834 research outputs found
Low-frequency sound propagation modeling over a locally-reacting boundary using the parabolic approximation
There is substantial interest in the analytical and numerical modeling of low-frequency, long-range atmospheric acoustic propagation. Ray-based models, because of frequency limitations, do not always give an adequate prediction of quantities such as sound pressure or intensity levels. However, the parabolic approximation method, widely used in ocean acoustics, and often more accurate than ray models for lower frequencies of interest, can be applied to acoustic propagation in the atmosphere. Modifications of an existing implicit finite-difference implementation for computing solutions to the parabolic approximation are discussed. A locally-reacting boundary is used together with a one-parameter impedance model. Intensity calculations are performed for a number of flow resistivity values in both quiescent and windy atmospheres. Variations in the value of this parameter are shown to have substantial effects on the spatial variation of the acoustic signal
Geometric phases in astigmatic optical modes of arbitrary order
The transverse spatial structure of a paraxial beam of light is fully
characterized by a set of parameters that vary only slowly under free
propagation. They specify bosonic ladder operators that connect modes of
different order, in analogy to the ladder operators connecting
harmonic-oscillator wave functions. The parameter spaces underlying sets of
higher-order modes are isomorphic to the parameter space of the ladder
operators. We study the geometry of this space and the geometric phase that
arises from it. This phase constitutes the ultimate generalization of the Gouy
phase in paraxial wave optics. It reduces to the ordinary Gouy phase and the
geometric phase of non-astigmatic optical modes with orbital angular momentum
states in limiting cases. We briefly discuss the well-known analogy between
geometric phases and the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which provides some
complementary insights in the geometric nature and origin of the generalized
Gouy phase shift. Our method also applies to the quantum-mechanical description
of wave packets. It allows for obtaining complete sets of normalized solutions
of the Schr\"odinger equation. Cyclic transformations of such wave packets give
rise to a phase shift, which has a geometric interpretation in terms of the
other degrees of freedom involved.Comment: final versio
Mechanism of Catch Force: Tethering of Thick and Thin Filaments by Twitchin
Catch is a mechanical state occurring in some invertebrate smooth muscles characterized
by high force maintenance and resistance to stretch during extremely slow relaxation.
During catch, intracellular calcium is near basal concentration and myosin crossbridge
cyctng rate is extremely slow. Catch force is relaxed by a protein kinase A-mediated
phosphorylation of sites near the N- and C- temini of the minititin twitchin (~526 kDa).
Some catch force maintenance car also occur together with cycling myosin crossbridges
at submaximal calcium concentrations, but not when the muscle is maximally activated.
Additionally, the link responsible for catch can adjust during shortening of submaximally
activated muscles and maintain catch force at the new shorter length. Twitchin binds to
both thick and thin filaments, and the thin filament binding shown by both the N- and Cterminal
portions of twitchin is decreased by phosphorylation of the sites that regulate
catch. The data suggest that the twitchin molecule itself is the catch force beanng tether
between thick and thin filaments. We present a model for the regulation of catch in
which the twitchin tether can be displaced from thin filaments by both (a) the
phosphorylation of twitchin and (b) the attachment of high force myosin crossbridges
Bistable Helmholtz dark spatial optical solitons in materials with self-defocusing saturable nonlinearity
We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first exact dark spatial solitons of a nonlinear Helmholtz equation with a self-defocusing saturable refractive-index model. These solutions capture oblique (arbitrary-angle) propagation in both the forward and backward directions, and they can also exhibit a bistability characteristic. A detailed derivation is presented, obtained by combining coordinate transformations and direct-integration methods, and the corresponding solutions of paraxial theory are recovered asymptotically as a subset. Simulations examine the robustness of the new Helmholtz solitons, with stationary states emerging from a range of perturbed input beams
Discrete diffraction and shape-invariant beams in optical waveguide arrays
General properties of linear propagation of discretized light in homogeneous
and curved waveguide arrays are comprehensively investigated and compared to
those of paraxial diffraction in continuous media. In particular, general laws
describing beam spreading, beam decay and discrete far-field patterns in
homogeneous arrays are derived using the method of moments and the steepest
descend method. In curved arrays, the method of moments is extended to describe
evolution of global beam parameters. A family of beams which propagate in
curved arrays maintaining their functional shape -referred to as discrete
Bessel beams- is also introduced. Propagation of discrete Bessel beams in
waveguide arrays is simply described by the evolution of a complex
parameter similar to the complex parameter used for Gaussian beams in
continuous lensguide media. A few applications of the parameter formalism
are discussed, including beam collimation and polygonal optical Bloch
oscillations. \Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
Verifying continuous variable entanglement of intense light pulses
Three different methods have been discussed to verify continuous variable
entanglement of intense light beams. We demonstrate all three methods using the
same set--up to facilitate the comparison. The non--linearity used to generate
entanglement is the Kerr--effect in optical fibres. Due to the brightness of
the entangled pulses, standard homodyne detection is not an appropriate tool
for the verification. However, we show that by using large asymmetric
interferometers on each beam individually, two non-commuting variables can be
accessed and the presence of entanglement verified via joint measurements on
the two beams. Alternatively, we witness entanglement by combining the two
beams on a beam splitter that yields certain linear combinations of quadrature
amplitudes which suffice to prove the presence of entanglement.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Rotationally induced vortices in optical cavity modes
We show that vortices appear in the modes of an astigmatic optical cavity
when it is put into rotation about its optical axis. We study the properties of
these vortices and discuss numerical results for a specific realization of such
a set-up. Our method is exact up to first order in the time-dependent paraxial
approximation and involves bosonic ladder operators in the spirit of the
quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillator.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in a special issue
(singular optics 2008) of Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optic
Orbital angular momentum exchange in an optical parametric oscillator
We present a study of orbital angular momentum transfer from pump to
down-converted beams in a type-II Optical Parametric Oscillator. Cavity and
anisotropy effects are investigated and demostrated to play a central role in
the transverse mode dynamics. While the idler beam can oscillate in a
Laguerre-Gauss mode, the crystal birefringence induces an astigmatic effect in
the signal beam that prevents the resonance of such mode.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, regular articl
Coherent Diffusion of Polaritons in Atomic Media
Coherent diffusion pertains to the motion of atomic dipoles experiencing
frequent collisions in vapor while maintaining their coherence. Recent
theoretical and experimental studies on the effect of coherent diffusion on key
Raman processes, namely Raman spectroscopy, slow polariton propagation, and
stored light, are reviewed in this Colloquium.Comment: Submitted to Review of Modern Physic
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