Degenerate quantum gases of strontium

Degenerate quantum gases of alkaline-earth-like elements open new opportunities in research areas ranging from molecular physics to the study of strongly correlated systems. These experiments exploit the rich electronic structure of these elements, which is markedly different from the one of other species for which quantum degeneracy has been attained. Specifically, alkaline-earth-like atoms, such as strontium, feature metastable triplet states, narrow intercombination lines, and a non-magnetic, closed-shell ground state. This review covers the creation of quantum degenerate gases of strontium and the first experiments performed with this new system. It focuses on laser-cooling and evaporation schemes, which enable the creation of Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases of all strontium isotopes, and shows how they are used for the investigation of optical Feshbach resonances, the study of degenerate gases loaded into an optical lattice, as well as the coherent creation of Sr_2 molecules.Comment: Review paper, 43 pages, 24 figures, 249 reference

Accessing Rydberg-dressed interactions using many-body Ramsey dynamics

We demonstrate that Ramsey spectroscopy can be used to observe Rydberg-dressed interactions. In contrast to many prior proposals, our scheme operates comfortably within experimentally measured lifetimes, and accesses a regime where quantum superpositions are crucial. The key idea is to build a spin-1/2 from one level that is Rydberg-dressed and another that is not. These levels may be hyperfine or long-lived electronic states. An Ising spin model governs the Ramsey dynamics, for which we derive an exact solution. Due to the structure of Rydberg interactions, the dynamics differs significantly from that in other spin systems. As one example, spin echo can increase the rate at which coherence decays. The results also apply to bare (undressed) Rydberg states as a special case, for which we quantitatively reproduce recent ultrafast experiments without fitting

Counselor-Trainees\u27 Readiness for Multicultural Competency and Social Justice Advocacy

With the growth of multicultural populations in the United States, counselors-intraining are called to provide multiculturally competent counseling services (Estrada, Poulsen, Cannon, & Wiggins, 2013). In 2015, the Multicultural Social Justice and Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) was formed in response to a call to revise the dated Multicultural Counseling Competencies (MCC) developed in 1982 (Ratts, Singh, NassarMcMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2016). The MSJCC now addresses the roles of advocacy, social justice, and privileged and oppressed identities and their impact on the multicultural counseling relationship (Ratts et al.), and coverage of these important topics is expected in counselor preparation programs. For this study, the researcher examined three different models of delivering a multicultural counseling class (i.e., didactic, experiential, and community service learning focused) to determine the impact on the ratings of counselors-in-training on perceived multicultural awareness, knowledge, skills, and counseling relationship; social justice advocacy readiness; and levels of perceived privilege. Sixty graduate-level counseling and psychology students completed one of three weekend format multicultural counseling courses with distinctly different pedagogical approaches. Due to low power, mean differences and partial eta squared were conducted to indicate the size of the v difference between participants who had received the different pedagogies. There were no statistically significant differences between the three pedagogical approaches for the independent dimensions of MSJCC. The variables of multicultural counseling relationship, levels of privilege, multicultural skills, and social justice advocacy provided large to medium effect sizes, emphasizing large to medium differences between pedagogical groups for this sample. Conversely, both multicultural awareness and multicultural knowledge produced small effect sizes, further emphasizing minimal difference between groups for this sample. The present study provides practical significance towards the intentional use of multicultural pedagogy. Counselor Educators must decide the best use of pedagogy in cultivating multicultural competency. This intentional selection incorporates a focus on the learning environment, delivery of content, and the process of knowledge acquisition. The findings suggest that students benefit from each of the methods and each provides its own strengths and limitations. It may be that utilizing all three offers a way to counteract the inherent weaknesses and highlight the strengths of each

The practical application of BPOG E&L protocols to viral clearance filters

Regulatory guidance advocates virus control at various stages of the drug manufacturing process and directs that you test the capacity of the process to remove or inactivate virus. Patient safety concerns require you to determine what impurities may be added by the virus control steps you implement. While the application of a standardized approach to identifying and quantifying the extractables from these steps has benefits when making comparisons, choices have to be made when developing the protocol that take into account the characteristics of the clearance device and use conditions This presentation will illustrate the practical implementation of standardized extractables method on an industry leading viral clearance technology by explaining the rational for the selection of extraction solvents; extraction conditions and sampling points. Data generated during the study will be presented as well as lessons learned in implementing the new protocol

Pumped quantum systems: immersion fluids of the future?

Quantum optical techniques may yield immersion fluids with high indices of refraction without absorption. We describe one such technique in which a probe field experiences a large index of refraction with amplification rather than absorption, and examine its practicality for an immersion lithography application. Enhanced index can be observed in a three-level system with a tunable, near-resonant, coherent probe and incoherent pump field that inverts population of the probe transition. This observation contradicts the common belief that large indices of refraction are impossible without absorption, however it is well in accord with existing electromagnetic theory and practice. Calculations show that a refractive index >> 2 is possible with practical experimental parameters. A scheme with an incoherent mixture of pumped and unpumped atoms is also examined, and is seen to have a lower refractive index (~2) accompanied by neither gain nor loss.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in J. Vac. Sci. Tech. B, Nov/Dec 2005 (full reference not known yet

Promoting Queer Competency Through An Experiential Framework

Many counselors report feeling under prepared to effectively work with queer persons. Arguably, this can be mitigated through early intervention within training programs. However, many counseling programs do not adequately prepare their students to work with queer persons. To eliminate this gap in training, this article combines endorsed counseling competencies and experiential learning as an approach to enhance counselor queer training and preparation. This approach primarily framed through the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies, and further supported through the Competencies for Counseling with LGBQQIA Individuals, and the ALGBTIC Competencies for Counseling with Transgender Clients can create an encompassing curricula and pedagogical framework for counselor educators

A randomized controlled trial of training in Motivational Interviewing for child protection.

There has been interest in developing more evidence-based approaches to child and family social work in the UK in recent years. This study examines the impact of a skills development package of training and supervision in Motivational Interviewing (MI) on the skills of social workers and the engagement of parents through a randomized controlled trial. All workers in one local authority were randomly assigned to receive the package (n = 28) or control (n = 33). Families were then randomized to trained (n = 67) or untrained (n = 98) workers. Family meetings with the worker shortly after allocation were evaluated for MI skill. Research interviews gathered data including the WAI. Follow-up interviews 20 weeks later repeated the WAI, and other outcome measures including Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) and rating of family life. Between group analysis found statistically significant difference in MI skills, though these were not substantial (2.49 in control, 2.91 MI trained, p = .049). There was no statistically significant difference between groups in any other outcome measures. The package of training and supervision did not create sufficient increase in MI skills to influence engagement or outcomes. Implications for understanding the relationship between skills, engagement and organizational change are discussed