Visualization of hydrogen injection in a scramjet engine by simultaneous PLIF imaging and laser holographic imaging

Flowfield characterization has been accomplished for several fuel injector configurations using simultaneous planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) and laser holographic imaging (LHI). The experiments were carried out in the GASL-NASA HYPULSE real gas expansion tube facility, a pulsed facility with steady test times of about 350 microsec. The tests were done at simulated Mach numbers 13.5 and 17. The focus of this paper is on the measurement technologies used and their application in a research facility. The HYPULSE facility, the models used for the experiments, and the setup for the LHI and PLIF measurements are described. Measurement challenges and solutions are discussed. Results are presented for experiments with several fuel injector configurations and several equivalence ratios

Swain Committee Report

Letter addressed to the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Josephus H. Daniels, from the Committee appointed by the President of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, to visit the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. The purpose was to evaluate the work of the Post Graduate School. The committee recommended enlarging the enrollment of the Post Graduate School and providing for appropriate funding for buildings, equipment and curricula

Final Report: National Science Foundation Remote Sensing Workshop. Held at Purdue University February 28, 29, March 1, 1984

It was the purpose of this workshop to examine the potential for further advancement of the science of remote sensing, and to define directions which the Engineering aspects of remote sensing research could not take in order to maximize the scientific and technological return

The Cerebellum: A Neural System for the Study of Reinforcement Learning

In its strictest application, the term “reinforcement learning” refers to a computational approach to learning in which an agent (often a machine) interacts with a mutable environment to maximize reward through trial and error. The approach borrows essentials from several fields, most notably Computer Science, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Psychology. At the most basic level, a neural system capable of mediating reinforcement learning must be able to acquire sensory information about the external environment and internal milieu (either directly or through connectivities with other brain regions), must be able to select a behavior to be executed, and must be capable of providing evaluative feedback about the success of that behavior. Given that Psychology informs us that reinforcers, both positive and negative, are stimuli or consequences that increase the probability that the immediately antecedent behavior will be repeated and that reinforcer strength or viability is modulated by the organism's past experience with the reinforcer, its affect, and even the state of its muscles (e.g., eyes open or closed); it is the case that any neural system that supports reinforcement learning must also be sensitive to these same considerations. Once learning is established, such a neural system must finally be able to maintain continued response expression and prevent response drift. In this report, we examine both historical and recent evidence that the cerebellum satisfies all of these requirements. While we report evidence from a variety of learning paradigms, the majority of our discussion will focus on classical conditioning of the rabbit eye blink response as an ideal model system for the study of reinforcement and reinforcement learning

Quantum interference in optical fields and atomic radiation

We discuss the connection between quantum interference effects in optical beams and radiation fields emitted from atomic systems. We illustrate this connection by a study of the first- and second-order correlation functions of optical fields and atomic dipole moments. We explore the role of correlations between the emitting systems and present examples of practical methods to implement two systems with non-orthogonal dipole moments. We also derive general conditions for quantum interference in a two-atom system and for a control of spontaneous emission. The relation between population trapping and dark states is also discussed. Moreover, we present quantum dressed-atom models of cancellation of spontaneous emission, amplification on dark transitions, fluorescence quenching and coherent population trapping.Comment: To be published in Journal of Modern Optics Special Issue on Quantum Interferenc

A depression before a bump in the highest energy cosmic ray spectrum

We re-examine the interaction of ultra high energy nuclei with the microwave background radiation. We find that the giant dipole resonance leaves a new signature in the differential energy spectrum of iron sources located around 3 Mpc: A depression before the bump which is followed by the expected cutoff.Comment: revisited version, 5 pages RevTex, 5 figure

Transmission spectroscopy of the sodium 'D' doublet in WASP-17b with the VLT

The detection of increased sodium absorption during primary transit implies the presence of an atmosphere around an extrasolar planet, and enables us to infer the structure of this atmosphere. Sodium has only been detected in the atmospheres of two planets to date - HD189733b and HD209458b. WASP-17b is the least dense planet currently known. It has a radius approximately twice that of Jupiter and orbits an F6-type star. The transit signal is expected to be about five times larger than that observed in HD209458b. We obtained 24 spectra with the GIRAFFE spectrograph on the VLT, eight during transit. The integrated flux in the sodium doublet at wavelengths 5889.95 and 5895.92 {\AA} was measured at bandwidths 0.75, 1.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 {\AA}. We find a transit depth of 0.55 \pm 0.13 per cent at 1.5 {\AA}. This suggests that, like HD209458b, WASP-17b has an atmosphere depleted in sodium compared to models for a cloud-free atmosphere with solar sodium abundance. We observe a sharp cut-off in sodium absorption between 3.0 and 4.0 {\AA} which may indicate a layer of clouds high in the atmosphere.Comment: Amended for typographic conventions following publicatio

Optimal squeezing, pure states, and amplification of squeezing in resonance fluorescence

It is shown that 100% squeezed output can be produced in the resonance fluorescence from a coherently driven two-level atom interacting with a squeezed vacuum. This is only possible for $N=1/8$ squeezed input, and is associated with a pure atomic state, i.e., a completely polarized state. The quadrature for which optimal squeezing occurs depends on the squeezing phase $\Phi ,$ the Rabi frequency $\Omega ,$ and the atomic detuning $\Delta$. Pure states are described for arbitrary $\Phi ,$ not just $\Phi =0$ or $\pi$ as in previous work. For small values of $N,$ there may be a greater degree of squeezing in the output field than the input - i.e., we have squeezing amplification.Comment: 6 pages & 7 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Implications of M Dwarf Flares on the Detection and Characterization of Exoplanets at Infrared Wavelengths

We present the results of an observational campaign which obtained high time cadence, high precision, simultaneous optical and IR photometric observations of three M dwarf flare stars for 47 hours. The campaign was designed to characterize the behavior of energetic flare events, which routinely occur on M dwarfs, at IR wavelengths to milli-magnitude precision, and quantify to what extent such events might influence current and future efforts to detect and characterize extrasolar planets surrounding these stars. We detected and characterized four highly energetic optical flares having U-band total energies of ~7.8x10^30 to ~1.3x10^32 ergs, and found no corresponding response in the J, H, or Ks bandpasses at the precision of our data. For active dM3e stars, we find that a ~1.3x10^32 erg U-band flare (delta Umax ~1.5 mag) will induce <8.3 (J), <8.5 (H), and <11.7 (Ks) milli-mags of a response. A flare of this energy or greater should occur less than once per 18 hours. For active dM4.5e stars, we find that a ~5.1x10^31 erg U-band flare (delta Umax ~1.6 mag) will induce <7.8 (J), <8.8 (H), and <5.1 (Ks) milli-mags of a response. A flare of this energy or greater should occur less than once per 10 hours. No evidence of stellar variability not associated with discrete flare events was observed at the level of ~3.9 milli-mags over 1 hour time-scales and at the level of ~5.6 milli-mags over 7.5 hour time-scales. We therefore demonstrate that most M dwarf stellar activity and flares will not influence IR detection and characterization studies of M dwarf exoplanets above the level of ~5-11 milli-mags, depending on the filter and spectral type. We speculate that the most energetic megaflares on M dwarfs, which occur at rates of once per month, are likely to be easily detected in IR observations with sensitivity of tens of milli-mags.Comment: Accepted in Astronomical Journal, 17 pages, 6 figure

Time evolution of the Rabi Hamiltonian from the unexcited vacuum

The Rabi Hamiltonian describes a single mode of electromagnetic radiation interacting with a two-level atom. Using the coupled cluster method, we investigate the time evolution of this system from an initially empty field mode and an unexcited atom. We give results for the atomic inversion and field occupation, and find that the virtual processes cause the field to be squeezed. No anti-bunching occurs.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, RevTe