9,455 research outputs found
Generation of polarization entangled photon pairs by a single crystal interferometric source pumped by femtosecond laser pulses
Photon pairs, highly entangled in polarization have been generated under
femtosecond laser pulse excitation by a type I crystal source, operating in a
single arm interferometric scheme. The relevant effects of temporal walk-off
existing in these conditions between the ordinary and extraordinary photons
were experimentally investigated. By introducing a suitable temporal
compensation between the two orthogonal polarization components highly
entangled pulsed states were obtained
Iron Emission in the z=6.4 Quasar SDSS J114816.64+525150.3
We present near-infrared J and K-band spectra of the z = 6.4 quasar SDSS
J114816.64+525150.3 obtained with the NIRSPEC spectrograph at the Keck-II
telescope, covering the rest-frame spectral regions surrounding the C IV 1549
and Mg II 2800 emission lines. The iron emission blend at rest wavelength
2900-3000 A is clearly detected and its strength appears nearly
indistinguishable from that of typical quasars at lower redshifts. The Fe II /
Mg II ratio is also similar to values found for lower-redshift quasars,
demonstrating that there is no strong evolution in Fe/alpha broad-line emission
ratios even out to z=6.4. In the context of current models for iron enrichment
from Type Ia supernovae, this implies that the SN Ia progenitor stars formed at
z > 10. We apply the scaling relations of Vestergaard and of McLure & Jarvis to
estimate the black hole mass from the widths of the C IV and Mg II emission
lines and the ultraviolet continuum luminosity. The derived mass is in the
range (2-6)x10^9 solar masses, with an additional uncertainty of a factor of 3
due to the intrinsic scatter in the scaling relations. This result is in
agreement with the previous mass estimate of 3x10^9 solar masses by Willott,
McLure, & Jarvis, and supports their conclusion that the quasar is radiating
close to its Eddington luminosity.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letter
Continuous variable cloning via network of parametric gates
We propose an experimental scheme for the cloning machine of continuous
quantum variables through a network of parametric amplifiers working as
input-output four-port gates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear on Phys. Rev. Let
Self-steepening of light pulses
Self-steepening of light pulses due to propagation in medium with intensity-dependent index of refractio
A Population of Massive Globular Clusters in NGC 5128
We present velocity dispersion measurements of 14 globular clusters in NGC
5128 (Centarus A) obtained with the MIKE echelle spectrograph on the 6.5m
Magellan Clay telescope. These clusters are among the most luminous globular
clusters in NGC 5128 and have velocity dispersions comparable to the most
massive clusters known in the Local Group, ranging from 10 - 30 km/s. We
describe in detail our cross-correlation measurements, as well as simulations
to quantify the uncertainties. These 14 globular clusters are the brightest NGC
5128 globular clusters with surface photometry and structural parameters
measured from the Hubble Space Telescope. We have used these measurements to
derive masses and mass-to-light ratios for all of these clusters and establish
that the fundamental plane relations for globular clusters extend to an order
of magnitude higher mass than in the Local Group. The mean mass-to-light ratio
for the NGC 5128 clusters is ~3+/-1, higher than measurements for all but the
most massive Local Group clusters. These massive clusters begin to bridge the
mass gap between the most massive star clusters and the lowest-mass galaxies.
We find that the properties of NGC 5128 globular clusters overlap quite well
with the central properties of nucleated dwarf galaxies and ultracompact dwarf
galaxies. As six of these clusters also show evidence for extratidal light, we
hypothesize that at least some of these massive clusters are the nuclei of
tidally stripped dwarfs.Comment: ApJ Accepted, 15 pages, 9 figures, uses emulateapj.st
An adaptive stigmergy-based system for evaluating technological indicator dynamics in the context of smart specialization
Regional innovation is more and more considered an important enabler of
welfare. It is no coincidence that the European Commission has started looking
at regional peculiarities and dynamics, in order to focus Research and
Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization towards effective investment
policies. In this context, this work aims to support policy makers in the
analysis of innovation-relevant trends. We exploit a European database of the
regional patent application to determine the dynamics of a set of technological
innovation indicators. For this purpose, we design and develop a software
system for assessing unfolding trends in such indicators. In contrast with
conventional knowledge-based design, our approach is biologically-inspired and
based on self-organization of information. This means that a functional
structure, called track, appears and stays spontaneous at runtime when local
dynamism in data occurs. A further prototyping of tracks allows a better
distinction of the critical phenomena during unfolding events, with a better
assessment of the progressing levels. The proposed mechanism works if
structural parameters are correctly tuned for the given historical context.
Determining such correct parameters is not a simple task since different
indicators may have different dynamics. For this purpose, we adopt an
adaptation mechanism based on differential evolution. The study includes the
problem statement and its characterization in the literature, as well as the
proposed solving approach, experimental setting and results.Comment: mail: [email protected]
The three-body recombination of a condensed Bose gas near a Feshbach resonance
In this paper, we study the three-body recombination rate of a homogeneous
dilute Bose gas with a Feshbach resonance at zero temperature. The ground state
and excitations of this system are obtained. The three-body recombination in
the ground state is due to the break-up of an atom pair in the quantum
depletion and the formation of a molecule by an atom from the broken pair and
an atom from the condensate. The rate of this process is in good agreement with
the experiment on Na in a wide range of magnetic fields.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Realization of a Decoherence-free, Optimally Distinguishable Mesoscopic Quantum Superposition
We report the realization of an entangled quantum superposition of M=12
photons by a high gain, quantum-injected optical parametric amplification. The
system is found so highly resilient against decoherence to exhibit directly
accessible mesoscopic interference effects at normal temperature. By modern
tomographic methods the non-separability and the quantum superposition are
demonstrated for the overall mesoscopic output state of the dynamic ''closed
system''. The device realizes the condition conceived by Erwin Schroedinger
with his 1935 paradigmatic ''Cat'' apologue, a fundamental landmark in quantum
mechanics.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Stellar Velocity Dispersion Measurements in High-Luminosity Quasar Hosts and Implications for the AGN Black Hole Mass Scale
We present new stellar velocity dispersion measurements for four luminous
quasars with the NIFS instrument and the ALTAIR laser guide star adaptive
optics system on the Gemini North 8-m telescope. Stellar velocity dispersion
measurements and measurements of the supermassive black hole masses in luminous
quasars are necessary to investigate the coevolution of black holes and
galaxies, trace the details of accretion, and probe the nature of feedback. We
find that higher-luminosity quasars with higher-mass black holes are not offset
with respect to the MBH-sigma relation exhibited by lower-luminosity AGNs with
lower-mass black holes, nor do we see correlations with galaxy morphology. As
part of this analysis, we have recalculated the virial products for the entire
sample of reverberation-mapped AGNs and used these data to redetermine the mean
virial factor hfi that places the reverberation data on the quiescent
M_BH-sigma relation. With our updated measurements and new additions to the AGN
sample, we obtain = 4.31 +/- 1.05, which is slightly lower than, but
consistent with, most previous determinations.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. For a brief video highlighting the
results of this paper, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxx80aOVw1
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