Cancellation of atmospheric turbulence effects in entangled two-photon beams

Turbulent airflow in the atmosphere and the resulting random fluctuations in its refractive index have long been known as a major cause of image deterioration in astronomical imaging and figures among the obstacles for reliable optical communication when information is encoded in the spatial profile of a laser beam. Here we show that using correlation imaging and a suitably prepared source of photon pairs, the most severe of the disturbances inflicted on the beam by turbulence can be cancelled out. Other than a two-photon light source, only linear passive optical elements are needed and, as opposed to adaptive optics techniques, our scheme does not rely on active wavefront correction.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Self-Averaging Scaling Limits of Two-Frequency Wigner Distribution for Random Paraxial Waves

Two-frequency Wigner distribution is introduced to capture the asymptotic behavior of the space-frequency correlation of paraxial waves in the radiative transfer limits. The scaling limits give rises to deterministic transport-like equations. Depending on the ratio of the wavelength to the correlation length the limiting equation is either a Boltzmann-like integral equation or a Fokker-Planck-like differential equation in the phase space. The solutions to these equations have a probabilistic representation which can be simulated by Monte Carlo method. When the medium fluctuates more rapidly in the longitudinal direction, the corresponding Fokker-Planck-like equation can be solved exactly.Comment: typos correcte

Effects of in vitro Brevetoxin Exposure on Apoptosis and Cellular Metabolism in a Leukemic T Cell Line (Jurkat)

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) of the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, produce red tide toxins, or brevetoxins. Significant health effects associated with red tide toxin exposure have been reported in sea life and in humans, with brevetoxins documented within immune cells from many species. The objective of this research was to investigate potential immunotoxic effects of brevetoxins using a leukemic T cell line (Jurkat) as an in vitro model system. Viability, cell proliferation, and apoptosis assays were conducted using brevetoxin congeners PbTx-2, PbTx-3, and PbTx-6. The effects of in vitro brevetoxin exposure on cell viability and cellular metabolism or proliferation were determined using trypan blue and MTT (1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan), respectively. Using MTT, cellular metabolic activity was decreased in Jurkat cells exposed to 5 – 10 μg/ml PbTx-2 or PbTx-6. After 3 h, no significant effects on cell viability were observed with any toxin congener in concentrations up to 10 μg/ml. Viability decreased dramatically after 24 h in cells treated with PbTx-2 or -6. Apoptosis, as measured by caspase-3 activity, was significantly increased in cells exposed to PbTx-2 or PbTx-6. In summary, brevetoxin congeners varied in effects on Jurkat cells, with PbTx-2 and PbTx-6 eliciting greater cellular effects compared to PbTx-3

MP3 - A meteorology and physical properties package to explore air-sea interaction on Titan

The exchange of mass, heat and momentum at the air:sea interface are profound influences on the terrestrial environment, affecting the intensity of hurricanes, the size of waves and lake-effect precipitation. Titan presents us with an opportunity to study these processes in a novel physical context, with a different sea, atmosphere and gravity. The MP3 instrument, under development for the proposed Discovery mission TiME (Titan Mare Explorer [1,2]) is an integrated suite of small, simple sensors that combines the function of traditional meteorology packages with liquid physical properties and depth-sounding : these latter functions follow the concept of - and indeed use spare elements from - the Huygens Surface Science Package (SSP,[3]). However, unlike Huygens’ brief and dynamic 3 hours of measurement, in TiME’s 6-Titan-day (96 Earth day) nominal mission enabled by radioisotope power, MP3 will have an unprecedented long-term measurement opportunity in one of the most evocative environments in the solar system, Titan’s sea Ligeia Mare

On time reversal mirrors

The concept of time reversal (TR) of scalar wave is reexamined from basic principles. Five different time reversal mirrors (TRM) are introduced and their relations are analyzed. For the boundary behavior, it is shown that for paraxial wave only the monopole TR scheme satisfies the exact boundary condition while for spherical wave only one of the mixed mode TR scheme, after multiplication by two, satisfies the exact boundary condition. The asymptotic analysis of the near-field focusing property is presented. It is shown that to have a subwavelength focal spot the TRM should involve dipole fields. The monopole TR is extremely ineffective to focus below wavelength as the focal spot size decreases logarithmically with the distance between the source and TRM. Contrary to the matched field processing and the phase processor, both of which resemble TR, TR in a weak- or non-scattering medium is usually biased in the longitudinal direction, especially when TR is carried out on a {\em single} plane with a {finite} aperture. This is true for all five TR schemes. On the other hand, the TR focal spot has been shown repeatedly in the literature, both theoretically and experimentally, to be centered at the source point when the medium is multiply scattering. A reconciliation of the two seemingly conflicting results is found in the random fluctuations in the intensity of the Green function for a multiply scattering medium and the notion of scattering-enlarged effective aperture

Determination of early summer pasture conditions to optimize forage and calf productivity and profitability

Forages can be valuable elements in a sustainable production system. The date when animals are first allowed to graze on pastures can impact the quality and amount of forages available. This study explored various factors that influence successful grazing