact parameter on isospin sensitive observables in
intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions with the ImQMD05 code, a modified
version of Quantum Molecular Dynamics model. At incident velocities above the
Fermi velocity, we find that the density dependence of symmetry potential plays
a more important role on the double neutron to proton ratio and the
isospin transport ratio than the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross
sections, provided that the latter are constrained to a fixed total NN
collision rate. We also explore both and as a function of the
impact parameter. Since the copious production of intermediate mass fragments
is a distinguishing feature of intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions, we
examine the isospin transport ratios constructed from different groups of
fragments. We find that the values of the isospin transport ratios for
projectile rapidity fragments with are greater than those constructed
from the entire projectile rapidity source. We believe experimental
investigations of this phenomenon can be performed. These may provide
significant tests of fragmentation time scales predicted by ImQMD calculations.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Bulk photonic metamaterial with hyperbolic dispersion
In this work, we demonstrate a self-standing bulk three-dimensional
metamaterial based on the network of silver nanowires in an alumina membrane.
This constitutes an anisotropic effective medium with hyperbolic dispersion,
which can be used in sub-diffraction imaging or optical cloaks. Highly
anisotropic dielectric constants of the material range from positive to
negative, and the transmitted laser beam shifts both toward the normal to the
surface, as in regular dielectrics, and off the normal, as in anisotropic
dielectrics with the refraction index smaller than one. The designed photonic
metamaterial is the thickest reported in the literature, both in terms of its
physical size 1cm x 1cm x 51 mm, and the number of vacuum wavelengths, N=61 at
l=0.84 mm.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figur
Noise-Induced Building Vibrations Caused by Concorde and Conventional Aircraft Operations at Dulles and Kennedy International Airports
Outdoor and indoor noise levels resulting from aircraft flyovers and certain nonaircraft events were recorded, as were the associated vibration levels in the walls, windows, and floors at building test sites. In addition, limited subjective tests were conducted to examine the human detection and annoyance thresholds for building vibration and rattle caused by aircraft noise. Representative peak levels of aircraft noise-induced building vibrations are reported and comparisons are made with structural damage criteria and with vibration levels induced by common domestic events. In addition, results of a pilot study are reported which indicate the human detection threshold for noise-induced floor vibrations
Linear Thermal Expansion Coefficient of the NaCl Phase of CsCl
Cesium chloride undergoes a phase change from the low-temperature CsCI structure to the high-temperature NaCI structure at about 469°C.l There is a volume increase of about 16% when the NaCI structure appears.1 The nature of the transition is of interest, as are the physical properties of the high-temperature phase. If sufficient high-temperature phase data are available for CsCI, calculations of the heat of transition can be made more accurately
Non-diffusive transport in plasma turbulence: a fractional diffusion approach
Numerical evidence of non-diffusive transport in three-dimensional, resistive
pressure-gradient-driven plasma turbulence is presented. It is shown that the
probability density function (pdf) of test particles' radial displacements is
strongly non-Gaussian and exhibits algebraic decaying tails. To model these
results we propose a macroscopic transport model for the pdf based on the use
of fractional derivatives in space and time, that incorporate in a unified way
space-time non-locality (non-Fickian transport), non-Gaussianity, and
non-diffusive scaling. The fractional diffusion model reproduces the shape, and
space-time scaling of the non-Gaussian pdf of turbulent transport calculations.
The model also reproduces the observed super-diffusive scaling
Modeling inflammation and oxidative stress in gastrointestinal disease development using novel organotypic culture systems.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Barrett's esophagus (BE), graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are common human gastrointestinal diseases that share inflammation as a key driver for their development. A general outcome resulting from these chronic inflammatory conditions is increased oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are part of the normal inflammatory response, but are also capable of damaging cellular DNA, protein, and organelles. Damage to DNA can include DNA strand breaks, point mutations due to DNA adducts, as well as alterations in methylation patterns leading to activation of oncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressors. There are a number of significant long-term consequences associated with chronic oxidative stress, most notably cancer. Infiltrating immune cells and stromal components of tissue including fibroblasts contribute to dynamic changes occurring in tissue related to disease development. Immune cells can potentiate oxidative stress, and fibroblasts have the capacity to contribute to advanced growth and proliferation of the epithelium and any resultant cancers. Disease models for GERD, BE, GVHD, and ulcerative colitis based on three-dimensional human cell and tissue culture systems that recapitulate in vivo growth and differentiation in inflammatory-associated microphysiological environments would enhance our understanding of disease progression and improve our ability to test for disease-prevention strategies. The development of physiologically relevant, human cell-based culture systems is therefore a major focus of our research. These novel models will be of enormous value, allowing us to test hypotheses and advance our understanding of these disorders, and will have a translational impact allowing us to more rapidly develop therapeutic and chemopreventive agents. In summary, this work to develop advanced human cell-based models of inflammatory conditions will greatly improve our ability to study, prevent, and treat GERD, BE, GVHD, and inflammatory bowel disease. The work will also foster the development of novel therapeutic and preventive strategies that will improve patient care for these important clinical conditions
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