4,645 research outputs found
Influence of Phase Matching on the Cooper Minimum in Ar High Harmonic Spectra
We study the influence of phase matching on interference minima in high
harmonic spectra. We concentrate on structures in atoms due to interference of
different angular momentum channels during recombination. We use the Cooper
minimum (CM) in argon at 47 eV as a marker in the harmonic spectrum. We measure
2d harmonic spectra in argon as a function of wavelength and angular
divergence. While we identify a clear CM in the spectrum when the target gas
jet is placed after the laser focus, we find that the appearance of the CM
varies with angular divergence and can even be completely washed out when the
gas jet is placed closer to the focus. We also show that the argon CM appears
at different wavelengths in harmonic and photo-absorption spectra measured
under conditions independent of any wavelength calibration. We model the
experiment with a simulation based on coupled solutions of the time-dependent
Schr\"odinger equation and the Maxwell wave equation, including both the single
atom response and macroscopic effects of propagation. The single atom
calculations confirm that the ground state of argon can be represented by its
field free symmetry, despite the strong laser field used in high harmonic
generation. Because of this, the CM structure in the harmonic spectrum can be
described as the interference of continuum and channels, whose relative
phase jumps by at the CM energy, resulting in a minimum shifted from the
photoionization result. We also show that the full calculations reproduce the
dependence of the CM on the macroscopic conditions. We calculate simple phase
matching factors as a function of harmonic order and explain our experimental
and theoretical observation in terms of the effect of phase matching on the
shape of the harmonic spectrum. Phase matching must be taken into account to
fully understand spectral features related to HHG spectroscopy
Probiotic protocol: Prevention of hospital acquired Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea
Strong field ionization to multiple electronic states in water
High harmonic spectra show that laser-induced strong field ionization of
water has a significant contribution from an inner-valence orbital. Our
experiment uses the ratio of H2O and D2O high harmonic yields to isolate the
characteristic nuclear motion of the molecular ionic states. The nuclear motion
initiated via ionization of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is
small and is expected to lead to similar harmonic yields for the two isotopes.
In contrast, ionization of the second least bound orbital (HOMO-1) exhibits
itself via a strong bending motion which creates a significant isotope effect.
We elaborate on this interpretation by simulating strong field ionization and
high harmonic generation from the water isotopes using the time-dependent
Schr\"odinger equation. We expect that this isotope marking scheme for probing
excited ionic states in strong field processes can be generalized to other
molecules
Strongly dispersive transient Bragg grating for high harmonics
We create a transient Bragg grating in a high-harmonic generation medium using two counterpropagating pulses. The Bragg grating disperses the harmonics in angle and can diffract a large bandwidth with temporal resolution limited only by the source size. © 2010 Optical Society of America
Interpretations of the NuTeV
We summarize theoretical explanations of the three discrepancy
between measured by NuTeV and predicted by the Standard Model
global fit. Possible new physics explanations ({\it e.g.} an unmized ) are
not compelling. The discrepancy would be reduced by a positive momentum
asymmetry in the strange sea; present experimental estimates of are
unreliable or incomplete. Upgrading the NuTeV analysis to NLO would alleviate
concerns that the discrepancy is a QCD effect.Comment: (proceedings for the NuFact'02 Workshop); reference and footnote
added, following the NuTeV proceeding
Incidence of Primary Mitochondrial Disease in Children Younger Than 2 Years Presenting With Acute Liver Failure
Background: Mitochondrial liver disease (MLD), and in particular mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion syndrome (MDS) is an important cause of acute liver failure (ALF) in infancy. Early and accurate diagnosis is important because liver transplantation (LT) is often contraindicated. It is unclear which methods are the best to diagnose MLD in the setting of ALF.
Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of MLD in children younger than 2 years with ALF and the utility of routine investigations to detect MLD.
Methods: Thirty-nine consecutive infants with ALF were admitted to a single unit from 2009 to 2011. All were extensively investigated using an established protocol. Genes implicated in mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome were sequenced in all cases and tissue mtDNA copy number measured where available.
Results: Five infants (17%) had genetically proven MLD: DGUOK (n ¼ 2), POLG (n ¼ 2), and MPV17 (1). Four of these died, whereas 1 recovered. Two had normal muscle mtDNA copy number and 3 had normal muscle respiratory chain enzymes. An additional 8 children had low hepatic mtDNA copy number but pathogenic mutations were not detected. One of these developed fatal multisystemic disease after LT, whereas 5 who survived remain well without evidence of multisystemic disease up to 6 years later. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy did not distinguish between those with and without MLD.
Conclusions: Low liver mtDNA copy number may be a secondary phenomenon in ALF. Screening for mtDNA maintenance gene mutations may be the most efficient way to confirm MLD in ALF in the first 2 years of life
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