123 research outputs found
Analysis of an atom laser based on the spatial control of the scattering length
In this paper we analyze atom lasers based on the spatial modulation of the
scattering length of a Bose-Einstein Condensate. We demonstrate, through
numerical simulations and approximate analytical methods, the controllable
emission of matter-wave bursts and study the dependence of the process on the
spatial dependence of the scattering length along the axis of emission. We also
study the role of an additional modulation of the scattering length in time.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Laser tweezers for atomic solitons
We describe a controllable and precise laser tweezers for Bose-Einstein
condensates of ultracold atomic gases. In our configuration, a laser beam is
used to locally modify the sign of the scattering length in the vicinity of a
trapped BEC. The induced attractive interactions between atoms allow to extract
and transport a controllable number of atoms. We analyze, through numerical
simulations, the number of emitted atoms as a function of the width and
intensity of the outcoupling beam. We also study different configurations of
our system, as the use of moving beams. The main advantage of using the control
laser beam to modify the nonlinear interactions in comparison to the usual way
of inducing optical forces, i.e. through linear trapping potentials, is to
improve the controllability of the outcoupled solitary wave-packet, which opens
new possibilities for engineering macroscopic quantum states.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
Switching and instabilities of optical vortices in nonlinear dual-core photonic crystal fibre couplers
We study switching of an optical vortex launched into one core of a
dual-core waveguide coupler in a photonic crystal fibre with
self-focusing nonlinearity. We analyse how the beam power and the
angular momentum associated with the vortex mode transfer to the
second core of the coupler in both linear and nonlinear regimes. We
describe three major scenarios of the vortex dynamics and reveal
novel symmetry-breaking instabilities associated with the vortex
nonzero angular momentum
Stabilized vortex solitons in layered Kerr media
In this letter we demonstrate the possibility of stabilizing beams with
angular momentum propagating in Kerr media. Large propagation distances without
filamentation can be achieved in layered media with alternating focusing and
defocusing nonlinearities. Stronger stabilization can be obtained with the
addition of an incoherent beam.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. We have removed the sentence "Thus, they
erroneously point out to the existence of fully stabilized vortex solitons"
in page 2, column 2, line 7-8, because it might be confusin
The influence of age, sex and visual dysfunction on reading ability in school-children
t. Binocular and accommodative dysfunctions affect the efficiency and coordination of the eyes, and
this may impair reading performance. Reading can be evaluated using accuracy and speed measures. In this
study, we searched for evidence that dysfunctions of accommodation (i.e. accommodation insufficiency, IA)
and binocular vision (i.e. convergence insufficiency, CI) and also hyperopia have impact on reading ability.
A sample of 292 children read a text following vision screening. The sample was composed of control children
and children with the conditions: AI; CI and hyperopia. Multilinear regression analysis was used to evaluate
the influence of variables sex, age and visual condition (control, AI, CI and hyperopia) on reading accuracy
and speed. The results showed that ~7% of the variation in reading accuracy was explained by a model where
age (p=0.001), and presence of AI (p<0.001) and hyperopia (p=0.019) were statistically significant. On the
other hand, ~38% of the variation in the index of speed was explained by age alone (p<0.001). These results
confirm the importance of age on children’s ability to read, and suggests that AI and hyperopia, but not CI
may affect reading accuracy. Reading speed does not appear to be affected by the presence of binocular or
accommodative dysfunction.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation
for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of
the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013
Precision tests of QED and non-standard models by searching photon-photon scattering in vacuum with high power lasers
We study how to search for photon-photon scattering in vacuum at present
petawatt laser facilities such as HERCULES, and test Quantum Electrodynamics
and non-standard models like Born-Infeld theory or scenarios involving
minicharged particles or axion-like bosons. First, we compute the phase shift
that is produced when an ultra-intense laser beam crosses a low power beam, in
the case of arbitrary polarisations. This result is then used in order to
design a complete test of all the parameters appearing in the low energy
effective photonic Lagrangian. In fact, we propose a set of experiments that
can be performed at HERCULES, eventually allowing either to detect
photon-photon scattering as due to new physics, or to set new limits on the
relevant parameters, improving by several orders of magnitude the current
constraints obtained recently by PVLAS collaboration. We also describe a
multi-cross optical mechanism that can further enhance the sensitivity,
enabling HERCULES to detect photon-photon scattering even at a rate as small as
that predicted by QED. Finally, we discuss how these results can be improved at
future exawatt facilities such as ELI, thus providing a new class of precision
tests of the Standard Model and beyond.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Corrected few mistakes in section and 4. Results
unchanged. Added a referenc
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