857 research outputs found
The Standing Wave Phenomenon in Radio Telescopes; Frequency Modulation of the WSRT Primary Beam
Inadequacies in the knowledge of the primary beam response of current
interferometric arrays often form a limitation to the image fidelity. We hope
to overcome these limitations by constructing a frequency-resolved,
full-polarization empirical model for the primary beam of the Westerbork
Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). Holographic observations, sampling angular
scales between about 5 arcmin and 11 degrees, were obtained of a bright compact
source (3C147). These permitted measurement of voltage response patterns for
seven of the fourteen telescopes in the array and allowed calculation of the
mean cross-correlated power beam. Good sampling of the main-lobe, near-in, and
far-side-lobes out to a radius of more than 5 degrees was obtained. A robust
empirical beam model was detemined in all polarization products and at
frequencies between 1322 and 1457 MHz with 1 MHz resolution. Substantial
departures from axi-symmetry are apparent in the main-lobe as well as
systematic differences between the polarization properties. Surprisingly, many
beam properties are modulated at the 5 to 10% level with changing frequency.
These include: (1) the main beam area, (2) the side-lobe to main-lobe power
ratio, and (3) the effective telescope aperture. These semi-sinusoidsal
modulations have a basic period of about 17 MHz, consistent with the natural
'standing wave' period of a 8.75 m focal distance. The deduced frequency
modulations of the beam pattern were verified in an independent long duration
observation using compact continuum sources at very large off-axis distances.
Application of our frequency-resolved beam model should enable higher dynamic
range and improved image fidelity for interferometric observations in complex
fields. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, figures
compressed to low resolution; high-resolution version available at:
http://www.astro.rug.nl/~popping/wsrtbeam.pd
Realization of a superconducting atom chip
We have trapped rubidium atoms in the magnetic field produced by a
superconducting atom chip operated at liquid Helium temperatures. Up to
atoms are held in a Ioffe-Pritchard trap at a distance of 440
m from the chip surface, with a temperature of 40 K. The trap
lifetime reaches 115 s at low atomic densities. These results open the way to
the exploration of atom--surface interactions and coherent atomic transport in
a superconducting environment, whose properties are radically different from
normal metals at room temperature.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Microwave probes Dipole Blockade and van der Waals Forces in a Cold Rydberg Gas
We show that microwave spectroscopy of a dense Rydberg gas trapped on a
superconducting atom chip in the dipole blockade regime reveals directly the
dipole-dipole many-body interaction energy spectrum. We use this method to
investigate the expansion of the Rydberg cloud under the effect of repulsive
van der Waals forces and the breakdown of the frozen gas approximation. This
study opens a promising route for quantum simulation of many-body systems and
quantum information transport in chains of strongly interacting Rydberg atoms.Comment: PACS: 03.67.-a, 32.80.Ee, 32.30.-
Characterization of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Type K Virus-like Particles Generated from Recombinant Baculoviruses
AbstractThe family of human endogenous retrovirus type K (HERV-K) comprises members with long open reading frames (ORF) for retroviral proteins. The existence of a biologically active provirus with replicative capacities has not yet been demonstrated. To confirm the assumption that HERV-K codes for the previously observed retrovirus-like particles (human teratocarcinoma-derived virus, HTDV) in human teratocarcinoma cells, we have constructed recombinant full-length HERV-K cDNA-based baculoviruses withgag, pro, pol,andenvORFs. Two viral constructs were used for infections of insect cells, one bearing 67 bp of the 5′ untranslated region upstream of the 5′ splice donor (SD) site and of the retroviral genes, the second omitting the SD sequence. For both recombinant viruses, indirect immunofluorescence and laser scan analyses revealed expression of HERV-K Gag protein. Electron microscopy studies demonstrated efficient production of virus-like particles (VLPs) at the cytoplasmic cell membranes. These VLPs are morphologically identical with the HTDV phenotype. In immunoelectron microscopy of ultrathin frozen sections, anti-HERV-K Gag antibodies specifically reacted with HERV-K VLPs. In Western blots, in addition to the 76-kDa precursor protein, the putative major core protein with an apparent molecular mass of 32 kDa exhibited predominant immunoreactivity with anti-Gag antiserum. In contrast, neither HERV-K Env nor cORF proteins could be detected due to inefficient mRNA splicing. Purified particles from insect cell culture supernatants tested in an ultrasensitive reverse transcriptase assay revealed weak polymerase activity. The data demonstrate that HERV-K codes for retroviral particles of the HTDV phenotype
“Special needs” is an ineffective euphemism
Recension av: Erika Fatland, Änglastaden : berättelser från Beslan, Norstedt, 2012, ISBN 978-91-1-304378-
Single Atom and Two Atom Ramsey Interferometry with Quantized Fields
Implications of field quantization on Ramsey interferometry are discussed and
general conditions for the occurrence of interference are obtained.
Interferences do not occur if the fields in two Ramsey zones have precise
number of photons. However in this case we show how two atom (like two photon)
interferometry can be used to discern a variety of interference effects as the
two independent Ramsey zones get entangled by the passage of first atom.
Generation of various entangled states like |0,2>+|2,0> are discussed and in
far off resonance case generation of entangled state of two coherent states is
discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, revised version. submitted to Phys. Rev.
Universal Quantum Cloning in Cavity QED
We propose an implementation of an universal quantum cloning machine [UQCM,
Hillery and Buzek, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 56}, 3446 (1997)] in a Cavity Quantum
Electrodynamics (CQED) experiment. This UQCM acts on the electronic states of
atoms that interact with the electromagnetic field of a high cavity. We
discuss here the specific case of the cloning process using either a
one- or a two-cavity configuration
Casimir-Polder forces, boundary conditions and fluctuations
We review different aspects of the atom-atom and atom-wall Casimir-Polder
forces. We first discuss the role of a boundary condition on the interatomic
Casimir-Polder potential between two ground-state atoms, and give a physically
transparent interpretation of the results in terms of vacuum fluctuations and
image atomic dipoles. We then discuss the known atom-wall Casimir-Polder force
for ground- and excited-state atoms, using a different method which is also
suited for extension to time-dependent situations. Finally, we consider the
fluctuation of the Casimir-Polder force between a ground-state atom and a
conducting wall, and discuss possible observation of this force fluctuation.Comment: 5 page
Quantum Zeno dynamics of a field in a cavity
We analyze the quantum Zeno dynamics that takes place when a field stored in
a cavity undergoes frequent interactions with atoms. We show that repeated
measurements or unitary operations performed on the atoms probing the field
state confine the evolution to tailored subspaces of the total Hilbert space.
This confinement leads to non-trivial field evolutions and to the generation of
interesting non-classical states, including mesoscopic field state
superpositions. We elucidate the main features of the quantum Zeno mechanism in
the context of a state-of-the-art cavity quantum electrodynamics experiment. A
plethora of effects is investigated, from state manipulations by phase space
tweezers to nearly arbitrary state synthesis. We analyze in details the
practical implementation of this dynamics and assess its robustness by
numerical simulations including realistic experimental imperfections. We
comment on the various perspectives opened by this proposal
Quantum computation with mesoscopic superposition states
We present a strategy to engineer a simple cavity-QED two-bit universal
quantum gate using mesoscopic distinct quantum superposition states. The
dissipative effect on decoherence and amplitude damping of the quantum bits are
analyzed and the critical parameters are presented.Comment: 9 pages, 5 Postscript and 1 Encapsulated Postscript figures. To be
published in Phys. Rev.
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