Extreme nonlinear electrodynamics in metamaterials with very small linear dielectric permittivity

We consider a sub-wavelength periodic layered medium whose slabs are filled by arbitrary linear metamaterials and standard nonlinear Kerr media and we show that the homogenized medium behaves as a Kerr medium whose parameters can assume values not available in standard materials. Exploiting such a parameter availability, we focus on the situation where the linear relative dielectric permittivity is very small thus allowing the observation of the extreme nonlinear regime where the nonlinear polarization is comparable with or even greater than the linear part of the overall dielectric response. The behavior of the electromagnetic field in the extreme nonlinear regime is very peculiar and characterized by novel features as, for example, the transverse power flow reversing. In order to probe the novel regime, we consider a class of fields (transverse magnetic nonlinear guided waves) admitting full analytical description and we show that these waves are allowed to propagate even in media with $\epsilon0$ since the nonlinear polarization produces a positive overall effective permittivity. The considered nonlinear waves exhibit, in addition to the mentioned features, a number of interesting properties like hyper-focusing induced by the phase difference between the field components.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Complete controllability of quantum systems

Sufficient conditions for complete controllability of $N$-level quantum systems subject to a single control pulse that addresses multiple allowed transitions concurrently are established. The results are applied in particular to Morse and harmonic-oscillator systems, as well as some systems with degenerate energy levels. Morse and harmonic oscillators serve as models for molecular bonds, and the standard control approach of using a sequence of frequency-selective pulses to address a single transition at a time is either not applicable or only of limited utility for such systems.Comment: 8 pages, expanded and revised versio

LAND COVER CHARACTERIZATION USING MULTITEMPORAL RED, NEAR-IR, AND THERMAL-IR DATA FROM NOAA/AVHRR

A simple land cover classification scheme is proposed based on energy absorption and exchange properties of various land cover types, observable from remote sensing. Seasonal trajectories of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and surface temperature (Ts), routinely available from NOAA/AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), are used to characterize different land cover types into four groups: water limited (shrub, grass), energy limited (wetlands, boreal forests, snow, ice, and water), atmospherically coupled (aerodynamically rough canopies, forests), and atmospherically decoupled (aerodynamically smooth canopies, crops). Further separation is achieved using growing-season average NDVI for shrub and grass, seasonal NDVI amplitude for deciduous vs. evergreen, and near-infrared (NIR) reflectance for broadleaf vs. needleleaf vegetation. The methodology using threshold-based rules is completely remote sensing based; classification rules are simple and easily modifiable. A first test of this logic over the continental United States, when compared with existing maps, showed that the methodology adequately captures the spatial distribution of various land cover types. The logic is also useful for monitoring seasonal dynamics of land cover, evapotranspiration, and disturbances due to fire, floods, insects/disease, and other anthropogenic processes. Future improvements needed to deal with mixed landscapes and global implementation details are discussed

Estimation of Regional Surface Resistance to Evapotranspiration from NDVI and Thermal-IR AVHRR Data

Infrared surface temperatures from satellite sensors have been used to infer evaporation and soil moisture distribution over large areas. However, surface energy partitioning to latent versus sensible heat changes with surface vegetation cover and water availability. We tested a hypothesis that the relationship between surface temperature and canopy density is sensitive to seasonal changes in canopy resistance of conifer forests. Surface temperature (Ts) and canopy density were computed for a 20 × 25 km forested region in Montana, from the NOAA/AVHRR for 8 days during the summer of 1985. A forest ecosystem model, FOREST-BGC, simulated canopy resistance (Rc) for the same period. For all eight days. surface temperatures had high association with canopy density, measured as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (R2 = 0.73 − 0.91), implying that latent heat exchange is the major cause of spatial variations in surface radiant temperatures. The slope of Ts and NDVI, σ, was sensitive to changes in canopy resistance on two contrasting days of canopy activity. The trajectory of σ followed seasonal changes in canopy resistance simulated by the model. The relationship found between σ and Rc (R2 = 0.92), was nonlinear, expected because Rc values beyond 20 s cm−1 do not influence energy partitioning significantly. The slope of Ts and NDVI, σ, could provide a useful parameterization of surface resistance in regional evapotranspiration research

Imaging the Near Field

In an earlier paper we introduced the concept of the perfect lens which focuses both near and far electromagnetic fields, hence attaining perfect resolution. Here we consider refinements of the original prescription designed to overcome the limitations of imperfect materials. In particular we show that a multi-layer stack of positive and negative refractive media is less sensitive to imperfections. It has the novel property of behaving like a fibre-optic bundle but one that acts on the near field, not just the radiative component. The effects of retardation are included and minimized by making the slabs thinner. Absorption then dominates image resolution in the near-field. The deleterious effects of absorption in the metal are reduced for thinner layers.Comment: RevTeX, (9 pages, 8 figures

Sensitivity of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terrestrial Primary Production to the Accuracy of Meteorological Reanalyses

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA\u27s satellites, Terra and Aqua, dramatically improves our ability to accurately and continuously monitor the terrestrial biosphere. MODIS information is used to estimate global terrestrial primary production weekly and annually in near-real time at a 1-km resolution. MODIS terrestrial primary production requires daily gridded assimilation meteorological data as inputs, and the accuracy of the existing meteorological reanalysis data sets show marked differences both spatially and temporally. This study compares surface meteorological data sets from three well-documented global reanalyses, NASA Data Assimilation Office (DAO), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) (ERA-40) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis 1, with observed weather station data and other gridded data interpolated from the observations, to evaluate the sensitivity of MODIS global terrestrial gross and net primary production (GPP and NPP) to the uncertainties of meteorological inputs both in the United States and the global vegetated areas. NCEP tends to overestimate surface solar radiation, and underestimate both temperature and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). ECMWF has the highest accuracy but its radiation is lower in tropical regions, and the accuracy of DAO lies between NCEP and ECMWF. Biases in temperature are mainly responsible for large VPD biases in reanalyses. MODIS NPP contains more uncertainties than GPP. Global total MODIS GPP and NPP driven by DAO, ECMWF, and NCEP show notable differences (\u3e20 Pg C/yr) with the highest estimates from NCEP and the lowest from ECMWF. Again, the DAO results lie somewhere between NCEP and ECMWF estimates. Spatially, the larger discrepancies among reanalyses and their derived MODIS GPP and NPP occur in the tropics. These results reveal that the biases in meteorological reanalyses can introduce substantial error into GPP and NPP estimations, and emphasize the need to minimize these biases to improve the quality of MODIS GPP and NPP products

Developing Satellite-derived Estimates of Surface Moisture Status

Recent research has shown that the combination of spectral vegetation indices with thermal infrared observations may provide an effective method for parameterizing surface processes at large spatial scales. In this paper, we explore the remotely sensed surface temperature (Ts)/normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) relationship regarding a) influence of biome type on the slope of Ts/NDVI, b) automating the definition of the relationship so that the surface moisture status can he compared with Ts/NDVI at continental scales. The analysis was carded out using 1) NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data over a 300-km × 300-km area in western Montana under various land-use practices (grass, crops, and forests), 2) Earth Resources Observations Systems Data Center continental United States biweekly composite AVHRR data. A strong negative relationship was observed between NDVI and Ts over all biome types. The similarity of the Ts/NDVI relationships over different biomes indicated that fraction of vegetation cover has strong influence on the spatial variability of Ts. A substantial change in the Ts/NDVI relationship was observed over forests between wet and dry days. In comparison, no change was observed over irrigated crops. Results from the automated approach agreed well with those using manual selection. At continental scales, the slope of Ts/NDVI is strongly correlated to crop-moisture index values indicating that Ts/NDVI relation is sensitive to surface moisture conditions. Upon further development, this relationship may be useful for parameterizing surface moisture conditions in climate models, decomposition studies, and fire weather monitoring

The effect of gain saturation in a gain compensated perfect lens

The transmission of evanescent waves in a gain-compensated perfect lens is discussed. In particular, the impact of gain saturation is included in the analysis, and a method for calculating the fields of such nonlinear systems is developed. Gain compensation clearly improves the resolution; however, a number of nonideal effects arise as a result of gain saturation. The resolution associated with the lens is strongly dependent on the saturation constant of the active medium.Comment: to appear in J. Opt. Soc. Am.