1,203 research outputs found
Chirped pulse Raman amplification in warm plasma: towards controlling saturation
Stimulated Raman backscattering in plasma is potentially an efficient method of amplifying laser pulses to reach exawatt powers because plasma is fully broken down and withstands extremely high electric fields. Plasma also has unique nonlinear optical properties that allow simultaneous compression of optical pulses to ultra-short durations. However, current measured efficiencies are limited to several percent. Here we investigate Raman amplification of short duration seed pulses with different chirp rates using a chirped pump pulse in a preformed plasma waveguide. We identify electron trapping and wavebreaking as the main saturation mechanisms, which lead to spectral broadening and gain saturation when the seed reaches several millijoules for durations of 10's - 100's fs for 250 ps, 800 nm chirped pump pulses. We show that this prevents access to the nonlinear regime and limits the efficiency, and interpret the experimental results using slowly-varying-amplitude, current-averaged particle-in-cell simulations. We also propose methods for achieving higher efficiencies.close0
Simultaneous Comparison of Many Triphasic Defibrillation Waveforms
Biphasic defibrillation waveforms are now accepted as being more effective at terminating ventricular fibrillation (VF) than monophasic waveforms. If two phases are better than one, this naturally leads to the hypothesis that additional phases improve efficacy. This study tests the hypothesis by adding one additional phase. We examined the efficacy of 18 different triphasic waveforms simultaneously
Simulations of magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of Tb2Ti2O7 in paramagnetic phase
Magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of terbium titanate pyrochlore in
paramagnetic phase are simulated. The magnetic field and temperature
dependences of magnetization and forced magnetostriction in Tb2Ti2O7 single
crystals and polycrystalline samples are calculated in the framework of
exchange charge model of crystal field theory and a mean field approximation.
The set of electron-deformation coupling constants has been determined.
Variations of elastic constants with temperature and applied magnetic field are
discussed. Additional strong softening of the crystal lattice at liquid helium
temperatures in the magnetic field directed along the rhombic symmetry axis is
predicted.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
Nonequilibrium orientational patterns in two-component Langmuir monolayers
A model of a phase-separating two-component Langmuir monolayer in the
presence of a photo-induced reaction interconvering two components is
formulated. An interplay between phase separation, orientational ordering and
treaction is found to lead to a variety of nonequilibrium self-organized
patterns, both stationary and traveling. Examples of the patterns, observed in
numerical simulations, include flowing droplets, traveling stripes, wave
sources and vortex defects.Comment: Submitted to the Physical Review
Batch drying in sintering
An adapted mathematical model of sintering permits analysis of the thermophysical characteristics of batch drying, primarily in the main sintering period. Over the whole length of the sintering machine, most of the bed volume corresponds to equilibrium moisture content, which may be higher or lower than the initial value. The temperature of the gas entering the drying zone is calculated, and its dependence on the parameters of the batch and gas is determined. © 2013 Allerton Press, Inc
Observation of a red-blue detuning asymmetry in matter-wave superradiance
We report the first experimental observations of strong suppression of
matter-wave superradiance using blue-detuned pump light and demonstrate a
pump-laser detuning asymmetry in the collective atomic recoil motion. In
contrast to all previous theoretical frameworks, which predict that the process
should be symmetric with respect to the sign of the pump-laser detuning, we
find that for condensates the symmetry is broken. With high condensate
densities and red-detuned light, the familiar distinctive multi-order,
matter-wave scattering pattern is clearly visible, whereas with blue-detuned
light superradiance is strongly suppressed. In the limit of a dilute atomic
gas, however, symmetry is restored.Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let
An ultra-high gain and efficient amplifier based on Raman amplification in plasma
Raman amplification arising from the excitation of a density echelon in plasma could lead to amplifiers that significantly exceed current power limits of conventional laser media. Here we show that 1-100 J pump pulses can amplify picojoule seed pulses to nearly joule level. The extremely high gain also leads to significant amplification of backscattered radiation from "noise", arising from stochastic plasma fluctuations that competes with externally injected seed pulses, which are amplified to similar levels at the highest pump energies. The pump energy is scattered into the seed at an oblique angle with 14 J sr(-1), and net gains of more than eight orders of magnitude. The maximum gain coefficient, of 180 cm(-1), exceeds high-power solid-state amplifying media by orders of magnitude. The observation of a minimum of 640 J sr(-1) directly backscattered from noise, corresponding to approximate to 10% of the pump energy in the observation solid angle, implies potential overall efficiencies greater than 10%
Contrasting controls on seasonal and spatial distribution of marine cable bacteria (Candidatus Electrothrix) and Beggiatoaceae in seasonally hypoxic Chesapeake Bay
Marine cable bacteria (Candidatus Electrothrix) and large colorless sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (e.g., Beggiatoaceae) are widespread thiotrophs in coastal environments but may exert different influences on biogeochemical cycling. Yet, the factors governing their niche partitioning remain poorly understood. To map their distribution and evaluate their growth constraints in a natural setting, we examined surface sediments across seasons at two sites with contrasting levels of seasonal oxygen depletion in Chesapeake Bay using microscopy coupled with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and biogeochemical characterization. We found that cable bacteria, dominated by a single phylotype closely affiliated to Candidatus Electrothrix communis, flourished during winter and spring at a central channel site which experiences summer anoxia. Here, cable bacteria density was positively correlated with surface sediment chlorophyll, a proxy of phytodetritus sedimentation. Cable bacteria were also present with a lower areal density at an adjacent shoal site which supports bioturbating macrofauna. Beggiatoaceae were more abundant at this site, where their biomass was positively correlated with sediment respiration, but additionally potentially inhibited by sulfide accumulation which was evident during one summer. A springtime phytodetritus sedimentation event was associated with a proliferation of Beggiatoaceae and multiple Candidatus Electrothrix phylotypes, with cable bacteria reaching 1000 m length cm−2. These observations indicate the potential impact of a spring bloom in driving a hot moment of cryptic sulfur cycling. Our results suggest complex interactions between benthic thiotroph populations, with bioturbation and seasonal oscillations in bottom water dissolved oxygen, sediment sulfide, and organic matter influx as important drivers of their distribution
Parity doubling in particle physics
Parity doubling in excited hadrons is reviewed. Parity degeneracy in hadrons
was first experimentally observed 40 years ago. Recently new experimental data
on light mesons caused much excitement and renewed interest to the phenomenon,
which still remains to be enigmatic. The present retrospective review is an
attempt to trace the history of parity doubling phenomenon, thus providing a
kind of introduction to the subject. We begin with early approaches of 1960s
(Regge theory and dynamical symmetries) and end up with the latest trends
(manifestations of broader degeneracies and AdS/QCD). We show the evolution of
various ideas about parity doubling. The experimental evidence for this
phenomenon is scrutinized in the non-strange sector. Some experiments of 1960s
devoted to the search for missing non-strange bosons are re-examined and it is
argued that results of these experiments are encouraging from the modern
perspective.Comment: Version to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A, 63 pages, 9 figure
Optical evidence for symmetry changes above the Neel temperature in KCuF3
We report on optical measurements of the 1D Heisenberg antiferromagnet KCuF3.
The crystal-field excitations of the Cu2+ ions have been observed and their
temperature dependence can be understood in terms of magnetic and
exchange-induced dipole mechanisms and vibronic interactions. Above T_N we
observe a new temperature scale T_S characterized by the emergence of narrow
absorption features that correlate with changes of the orbital ordering as
observed by Paolasini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 106403 (2002)]. The
appearance of these optical transitions provides evidence for a symmetry change
above the Neel temperature that affects the orbital ordering and paves the way
for the antiferromagnetic ordering.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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