Four wave mixing with self-phase matching due to collective atomic recoil

We describe a method for non-degenerate four-wave mixing in a cold sample of 4-level atoms. An integral part of the four-wave mixing process is a collective instability which spontaneously generates a periodic density modulation in the cold atomic sample with a period equal to half of the wavelength of the generated high-frequency optical field. Due to the generation of this density modulation, phase-matching between the pump and scattered fields is not a necessary initial condition for this wave-mixing process to occur, rather the density modulation acts to "self phase-match" the fields during the course of the wave-mixing process. We describe a one-dimensional model of this process, and suggest a proof-of-principle experiment which would involve pumping a sample of cold Cs atoms with three infra-red pump fields to produce blue light.Comment: to appear in Physical Review Letter

Inducing strong density modulation with small energy dispersion in particle beams and the harmonic amplifier free electron laser

We present a possible method of inducing a periodic density modulation in a particle beam with little increase in the energy dispersion of the particles. The flow of particles in phase space does not obey Liouville's Theorem. The method relies upon the Kuramoto-like model of collective synchronism found in free electron generators of radiation, such as Cyclotron Resonance Masers and the Free Electron Laser. For the case of an FEL interaction, electrons initially begin to bunch and emit radiation energy with a correlated energy dispersion which is periodic with the FEL ponderomotive potential. The relative phase between potential and particles is then changed by approximately 180 degrees. The particles continue to bunch, however, there is now a correlated re-absorption of energy from the field. We show that, by repeating this relative phase change many times, a significant density modulation of the particles may be achieved with only relatively small energy dispersion. A similar method of repeated relative electron/radiation phase changes is used to demonstrate supression of the fundamental growth in a high gain FEL so that the FEL lases at the harmonic only

DAIRY FARMERS' USE OF FINANCIAL LONG-RANGE PLANNING (FINLRB) TO AID DECISION-MAKING

Agricultural Finance, Livestock Production/Industries,

Attosecond electronic and nuclear quantum photodynamics of ozone: time-dependent Dyson orbitals and dipole

A nonadiabatic scheme for the description of the coupled electron and nuclear motions in the ozone molecule was proposed recently. An initial coherent nonstationary state was prepared as a superposition of the ground state and the excited Hartley band. In this situation neither the electrons nor the nuclei are in a stationary state. The multiconfiguration time dependent Hartree method was used to solve the coupled nuclear quantum dynamics in the framework of the adiabatic separation of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. The resulting wave packet shows an oscillation of the electron density between the two chemical bonds. As a first step for probing the electronic motion we computed the time-dependent molecular dipole and the Dyson orbitals. The latter play an important role in the explanation of the photoelectron angular distribution. Calculations of the Dyson orbitals are presented both for the time-independent as well as the time-dependent situations. We limited our description of the electronic motion to the Franck-Condon region only due to the localization of the nuclear wave packets around this point during the first 5-6 fs

The role of quantum fluctuations in the optomechanical properties of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a ring cavity

We analyze a detailed model of a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a ring optical resonator and contrast its classical and quantum properties to those of a Fabry-P{\'e}rot geometry. The inclusion of two counter-propagating light fields and three matter field modes leads to important differences between the two situations. Specifically, we identify an experimentally realizable region where the system's behavior differs strongly from that of a BEC in a Fabry-P\'{e}rot cavity, and also where quantum corrections become significant. The classical dynamics are rich, and near bifurcation points in the mean-field classical system, the quantum fluctuations have a major impact on the system's dynamics.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, submitted to PR

HIV-DNA Given with or without Intradermal Electroporation Is Safe and Highly Immunogenic in Healthy Swedish HIV-1 DNA/MVA Vaccinees: A Phase I Randomized Trial

We compared safety and immunogenicity of intradermal (ID) vaccination with and without electroporation (EP) in a phase I randomized placebo-controlled trial of an HIV-DNA prime HIV-MVA boost vaccine in healthy Swedish volunteers.HIV-DNA plasmids encoding HIV-1 genes gp160 subtypes A, B and C; Rev B; Gag A and B and RTmut B were given ID at weeks 0, 6 and 12 in a dose of 0.6 mg. Twenty-five volunteers received vaccine using a needle-free device (ZetaJet) with (n=16) or without (n=9) ID EP (Dermavax). Five volunteers were placebo recipients. Boosting with recombinant MVA-CMDR expressing HIV-1 Env, Gag, Pol of CRF01_AE (HIV-MVA) or placebo was performed at weeks 24 and 40. Nine of the vaccinees received a subtype C CN54 gp140 protein boost together with HIV-MVA.The ID/EP delivery was very well tolerated. After three HIV-DNA immunizations, no statistically significant difference was seen in the IFN-γ ELISpot response rate to Gag between HIV-DNA ID/EP recipients (5/15, 33%) and HIV-DNA ID recipients (1/7, 14%, p=0.6158). The first HIV-MVA or HIV-MVA+gp140 vaccination increased the IFN-γ ELISpot response rate to 18/19 (95%). CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cell responses to Gag or Env were demonstrable in 94% of vaccinees. A balanced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response was noted, with 78% and 71% responders, respectively. IFN-γ and IL-2 dominated the CD4+ T cell response to Gag and Env. The CD8+ response to Gag was broader with expression of IFN-γ, IL-2, MIP-1β and/or CD107. No differences were seen between DNA vaccine groups. Binding antibodies were induced after the second HIV-MVA+/-gp140 in 93% of vaccinees to subtype C Env, with the highest titers among EP/gp140 recipients.Intradermal electroporation of HIV-DNA was well tolerated. Strong cell- and antibody-mediated immune responses were elicited by the HIV-DNA prime and HIV-MVA boosting regimen, with or without intradermal electroporation use.International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 60284968

Ancient Yersinia pestis genomes from across Western Europe reveal early diversification during the First Pandemic (541–750)

The first historically documented pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis began as the Justinianic Plague in 541 within the Roman Empire and continued as the so-called First Pandemic until 750. Although paleogenomic studies have previously identified the causative agent as Y. pestis, little is known about the bacterium’s spread, diversity, and genetic history over the course of the pandemic. To elucidate the microevolution of the bacterium during this time period, we screened human remains from 21 sites in Austria, Britain, Germany, France, and Spain for Y. pestis DNA and reconstructed eight genomes. We present a methodological approach assessing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ancient bacterial genomes, facilitating qualitative analyses of low coverage genomes from a metagenomic background. Phylogenetic analysis on the eight reconstructed genomes reveals the existence of previously undocumented Y. pestis diversity during the sixth to eighth centuries, and provides evidence for the presence of multiple distinct Y. pestis strains in Europe. We offer genetic evidence for the presence of the Justinianic Plague in the British Isles, previously only hypothesized from ambiguous documentary accounts, as well as the parallel occurrence of multiple derived strains in central and southern France, Spain, and southern Germany. Four of the reported strains form a polytomy similar to others seen across the Y. pestis phylogeny, associated with the Second and Third Pandemics. We identified a deletion of a 45-kb genomic region in the most recent First Pandemic strains affecting two virulence factors, intriguingly overlapping with a deletion found in 17th- to 18th-century genomes of the Second Pandemic. © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved