Compton scattering of twisted light: angular distribution and polarization of scattered photons

Compton scattering of twisted photons is investigated within a non-relativistic framework using first-order perturbation theory. We formulate the problem in the density matrix theory, which enables one to gain new insights into scattering processes of twisted particles by exploiting the symmetries of the system. In particular, we analyze how the angular distribution and polarization of the scattered photons are affected by the parameters of the initial beam such as the opening angle and the projection of orbital angular momentum. We present analytical and numerical results for the angular distribution and the polarization of Compton scattered photons for initially twisted light and compare them with the standard case of plane-wave light

Adaptive Ising Model and Bacterial Chemotactic Receptor Network

We present a so-called adaptive Ising model (AIM) to provide a unifying explanation for sensitivity and perfect adaptation in bacterial chemotactic signalling, based on coupling among receptor dimers. In an AIM, an external field, representing ligand binding, is randomly applied to a fraction of spins, representing the states of the receptor dimers, and there is a delayed negative feedback from the spin value on the local field. This model is solved in an adiabatic approach. If the feedback is slow and weak enough, as indeed in chemotactic signalling, the system evolves through quasi-equilibrium states and the ``magnetization'', representing the signal, always attenuates towards zero and is always sensitive to a subsequent stimulus.Comment: revtex, final version to appear in Europhysics Letter

Direct solar-pumped iodine laser amplifier

The improvement on the collection system of the Tarmarack Solar Simulator beam was attemped. The basic study of evaluating the solid state laser materials for the solar pumping and also the work to construct a kinetic model algorithm for the flashlamp pumped iodine lasers were carried out. It was observed that the collector cone worked better than the lens assembly in order to collect the solar simulator beam and to focus it down to a strong power density. The study on the various laser materials and their lasing characteristics shows that the neodymium and chromium co-doped gadolinium scandium gallium garnet (Nr:Cr:GSGG) may be a strong candidate for the high power solar pumped solid state laser crystal. On the other hand the improved kinetic modeling for the flashlamp pumped iodine laser provides a good agreement between the theoretical model and the experimental data on the laser power output, and predicts the output parameters of a solar pumped iodine laser

Direct solar-pumped iodine laser amplifier

In order to evaluate the feasibility of the solar pumped dye laser, the parametric study of a dye laser amplifier pumped by a solar simulator and flashlamp was carried out, and the amplifier gains were measured at various pump beam irradiances on the dye cell. Rhodamine 6G was considered as a candidate for the solar pumped laser because of its good utilization of the solar spectrum and high quantum efficiency. The measurement shows that a solar concentration of 20,000 is required to reach the threshold of the dye. The work to construct a kinetic model algorithm which predicts the output parameter of laser was progressed. The kinetic model was improved such that there is good agreement between the theoretical model and experimental data for the systems defined previously as flashlamp pumped laser oscillator, and the long path length solar pumped laser

Direct solar-pumped iodine laser amplifier

A XeCl laser which was developed earlier for an iodine laser oscillator was modified in order to increase the output pulse energy of XeCl laser so that the iodine laser output energy could be increased. The electrical circuit of the XeCl laser was changed from a simple capacitor discharge circuit of the XeCl laser to a Marx system. Because of this improvement the output energy from the XeCl laser was increased from 60 mj to 80 mj. Subsequently, iodine laser output energy was increased from 100 mj to 3 mj. On the other hand, the energy storage capability and amplification characteristics of the Vortek solar simulator-pumped amplifier was calculated expecting the calculated amplification factor is about 2 and the energy extraction efficiency is 26 percent due to the very low input energy density to the amplifier. As a result of an improved kinetic modeling for the iodine solar simulator pumped power amplifier, it is found that the I-2 along the axis of the tube affects seriously the gain profile. For the gas i-C3F7I at the higher pressures, the gain will decrease due to the I-2 as the pumping intensity increases, and at these higher pressures an increase in flow velocity will increase the gain

Mode-coupling and polar nanoregions in the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3

We present a quantitative analysis of the phonon lineshapes obtained by neutron inelastic scattering methods in the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN). Differences in the shapes and apparent positions of the transverse acoustic (TA) and transverse optic (TO) phonon peaks measured in the (300) and (200) Brillouin zones at 690 K are well described by a simple model that couples the TA and soft TO modes in which the primary parameter is the wave vector and temperature-dependent TO linewidth Gamma(q,T). This mode-coupling picture provides a natural explanation for the uniform displacements of the polar nanoregions, discovered by Hirota et al., as the PNR result from the condensation of a soft TO mode that also contains a large acoustic component.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Building validation tools for knowledge-based systems

The Expert Systems Validation Associate (EVA), a validation system under development at the Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center for more than a year, provides a wide range of validation tools to check the correctness, consistency and completeness of a knowledge-based system. A declarative meta-language (higher-order language), is used to create a generic version of EVA to validate applications written in arbitrary expert system shells. The architecture and functionality of EVA are presented. The functionality includes Structure Check, Logic Check, Extended Structure Check (using semantic information), Extended Logic Check, Semantic Check, Omission Check, Rule Refinement, Control Check, Test Case Generation, Error Localization, and Behavior Verification

From soft harmonic phonons to fast relaxational dynamics in CH3_{3}NH3_{3}PbBr3_{3}

The lead-halide perovskites, including CH$_{3}$NH$_{3}$PbBr$_{3}$, are components in cost effective, highly efficient photovoltaics, where the interactions of the molecular cations with the inorganic framework are suggested to influence the electronic and ferroelectric properties. CH$_{3}$NH$_{3}$PbBr$_{3}$ undergoes a series of structural transitions associated with orientational order of the CH$_{3}$NH$_{3}$ (MA) molecular cation and tilting of the PbBr$_{3}$ host framework. We apply high-resolution neutron scattering to study the soft harmonic phonons associated with these transitions, and find a strong coupling between the PbBr$_{3}$ framework and the quasistatic CH$_{3}$NH$_{3}$ dynamics at low energy transfers. At higher energy transfers, we observe a PbBr$_{6}$ octahedra soft mode driving a transition at 150 K from bound molecular excitations at low temperatures to relatively fast relaxational excitations that extend up to $\sim$ 50-100 meV. We suggest that these temporally overdamped dynamics enables possible indirect band gap processes in these materials that are related to the enhanced photovoltaic properties.Comment: (main text - 5 pages, 4 figures; supplementary information - 3 pages, 3 figures

Different Ways of Reading, or Just Making the Right Noises?

What does reading look like? Can learning to read be reduced to the acquisition of a set of isolable skills, or proficiency in reading be equated with the independence of the solitary, silent reader of prose fiction? These conceptions of reading and reading development, which figure strongly in educational policy, may appear to be simple common sense. But both ethnographic data and evidence from literary texts suggest that such paradigms offer, at most, a partial and ahistorical picture of reading. An important dimension, neglected in the dominant paradigms, is the irreducibly social quality of reading practices