9,046 research outputs found
Precision measurement of gravity with cold atoms in an optical lattice and comparison with a classical gravimeter
We report on a high precision measurement of gravitational acceleration using
ultracold strontium atoms trapped in a vertical optical lattice. Using
amplitude modulation of the lattice intensity, an uncertainty was reached by measuring at the 5 harmonic of the Bloch
oscillation frequency. After a careful analysis of systematic effects, the
value obtained with this microscopic quantum system is consistent with the one
we measured with a classical absolute gravimeter at the same location. This
result is of relevance for the recent interpretation of related experiments as
tests of gravitational redshift and opens the way to new tests of gravity at
micrometer scale.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Rotation and Neoclassical Ripple Transport in ITER
Neoclassical transport in the presence of non-axisymmetric magnetic fields
causes a toroidal torque known as neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV). The
toroidal symmetry of ITER will be broken by the finite number of toroidal field
coils and by test blanket modules (TBMs). The addition of ferritic inserts
(FIs) will decrease the magnitude of the toroidal field ripple. 3D magnetic
equilibria with toroidal field ripple and ferromagnetic structures are
calculated for an ITER steady-state scenario using the Variational Moments
Equilibrium Code (VMEC). Neoclassical transport quantities in the presence of
these error fields are calculated using the Stellarator Fokker-Planck Iterative
Neoclassical Conservative Solver (SFINCS). These calculations fully account for
, flux surface shaping, multiple species, magnitude of ripple, and
collisionality rather than applying approximate analytic NTV formulae. As NTV
is a complicated nonlinear function of , we study its behavior over a
plausible range of . We estimate the toroidal flow, and hence , using
a semi-analytic turbulent intrinsic rotation model and NUBEAM calculations of
neutral beam torque. The NTV from the ripple dominates
that from lower perturbations of the TBMs. With the inclusion of FIs, the
magnitude of NTV torque is reduced by about 75% near the edge. We present
comparisons of several models of tangential magnetic drifts, finding
appreciable differences only for superbanana-plateau transport at small .
We find the scaling of calculated NTV torque with ripple magnitude to indicate
that ripple-trapping may be a significant mechanism for NTV in ITER. The
computed NTV torque without ferritic components is comparable in magnitude to
the NBI and intrinsic turbulent torques and will likely damp rotation, but the
NTV torque is significantly reduced by the planned ferritic inserts
A robust method for measurement of fluctuation parallel wavenumber in laboratory plasmas
Measuring the parallel wavenumber is fundamental for the experimental characterization of electrostatic instabilities. It becomes particularly important in toroidal geometry, where spatial inhomogeneities and curvature can excite both drift instabilities, whose wavenumber parallel to the magnetic field is finite, and interchange instabilities, which typically have vanishing parallel wavenumber. We demonstrate that multipoint measurements can provide a robust method for the discrimination between the two cases
On the dynamics of vortex modes within magnetic islands
Recent work investigating the interaction of magnetic islands with
micro-turbulence has uncovered the striking observation of large scale vortex
modes forming within the island structure [W.A. Hornsby {\it et al.}, Phys.
Plasmas {\bf 17} 092301 (2010)]. These electrostatic vortices are found to be
the size of the island and are oscillatory. It is this oscillatory behaviour
and the presence of turbulence that leads us to believe that the dynamics are
related to the Geodesic Acoustic Mode (GAM), and it is this link that is
investigated in this paper.
Here we derive an equation for the GAM in the MHD limit, in the presence of a
magnetic island modified three-dimensional axisymmetric geometry. The
eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are calculated numerically and then utilised to
analyse the dynamics of oscillatory large-scale electrostatic potential
structures seen in both linear and non-linear gyro-kinetic simulations
Enhanced spin accumulation in a superconductor
A lateral array of ferromagnetic tunnel junctions is used to inject and
detect non-equilibrium quasi-particle spin distribution in a superconducting
strip made of Al. The strip width and thickness is kept below the quasi
particle spin diffusion length in Al. Non-local measurements in multiple
parallel and antiparallel magnetic states of the detectors are used to in-situ
determine the quasi-particle spin diffusion length. A very large increase in
the spin accumulation in the superconducting state compared to that in the
normal state is observed and is attributed to a diminishing of the
quasi-particle population by opening of the gap below the transition
temperature.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Journal of Applied
Physic
The relationship between the functional orientation of senior managers and service quality in LTL motor carriers
This study utilizes data envelopment analysis to examine the relationship between the functional heterogeneity of senior LTL motor carrier managers’ departmental positions and the relative efficiency of their companies in the production of quality customer service. Three measures from the Quest for Quality annual survey are utilized to measure customer satisfaction: on-time performance, value, and customer service. It is shown that data envelopment analysis can be used to assist LTL motor carriers in benchmarking the configuration of their managerial hierarchies against their peers in order to achieve the goal of customer satisfaction. The results of the present study confirm that senior level managers in operations and marketing-oriented functions have become more prevalent in the current deregulated operating environment. Furthermore, the results suggest that an optimal balance between senior level managers in market-oriented functions and those in operations-oriented functions does exist when the targeted objective is customer satisfaction. The study also demonstrates that most LTL motor carriers were relatively inefficient in their configuration of these senior level managers
A systematic review of a polyvagal perspective on embodied contemplative practices as promoters of cardiorespiratory coupling and traumatic stress recovery for ptsd and ocd: Research methodologies and state of the art
Baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) has been proposed as a transdiagnostic biomarker of stress vulnerability across psychopathologies, and a reliable association between PTSD, OCD and lower resting RSA was found. Contemplative practices have been linked to the activation of the vagus as well as to an increased RSA that, according to the polyvagal theory, reflects the activation of the ventral vagal complex (VVC) and may promote PTSD and OCD recovery. PubMed and Scopus databases were selected to conduct a search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, and A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) was used to appraise the methodological quality for this systematic review. Six articles met the inclusion criteria (one cross-sectional study, one study with pre-post measurements, two cohort studies and two RCT studies). Mindfulness-related interventions promoted parasympathetic activity, an increased vagal tone and improvements in PTSD and OCD symptoms. According to the polyvagal theory, mindfulness-related and compassion-related meditations would be conceptualized as neural exercises expanding the capacity of the ventral vagal complex to regulate the present state and to promote resilience. Clinical and methodological issues are discussed
- …