Ehrenfest Dynamics and Frictionless Cooling Methods

Recently introduced methods which result in shortcuts to adiabaticity, particularly in the context of frictionless cooling, are rederived and discussed in the framework of an approach based on Ehrenfest dynamics. This construction provides physical insights into the emergence of the Ermakov equation, the choice of its boundary conditions, and the use of minimum uncertainty states as indicators of the efficiency of the procedure. Additionally, it facilitates the extension of frictionless cooling to more general situations of physical relevance, such as optical dipole trapping schemes. In this context, we discuss frictionless cooling in the short-time limit, a complementary case to the one considered in the literature, making explicit the limitations intrinsic to the technique when the full three-dimensional case is analyzed.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, v2: To appear in Physical Review A. (some minor typos corrected and some references added

Hook-content formulae for symplectic and orthogonal tableaux

By considering the specialisation $s_{\lambda}(1,q,q^2,...,q^{n-1})$ of the Schur function, Stanley was able to describe a formula for the number of semistandard Young tableaux of shape $\lambda$ in terms of two properties of the boxes in the diagram for $\lambda$. Using specialisations of symplectic and orthogonal Schur functions, we derive corresponding formulae, first given by El Samra and King, for the number of semistandard symplectic and orthogonal $\lambda$-tableaux.Comment: Withdrawn; paper is outdate

Extraction procedure and tensile properties of Dharbai and Christmas palm natural fibres

A new variety of natural fibres has been extracted from Dharbai and Christmas palm for their use as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites. The tensile properties and cross-section area of Dharbai and Christmas palm fibres have been evaluated experimentally and compared with natural fibres such as sisal, banana and coir which are already used as reinforcement in polymer composite. Monofilament test has been used to study the tensile properties of the fibres and Rapid-I machine vision system is used to determine the diameter of the fibres. Density of the fibre is determined using picnometric procedure. The investigation confirms that Dharbai and Christmas palm fibres could be effectively used as reinforcement materials in the natural fibre reinforced polymer composites

QWIPs, SLS, Landsat and the International Space Station

In 1988 DARPA provided funding to NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center to support the development of GaAs Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIP). The goal was to make a single element photodetector that might be expandable to a two-dimensional array format. Ultimately, this led to the development of a 128 x 128 element array in collaboration with AT&T Bell Labs and Rockwell Science Center in 1990. We continued to develop numerous generations of QWIP arrays most recently resulting in the multi-QWIP focal plane for the NASA-US Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat 8 mission launched in 2013 and a similar instrument on the Landsat 9 mission to be launched in 2020. Toward the end of the Landsat 8 QWIP-based Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) instrument the potential of the newly developed Strained Layer Superlattice (SLS) detector array technology became of great interest to NASA for three primary reasons: 1) higher operating temperature; 2) broad spectral response and; 3) higher sensitivity. We have collaborated extensively with QmagiQ, LLC and Northwestern University to further pursue and advance the SLS technology ever since we started back in 2012. In December of 2018 we launched the first SLS-based IR camera system to the International Space Station on board the Robotic Refueling Mission #3 (RRM3). This paper will describe the evolution of QWIP technology leading to the current development of SLS-based imaging systems at the Goddard Space Flight Center over the past 30 years