5,650 research outputs found
Heavy ion plasma confinement in an RF quadrupole trap
The confinement of an electron free plasma in a pure quadrupole RF electric trap was considered. The ultimate goal was to produce a large density of mercury ions, in order to realize a trapped ion frequency standard using the hyperfine resonance of 199 Hg(+) at 40.7 GHz. An attempt was made to obtain an iodine plasma consisting of equal numbers of positive and negative ions of atomic iodine, the positive iodine ions, being susceptible to charge-exchange with mercury atoms, will produce the desired mercury ions. The experiment showed that the photoproduction of ions pairs in iodine using the necessary UV radiation occurs with a small cross-section, making it difficult to demonstrate the feasibility of space charge neutralization in a quadrupole trap. For this reason it was considered expedient to choose thallium iodide, which has a more favorable absorption spectrum (in the region of 2000 to 2100 A). The results indicate that, although the ionic recombination is a serious limiting factor, a considerable improvement can be obtained in practice for the density of trapped ions, with a considerable advantage in lifetimes for spectroscopic purposes. The ion pair formation by photoionization is briefly reviewed
Towards Loop Quantization of Plane Gravitational Waves
The polarized Gowdy model in terms of Ashtekar-Barbero variables is further
reduced by including the Killing equations for plane-fronted parallel
gravitational waves with parallel rays. The resulting constraint algebra,
including one constraint derived from the Killing equations in addition to the
standard ones of General Relativity, are shown to form a set of first-class
constraints. Using earlier work by Banerjee and Date the constraints are
expressed in terms of classical quantities that have an operator equivalent in
Loop Quantum Gravity, making space-times with pp-waves accessible to loop
quantization techniques.Comment: 14 page
Accounting as practice
In this paper we seek to debate some of the problems affecting positivist accounting research, and how the adoption of organizational theory grounded on qualitative methods can fruitfully contribute to advance research in the area. To this end we draw on research we have previously conducted in Portuguese public hospitals to discuss how the incorporation of power issues, institutional entrepreneurship, hybridization, institutional logics and institutional work in accounting studies fosters in-depth explanations of accounting practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Quantum Dynamics without the Wave Function
When suitably generalized and interpreted, the path-integral offers an
alternative to the more familiar quantal formalism based on state-vectors,
selfadjoint operators, and external observers. Mathematically one generalizes
the path-integral-as-propagator to a {\it quantal measure} on the space
of all ``conceivable worlds'', and this generalized measure expresses
the dynamics or law of motion of the theory, much as Wiener measure expresses
the dynamics of Brownian motion. Within such ``histories-based'' schemes new,
and more ``realistic'' possibilities open up for resolving the philosophical
problems of the state-vector formalism. In particular, one can dispense with
the need for external agents by locating the predictive content of in its
sets of measure zero: such sets are to be ``precluded''. But unrestricted
application of this rule engenders contradictions. One possible response would
remove the contradictions by circumscribing the application of the preclusion
concept. Another response, more in the tradition of ``quantum logic'', would
accommodate the contradictions by dualizing to a space of
``co-events'' and effectively identifying reality with an element of this dual
space.Comment: plainTeX, 24 pages, no figures. To appear in a special volume of {\it
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General} entitled ``The Quantum
Universe'' and dedicated to Giancarlo Ghirardi on the occasion of his 70th
birthday. Most current version is available at
http://www.physics.syr.edu/~sorkin/some.papers/ (or wherever my home-page may
be
Evidence of sympathetic cooling of Na+ ions by a Na MOT in a hybrid trap
A hybrid ion-neutral trap provides an ideal system to study collisional
dynamics between ions and neutrals. This system provides a general cooling
method that can be applied to optically inaccessible species and can also
potentially cool internal degrees of freedom. The long range polarization
potentials () between ions and neutrals result in large
scattering cross sections at cold temperatures, making the hybrid trap a
favorable system for efficient sympathetic cooling of ions by collisions with
neutral atoms. We present experimental evidence of sympathetic cooling in a
hybrid trap of \ce{Na+} ions, which are closed shell and therefore do not have
a laser induced atomic transition, by equal mass cold Na atoms in a
magneto-optical trap (MOT).Comment: 7 figure
Amputee perception of prosthetic ankle stiffness during locomotion
Abstract
Background
Prosthetic feet are spring-like, and their stiffness critically affects the wearer’s stability, comfort, and energetic cost of walking. Despite the importance of stiffness in ambulation, the prescription process often entails testing a limited number of prostheses, which may result in patients receiving a foot with suboptimal mechanics. To understand the resolution with which prostheses should be individually optimized, we sought to characterize below-knee prosthesis users’ psychophysical sensitivity to prosthesis stiffness.
Methods
We used a novel variable-stiffness ankle prosthesis to measure the repeatability of user-selected preferred stiffness, and implemented a psychophysical experiment to characterize the just noticeable difference of stiffness during locomotion.
Results
All eight subjects with below-knee amputation exhibited high repeatability in selecting their Preferred Stiffness (mean coefficient of variation: 14.2 ± 1.7%) and were able to correctly identify a 7.7 ± 1.3% change in ankle stiffness (with 75% accuracy).
Conclusions
This high sensitivity suggests prosthetic foot stiffness should be tuned with a high degree of precision on an individual basis. These results also highlight the need for a pairing of new robotic prescription tools and mechanical characterizations of prosthetic feet.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146187/1/12984_2018_Article_432.pd
Ion-neutral sympathetic cooling in a hybrid linear rf Paul and magneto-optical trap
Long range polarization forces between ions and neutral atoms result in large
elastic scattering cross sections, e.g., 10^6 a.u. for Na+ on Na or Ca+ on Na
at cold and ultracold temperatures. This suggests that a hybrid ion-neutral
trap should offer a general means for significant sympathetic cooling of atomic
or molecular ions. We present SIMION 7.0 simulation results concerning the
advantages and limitations of sympathetic cooling within a hybrid trap
apparatus, consisting of a linear rf Paul trap concentric with a Na
magneto-optical trap (MOT). This paper explores the impact of various heating
mechanisms on the hybrid system and how parameters related to the MOT, Paul
trap, number of ions, and ion species affect the efficiency of the sympathetic
cooling
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