2,194 research outputs found
Cosmological Constraints from Moments of the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
In this paper, we explain how moments of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ)
effect can constrain both cosmological parameters and the astrophysics of the
intracluster medium (ICM). As the tSZ signal is strongly non-Gaussian, higher
moments of tSZ maps contain useful information. We first calculate the
dependence of the tSZ moments on cosmological parameters, finding that higher
moments scale more steeply with sigma_8 and are sourced by more massive galaxy
clusters. Taking advantage of the different dependence of the variance and
skewness on cosmological and astrophysical parameters, we construct a
statistic, ||/^1.4, which cancels much of the dependence on cosmology
(i.e., sigma_8) yet remains sensitive to the astrophysics of intracluster gas
(in particular, to the gas fraction in low-mass clusters). Constraining the ICM
astrophysics using this statistic could break the well-known degeneracy between
cosmology and gas physics in tSZ measurements, allowing for tight constraints
on cosmological parameters. Although detailed simulations will be needed to
fully characterize the accuracy of this technique, we provide a first
application to data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the South Pole
Telescope. We estimate that a Planck-like full-sky tSZ map could achieve a <1%
constraint on sigma_8 and a 1-sigma error on the sum of the neutrino masses
that is comparable to the existing lower bound from oscillation measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D; v2: 14 pages,
16 figures, matches PRD accepted version (changes from v1 include additional
calculations with primordial non-Gaussianity and a new appendix discussing
the tSZ kurtosis
Voltage-controlled wavelength conversion by terahertz electro-optic modulation in double quantum wells
An undoped double quantum well (DQW) was driven with a terahertz (THz)
electric field of frequency \omega_{THz} polarized in the growth direction,
while simultaneously illuminated with a near-infrared (NIR) laser at frequency
\omega_{NIR}. The intensity of NIR upconverted sidebands
\omega_{sideband}=\omega_{NIR} + \omega_{THz} was maximized when a dc voltage
applied in the growth direction tuned the excitonic states into resonance with
both the THz and NIR fields. There was no detectable upconversion far from
resonance. The results demonstrate the possibility of using gated DQW devices
for all-optical wavelength shifting between optical communication channels
separated by up to a few THz.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures. Figures 5 and 6 are JPEG files, figures/fig5.jpg
and fig6.jp
Nonlinear electromagnetic response of graphene: Frequency multiplication and the self-consistent-field effects
Graphene is a recently discovered carbon based material with unique physical
properties. This is a monolayer of graphite, and the two-dimensional electrons
and holes in it are described by the effective Dirac equation with a vanishing
effective mass. As a consequence, electromagnetic response of graphene is
predicted to be strongly non-linear. We develop a quasi-classical kinetic
theory of the non-linear electromagnetic response of graphene, taking into
account the self-consistent-field effects. Response of the system to both
harmonic and pulse excitation is considered. The frequency multiplication
effect, resulting from the non-linearity of the electromagnetic response, is
studied under realistic experimental conditions. The frequency up-conversion
efficiency is analysed as a function of the applied electric field and
parameters of the samples. Possible applications of graphene in terahertz
electronics are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, invited paper written for a special issue of
JPCM "Terahertz emitters
Quenching Spin Decoherence in Diamond through Spin Bath Polarization
We experimentally demonstrate that the decoherence of a spin by a spin bath
can be completely eliminated by fully polarizing the spin bath. We use electron
paramagnetic resonance at 240 gigahertz and 8 Tesla to study the spin coherence
time of nitrogen-vacancy centers and nitrogen impurities in diamond from
room temperature down to 1.3 K. A sharp increase of is observed below the
Zeeman energy (11.5 K). The data are well described by a suppression of the
flip-flop induced spin bath fluctuations due to thermal spin polarization.
saturates at below 2 K, where the spin bath polarization
is 99.4 %.Comment: 5 pages and 3 figure
Relaminarisation of Re_Ï„=100 channel flow with globally stabilising linear feedback control
The problems of nonlinearity and high dimension have so far prevented a complete solution of the control of turbulent flow. Addressing the problem of nonlinearity, we propose a flow control strategy which ensures that the energy of any perturbation to the target profile decays monotonically. The controller’s estimate of the flow state is similarly guaranteed to converge to the true value. We present a one-time off-line synthesis procedure, which generalises to accommodate more restrictive actuation and sensing arrangements, with conditions for existence for the controller given in this case. The control is tested in turbulent channel flow (Re_τ = 100) using full-domain sensing and actuation on the wall-normal velocity. Concentrated at the point of maximum inflection in the mean profile, the control directly counters the supply of turbulence energy arising from the interaction of the wall-normal perturbations with the flow shear. It is found that the control is only required for the larger-scale motions, specifically those above the scale of the mean streak spacing. Minimal control effort is required once laminar flow is achieved. The response of the near-wall flow is examined in detail, with particular emphasis on the pressure and wall-normal velocity fields, in the context of Landahl’s theory of sheared turbulence
Relaminarisation of Re_{\tau} = 100 channel flow with globally stabilising linear feedback control
The problems of nonlinearity and high dimension have so far prevented a
complete solution of the control of turbulent flow. Addressing the problem of
nonlinearity, we propose a flow control strategy which ensures that the energy
of any perturbation to the target profile decays monotonically. The
controller's estimate of the flow state is similarly guaranteed to converge to
the true value. We present a one-time off-line synthesis procedure, which
generalises to accommodate more restrictive actuation and sensing arrangements,
with conditions for existence for the controller given in this case. The
control is tested in turbulent channel flow () using full-domain
sensing and actuation on the wall-normal velocity. Concentrated at the point of
maximum inflection in the mean profile, the control directly counters the
supply of turbulence energy arising from the interaction of the wall-normal
perturbations with the flow shear. It is found that the control is only
required for the larger-scale motions, specifically those above the scale of
the mean streak spacing. Minimal control effort is required once laminar flow
is achieved. The response of the near-wall flow is examined in detail, with
particular emphasis on the pressure and wall-normal velocity fields, in the
context of Landahl's theory of sheared turbulence
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