18,369 research outputs found
Second-harmonic generation in graded metallic films
We study the effective second-harmonic generation (SHG) susceptibility in
graded metallic films by invoking the local field effects exactly, and further
numerically demonstrate that the graded metallic films can serve as a novel
optical material for producing a broad structure in both the linear and SHG
response and an enhancement in the SHG signal.Comment: 10 pages, 2 EPS figures. Minor revision
The Evolution of Bias - Generalized
Fry (1996) showed that galaxy bias has the tendency to evolve towards unity,
i.e. in the long run, the galaxy distribution tends to trace that of matter.
Generalizing slightly Fry's reasoning, we show that his conclusion remains
valid in theories of modified gravity (or equivalently, complex clustered dark
energy). This is not surprising: as long as both galaxies and matter are
subject to the same force, dynamics would drive them towards tracing each
other. This holds, for instance, in theories where both galaxies and matter
move on geodesics. This relaxation of bias towards unity is tempered by cosmic
acceleration, however: the bias tends towards unity but does not quite make it,
unless the formation bias were close to unity. Our argument is extended in a
straightforward manner to the case of a stochastic or nonlinear bias. An
important corollary is that dynamical evolution could imprint a scale
dependence on the large scale galaxy bias. This is especially pronounced if
non-standard gravity introduces new scales to the problem: the bias at
different scales relaxes at different rates, the larger scales generally more
slowly and retaining a longer memory of the initial bias. A consistency test of
the current (general relativity + uniform dark energy) paradigm is therefore to
look for departure from a scale independent bias on large scales. A simple way
is to measure the relative bias of different populations of galaxies which are
at different stages of bias relaxation. Lastly, we comment on the possibility
of directly testing the Poisson equation on cosmological scales, as opposed to
indirectly through the growth factor.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. References added. Accepted for publication in
Physical Review
The Thermal Memory of Reionization History
The recent measurement by WMAP of a large electron scattering optical depth
tau_e = 0.17 +- 0.04 is consistent with a simple model of reionization in which
the intergalactic medium (IGM) is ionized at redshift z ~ 15, and remains
highly ionized thereafter. Here, we show that existing measurements of the IGM
temperature from the Lyman-alpha forest at z ~ 2 - 4 rule out this ``vanilla''
model. Under reasonable assumptions about the ionizing spectrum, as long as the
universe is reionized before z = 10, and remains highly ionized thereafter, the
IGM reaches an asymptotic thermal state which is too cold compared to
observations. To simultaneously satisfy the CMB and forest constraints, the
reionization history must be complex: reionization begins early at z >~ 15, but
there must have been significant (order unity) changes in fractions of neutral
hydrogen and/or helium at 6 < z < 10, and/or singly ionized helium at 4 < z <
10. We describe a physically motivated reionization model that satisfies all
current observations. We also explore the impact of a stochastic reionization
history and show that a late epoch of (HeII --> HeIII) reionization induces a
significant scatter in the IGM temperature, but the scatter diminishes with
time quickly. Finally, we provide an analytic formula for the thermal
asymptote, and discuss possible additional heating mechanisms that might evade
our constraints.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to ApJ, new references, additional discussion on
earlier work and partial HeII reionizatio
Long spin coherence times in the ground state and an optically excited state of Er:YSiO at zero magnetic field
Spins in solids are an ideal candidate to act as a memory and interface with
superconducting qubits due to their long coherence times. We spectroscopically
investigate erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate as a possible
microwave-addressed memory employing its microwave frequency transitions that
occur without applying an external magnetic field. We obtain coherence times of
380 s in a ground state spin transition and 1.48 ms in an excited state
spin transition. This is 28 times longer compared to previous zero field
measurements, as well as 200 times longer than a previous microwave memory
demonstration in the same material. These long coherence times show that
erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate has potential as a microwave-addressed
quantum memory.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. The paper has been expanded compared to the
previous version on arXiv, and the title has change
Collective modes and ballistic expansion of a Fermi gas in the BCS-BEC crossover
We evaluate the frequencies of collective modes and the anisotropic expansion
rate of a harmonically trapped Fermi superfluid at varying coupling strengths
across a Feshbach resonance driving a BCS-BEC crossover. The equations of
motion for the superfluid are obtained from a microscopic mean-field expression
for the compressibility and are solved within a scaling ansatz. Our results
confirm non-monotonic behavior in the crossover region and are in quantitative
agreement with current measurements of the transverse breathing mode by Kinast
{\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 92}, 150402 (2004)] and of the axial
breathing mode by Bartenstein {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 92}, 203201
(2004)].Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures; proof version with more extensive discussions
on the comparison between theoretical results and experimental findings; to
appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (Nov. 2004
Spatially resolved femtosecond pump-probe study of topological insulator Bi2Se3
Carrier and phonon dynamics in Bi2Se3 crystals are studied by a spatially
resolved ultrafast pump-probe technique. Pronounced oscillations in
differential reflection are observed with two distinct frequencies, and are
attributed to coherent optical and acoustic phonons, respectively. The rising
time of the signal indicates that the thermalization and energy relaxation of
hot carriers are both sub-ps in this material. We found that the thermalization
and relaxation time decreases with the carrier density. The expansion of the
differential reflection profile allows us to estimate an ambipolar carrier
diffusion coefficient on the order of 500 square centimeters per second. A
long-term slow expansion of the profile shows a thermal diffusion coefficient
of 1.2 square centimeters per second.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Line versus Flux Statistics -- Considerations for the Low Redshift Lyman-alpha Forest
The flux/transmission power spectrum has become a popular statistical tool in
studies of the high redshift () Lyman-alpha forest. At low redshifts,
where the forest has thinned out into a series of well-isolated absorption
lines, the motivation for flux statistics is less obvious. Here, we study the
relative merits of flux versus line correlations, and derive a simple condition
under which one is favored over the other on purely statistical grounds.
Systematic errors probably play an important role in this discussion, and they
are outlined as well.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in "The IGM/Galaxy Connection: The Distribution of
Baryons at z=0", eds. J. L. Rosenberg and M. E. Putma
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