95 research outputs found
The Federal Communications Commission and Comparative Broadcast Hearings: WHDH as a Case Study in Changing Standards
Quantum state measurements using multi-pixel photon detectors
The characterization and conditional preparation of multi-photon quantum
states requires the use of photon number resolving detectors. We study the use
of detectors based on multiple avalanche photodiode pixels in this context. We
develop a general model that provides the positive operator value measures for
these detectors. The model incorporates the effect of cross-talk between pixels
which is unique to these devices. We validate the model by measuring coherent
state photon number distributions and reconstructing them with high precision.
Finally, we evaluate the suitability of such detectors for quantum state
tomography and entanglement-based quantum state preparation, highlighting the
effects of dark counts and cross-talk between pixels.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Switching of Discrete Solitons in Engineered Waveguide Arrays
We demonstrate a simple method for controlling nonlinear switching of
discrete solitons in arrays of weakly coupled optical waveguides, for both
cubic and uadratic nonlinearities. Based on the effective discrete nonlinear
equations describing the waveguide arrays in the tight-binding approximation,
we develop the concept of the array engineering by means of a step-like
variation of the waveguide coupling. We demonstrate the digitized switching of
a narrow input beam for up to eleven neighboring waveguides, in the case of the
cubic nonlinearity, and up to ten waveguides, in the case of quadratic
nonlinearity. We discuss our predictions in terms of the physics of the
engineered Peierls-Nabarro (PN) potential experienced by strongly localized
nonlinear modes moving in a lattice and calculate, for the first time, the PN
potential for the quadratic nonlinear array. We also confirm our concept and
major findings for a full-scaled continuous model and realistic parameters, by
means of the beam propagation method.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, to be submitted to Physical review
On the Properties of Two Pulses Propagating Simultaneously in Different Dispersion Regimes in a Nonlinear Planar Waveguide
Properties of two pulses propagating simultaneously in different dispersion
regimes, anomalous and normal, in a Kerr-type planar waveguide are studied in
the framework of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. Catastrophic
self-focusing and spatio-temporal splitting of the pulses is investigated. For
the limiting case when the dispersive term of the pulse propagating in the
normal dispersion regime can be neglected an indication of a possibility of a
stable self-trapped propagation of both pulses is obtained.Comment: 18 pages (including 15 eps figures
Constraints on cosmic-ray propagation models from a global Bayesian analysis
Research in many areas of modern physics such as, e.g., indirect searches for
dark matter and particle acceleration in SNR shocks, rely heavily on studies of
cosmic rays (CRs) and associated diffuse emissions (radio, microwave, X-rays,
gamma rays). While very detailed numerical models of CR propagation exist, a
quantitative statistical analysis of such models has been so far hampered by
the large computational effort that those models require. Although statistical
analyses have been carried out before using semi-analytical models (where the
computation is much faster), the evaluation of the results obtained from such
models is difficult, as they necessarily suffer from many simplifying
assumptions, The main objective of this paper is to present a working method
for a full Bayesian parameter estimation for a numerical CR propagation model.
For this study, we use the GALPROP code, the most advanced of its kind, that
uses astrophysical information, nuclear and particle data as input to
self-consistently predict CRs, gamma rays, synchrotron and other observables.
We demonstrate that a full Bayesian analysis is possible using nested sampling
and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (implemented in the SuperBayeS code)
despite the heavy computational demands of a numerical propagation code. The
best-fit values of parameters found in this analysis are in agreement with
previous, significantly simpler, studies also based on GALPROP.Comment: 19 figures, 3 tables, emulateapj.sty. A typo is fixed. To be
published in the Astrophysical Journal v.728 (February 10, 2011 issue).
Supplementary material can be found at
http://www.g-vo.org/pub/GALPROP/GalpropBayesPaper
Primary proton spectrum between 200 TeV and 1000 TeV observed with the Tibet burst detector and air shower array
Since 1996, a hybrid experiment consisting of the emulsion chamber and burst
detector array and the Tibet-II air-shower array has been operated at
Yangbajing (4300 m above sea level, 606 g/cm^2) in Tibet. This experiment can
detect air-shower cores, called as burst events, accompanied by air showers in
excess of about 100 TeV. We observed about 4300 burst events accompanied by air
showers during 690 days of operation and selected 820 proton-induced events
with its primary energy above 200 TeV using a neural network method. Using this
data set, we obtained the energy spectrum of primary protons in the energy
range from 200 to 1000 TeV. The differential energy spectrum obtained in this
energy region can be fitted by a power law with the index of -2.97 0.06,
which is steeper than that obtained by direct measurements at lower energies.
We also obtained the energy spectrum of helium nuclei at particle energies
around 1000 TeV.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
A Cortical Attractor Network with Martinotti Cells Driven by Facilitating Synapses
The population of pyramidal cells significantly outnumbers the inhibitory interneurons in the neocortex, while at the same time the diversity of interneuron types is much more pronounced. One acknowledged key role of inhibition is to control the rate and patterning of pyramidal cell firing via negative feedback, but most likely the diversity of inhibitory pathways is matched by a corresponding diversity of functional roles. An important distinguishing feature of cortical interneurons is the variability of the short-term plasticity properties of synapses received from pyramidal cells. The Martinotti cell type has recently come under scrutiny due to the distinctly facilitating nature of the synapses they receive from pyramidal cells. This distinguishes these neurons from basket cells and other inhibitory interneurons typically targeted by depressing synapses. A key aspect of the work reported here has been to pinpoint the role of this variability. We first set out to reproduce quantitatively based on in vitro data the di-synaptic inhibitory microcircuit connecting two pyramidal cells via one or a few Martinotti cells. In a second step, we embedded this microcircuit in a previously developed attractor memory network model of neocortical layers 2/3. This model network demonstrated that basket cells with their characteristic depressing synapses are the first to discharge when the network enters an attractor state and that Martinotti cells respond with a delay, thereby shifting the excitation-inhibition balance and acting to terminate the attractor state. A parameter sensitivity analysis suggested that Martinotti cells might, in fact, play a dominant role in setting the attractor dwell time and thus cortical speed of processing, with cellular adaptation and synaptic depression having a less prominent role than previously thought
Nonlinear vortex light beams supported and stabilized by dissipation
We describe nonlinear Bessel vortex beams as localized and stationary
solutions with embedded vorticity to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with
a dissipative term that accounts for the multi-photon absorption processes
taking place at high enough powers in common optical media. In these beams,
power and orbital angular momentum are permanently transferred to matter in the
inner, nonlinear rings, at the same time that they are refueled by spiral
inward currents of energy and angular momentum coming from the outer linear
rings, acting as an intrinsic reservoir. Unlike vortex solitons and dissipative
vortex solitons, the existence of these vortex beams does not critically depend
on the precise form of the dispersive nonlinearities, as Kerr self-focusing or
self-defocusing, and do not require a balancing gain. They have been shown to
play a prominent role in "tubular" filamentation experiments with powerful,
vortex-carrying Bessel beams, where they act as attractors in the beam
propagation dynamics. Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams provide indeed a new
solution to the problem of the stable propagation of ring-shaped vortex light
beams in homogeneous self-focusing Kerr media. A stability analysis
demonstrates that there exist nonlinear Bessel vortex beams with single or
multiple vorticity that are stable against azimuthal breakup and collapse, and
that the mechanism that renders these vortexes stable is dissipation. The
stability properties of nonlinear Bessel vortex beams explain the experimental
observations in the tubular filamentation experiments.Comment: Chapter of boo
A Study of Cosmic Ray Composition in the Knee Region using Multiple Muon Events in the Soudan 2 Detector
Deep underground muon events recorded by the Soudan 2 detector, located at a
depth of 2100 meters of water equivalent, have been used to infer the nuclear
composition of cosmic rays in the "knee" region of the cosmic ray energy
spectrum. The observed muon multiplicity distribution favors a composition
model with a substantial proton content in the energy region 800,000 -
13,000,000 GeV/nucleus.Comment: 38 pages including 11 figures, Latex, submitted to Physical Review
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