35 research outputs found
Isotopic difference in the heteronuclear loss rate in a two-species surface trap
We have realized a two-species mirror-magneto-optical trap containing a
mixture of Rb (Rb) and Cs atoms. Using this trap, we have
measured the heteronuclear collisional loss rate due to
intra-species cold collisions. We find a distinct difference in the magnitude
and intensity dependence of for the two isotopes Rb and
Rb which we attribute to the different ground-state hyperfine splitting
energies of the two isotopes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Birth and growth of cavitation bubbles within water under tension confined in a simple synthetic tree
Water under tension, as can be found in several systems including tree
vessels, is metastable. Cavitation can spontaneously occur, nucleating a
bubble. We investigate the dynamics of spon- taneous or triggered cavitation
inside water filled microcavities of a hydrogel. Results show that a stable
bubble is created in only a microsecond timescale, after transient
oscillations. Then, a diffusion driven expansion leads to filling of the
cavity. Analysis reveals that the nucleation of a bubble releases a tension of
several tens of MPa, and a simple model captures the different time scales of
the expansion process
Single-bubble and multi-bubble cavitation in water triggered by laser-driven focusing shock waves
In this study a single laser pulse spatially shaped into a ring is focused
into a thin water layer, creating an annular cavitation bubble and cylindrical
shock waves: an outer shock that diverges away from the excitation laser ring
and an inner shock that focuses towards the center. A few nanoseconds after the
converging shock reaches the focus and diverges away from the center, a single
bubble nucleates at the center. The inner diverging shock then reaches the
surface of the annular laser-induced bubble and reflects at the boundary,
initiating nucleation of a tertiary bubble cloud. In the present experiments,
we have performed time-resolved imaging of shock propagation and bubble wall
motion. Our experimental observations of single-bubble cavitation and collapse
and appearance of ring-shaped bubble clouds are consistent with our numerical
simulations that solve a one dimensional Euler equation in cylindrical
coordinates. The numerical results agree qualitatively with the experimental
observations of the appearance and growth of bubble clouds at the smallest
laser excitation rings. Our technique of shock-driven bubble cavitation opens
novel perspectives for the investigation of shock-induced single-bubble or
multi-bubble cavitation phenomena in thin liquids
An integrated atom-photon junction
Photonic chips that integrate guides, switches, gratings and other
components, process vast amounts of information rapidly on a single device. A
new branch of this technology becomes possible if the light is coupled to cold
atoms in a junction of small enough cross section, so that small numbers of
photons interact appreciably with the atoms. Cold atoms are among the most
sensitive of metrological tools and their quantum nature also provides a basis
for new information processing methods. Here we demonstrate a photonic chip
which provides multiple microscopic junctions between atoms and photons. We use
the absorption of light at a junction to reveal the presence of one atom on
average. Conversely, we use the atoms to probe the intensity and polarisation
of the light. Our device paves the way for a new type of chip with
interconnected circuits of atoms and photons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure. Submitted to Nature Photonic
Generation of laser-induced cavitation bubbles with a digital hologram
We demonstrate a method using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate arbitrary 2-D spatial configurations of laser induced cavitation bubbles. The SLM acts as a phase hologram that controls the light distribution in the focal plane of a microscope objective. We generate cavitation bubbles over an area of 380x380 mu m(2) with a 20x microscope objective through absorption of the pulsed laser light in a liquid ink solution. We demonstrate the ability to accurately position up to 34 micrometer sized bubbles using laser energies of 56 mu J. (C) 2008 Optical Society of Americ
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Generation of laser-induced cavitation bubbles with a digital hologram
We demonstrate a method using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate arbitrary 2-D spatial configurations of laser induced cavitation bubbles. The SLM acts as a phase hologram that controls the light distribution in the focal plane of a microscope objective. We generate cavitation bubbles over an area of 380x380 mu m(2) with a 20x microscope objective through absorption of the pulsed laser light in a liquid ink solution. We demonstrate the ability to accurately position up to 34 micrometer sized bubbles using laser energies of 56 mu J. (C) 2008 Optical Society of Americ
Periodic cavitation in an optical tweezer
We show that microscopic explosions (cavitation bubbles) can be generated periodically in an optical tweezer. An absorbing microparticle is attracted to the trapping beam waist where it eventually superheats a small volume of liquid resulting in a cavitation bubble that impulsively pushes the particle close to the starting position where the cycle restarts. The bubbles expand and collapse in a timescale on the order of one microsecond and are detected with a high speed video recorder and a fast photodiode. We also present preliminary results on the interaction between two microparticles generating cavitation bubbles in the same optical trap
Exploring the ultrashort pulse laser parameter space for membrane permeabilisation in mammalian cells.
The use of ultrashort femtosecond pulsed lasers to effect membrane permeabilisation and initiate both optoinjection and transfection of cells has recently seen immense interest. We investigate femtosecond laser-induced membrane permeabilisation in mammalian cells as a function of pulse duration, pulse energy and number of pulses, by quantifying the efficiency of optoinjection for these parameters. Depending on pulse duration and pulse energy we identify two distinct membrane permeabilisation regimes. In the first regime a nonlinear dependence of order 3.4-9.6 is exhibited below a threshold peak power of at least 6 kW. Above this threshold peak power, the nonlinear dependence is saturated resulting in linear behaviour. This indicates that the membrane permeabilisation mechanism requires efficient multiphoton absorption to produce free electrons but once this process saturates, linear absorption dominates. Our experimental findings support a previously proposed theoretical model and provide a step towards the optimisation of laser-mediated gene delivery into mammalian cells.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe