Low-Resolution Spectrum of the Diffuse Galactic Light and 3.3 um PAH emission with AKARI InfraRed Camera

We first obtained the spectrum of the diffuse Galactic light (DGL) at general interstellar space in 1.8-5.3 um wavelength region with the low-resolution prism spectroscopy mode of the AKARI Infra-Red Camera (IRC) NIR channel. The 3.3 um PAH band is detected in the DGL spectrum at Galactic latitude |b| < 15 deg, and its correlations with the Galactic dust and gas are confirmed. The correlation between the 3.3 um PAH band and the thermal emission from the Galactic dust is expressed not by a simple linear correlation but by a relation with extinction. Using this correlation, the spectral shape of DGL at optically thin region (5 deg < |b| < 15 deg) was derived as a template spectrum. Assuming that the spectral shape of this template spectrum is uniform at any position, DGL spectrum can be estimated by scaling this template spectrum using the correlation between the 3.3 um PAH band and the thermal emission from the Galactic dust.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ

A supersolutions perspective on hypercontractivity

The purpose of this article is to expose an algebraic closure property of supersolutions to certain diffusion equations. This closure property quickly gives rise to a monotone quantity which generates a hypercontractivity inequality. Our abstract argument applies to a general Markov semigroup whose generator is a diffusion and satisfies a curvature condition.Comment: 7 page

Submillimeter-Wave Measurements and Analysis of the Ground and ν2 = 1 States of Water

In order to facilitate further studies of water in the interstellar medium, the envelopes of late-type stars, jets, and shocked regions, the frequencies of 17 newly measured H_2 ^(16)O transitions between 0.841 and 1.575 THz are reported. A complete update of the available water line frequencies and a detailed calculation of unmeasured rotational transitions and transition intensities as a function of temperature are presented for the ground and ν_2 = 1 state levels below 3000 cm^(-1) of excitation energy. The new terahertz transitions were measured with a recently developed laser difference frequency spectrometer. Six of these transitions arise from the ν_2 = 1 state, and the other 11 are in the ground state; all have lower state energies from 700 to 1750 cm^(-1) and should be accessible to Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) through the atmosphere. The transitions near 0.850 THz are accessible from the ground with existing receivers. Observations of the newly measured ν_2 = 1 state transitions, which include the 1_(1, 1)-0_(0, 0) fundamental at 1.2057 THz and five other very low J transitions, should provide valuable insights into role played by the ν2 = 1 state in the cooling dynamics of jets, shocks, masers, and strongly infrared-pumped regions. The line list is presented to assist in the planning of observational campaigns with the Far-Infrared Space Telescope (FIRST) and other proposed space missions with which a full suite of water observations can be carried out

A tunable cavity-locked diode laser source for terahertz photomixing

An all solid-state approach to the precise frequency synthesis and control of widely tunable terahertz radiation by differencing continuous-wave diode lasers at 850 nm is reported in this paper. The difference frequency is synthesized by three fiber-coupled external-cavity laser diodes. Two of the lasers are Pound-Drever-Hall locked to different orders of a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity, and the third is offset-frequency locked to the second of the cavity-locked lasers using a tunable microwave oscillator. The first cavity-locked laser and the offset-locked laser produce the difference frequency, whose value is accurately determined by the sum of an integer multiple of the free spectral range of the FP cavity and the offset frequency. The dual-frequency 850-nm output of the three laser system is amplified to 500 mW through two-frequency injection seeding of a single semiconductor tapered optical amplifier. As proof of precision frequency synthesis and control of tunability, the difference frequency is converted into a terahertz wave by optical-heterodyne photomixing in low-temperature-grown GaAs and used for the spectroscopy of simple molecules. The 3-dB spectral power bandwidth of the terahertz radiation is routinely observed to be ≾1 MHz. A simple, but highly accurate, method of obtaining an absolute frequency calibration is proposed and an absolute calibration of 10^(-7) demonstrated using the known frequencies of carbon monoxide lines between 0.23-1.27 THz

A High Power Frequency-Stabilized Tunable Two-Frequency Diode Laser System for the Generation of Coherent THz-Waves by Photomixing

A tunable two-frequency high-power diode laser system at 850 nm for terahertz (Thz)-wave generation by photomixing in low-temperature-grown GaAs photo-conductors has been developed. The difference frequency is obtained through a three laser system, where two lasers are locked to different orders of a Fabry-Perot cavity and a third is offset-locked to the first, The difference-frequency signal is generated by the offset laser and the other cavity-locked laser. The spectral purity of the beat note is better than 1 MHz. The maximum output power of -500 mW was obtained by using the master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) technique, simultaneous injection of two seed frequencies with a single semiconductor optical amplifier. Here we report the generation of THz waves and spectroscopy of acetonitrile as proof of concept