High efficiency room temperature laser emission in heavily doped Yb:YLF

We report the tunable, CW and quasi CW laser operation at room temperature of an highly doped (30% at.) Yb:YLF crystal longitudinally pumped by a fiber coupled laser diode array. The CW output power is 1.15 W vs. an absorbed pump power of 6 W, with a slope efficiency of 31%. In quasi-CW operation (20% duty factor @10 Hz) an output power of 4 W with an absorbed power of 9.5 W, and a slope efficiency of 62.8% were obtained. The tuning range spans from 1022 to 1075 nm. To our knowledge, these are among the best experimental results obtained at room temperature with Yb doped YLF

Effect of soil management and training system on negroamaro wine aroma

This study aimed to assess the impact of two soil managements and training systems on yield and wine aroma compounds of Negroamaro variety grown in a warm climate region (southern Italy). Cover crop (CC) and soil tillage (ST) as soil management, whilst bilateral Guyot (BG) and monolateral Guyot (MG) as training systems were compared. Free and bound volatile fractions were evaluated by GC-MS. ST and CC as well as BG and MG significantly affected yield parameters. In particular, yield was higher in ST and BG than in CC and MG, respectively; moreover, it was found to be positively influenced by interaction between BG and ST. Regarding aroma compounds, significant interactions between soil management and training system factors were observed. In case of free volatiles, the most positive interaction was found between BG and ST, whereas, for bound volatiles, the best interaction was represented by MG with both soil tillage and cover crop. Vine leaf area and development over vine growth stages along with water stress levels played an important role in determining the aroma profile as well as yield parameters. In conclusion, the training system significantly interacted with soil management and affected most of important aroma compounds in Negroamaro wine

A giant planet shaping the disk around the very low-mass star CIDA 1

Context. Exoplanetary research has provided us with exciting discoveries of planets around very low-mass (VLM) stars (0.08 M⊙ ≲ M* ≲ 0.3 M⊙; e.g., TRAPPIST-1 and Proxima Centauri). However, current theoretical models still strive to explain planet formation in these conditions and do not predict the development of giant planets. Recent high-resolution observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of the disk around CIDA 1, a VLM star in Taurus, show substructures that hint at the presence of a massive planet. Aims. We aim to reproduce the dust ring of CIDA 1, observed in the dust continuum emission in ALMA Band 7 (0.9 mm) and Band 4 (2.1 mm), along with its 12CO (J = 3−2) and 13CO (J = 3−2) channel maps, assuming the structures are shaped by the interaction of the disk with a massive planet. We seek to retrieve the mass and position of the putative planet, through a global simulation that assesses planet-disk interactions to quantitatively reproduce protoplanetary disk observations of both dust and gas emission in a self-consistent way. Methods. Using a set of hydrodynamical simulations, we model a protoplanetary disk that hosts an embedded planet with a starting mass of between 0.1 and 4.0 MJup and initially located at a distance of between 9 and 11 au from the central star. We compute the dust and gas emission using radiative transfer simulations, and, finally, we obtain the synthetic observations, treating the images as the actual ALMA observations. Results. Our models indicate that a planet with a minimum mass of ~1.4 MJup orbiting at a distance of ~9−10 au can explain the morphology and location of the observed dust ring in Band 7 and Band 4. We match the flux of the dust emission observation with a dust-to-gas mass ratio in the disk of ~10−2. We are able to reproduce the low spectral index (~2) observed where the dust ring is detected, with a ~40−50% fraction of optically thick emission. Assuming a 12CO abundance of 5 × 10−5 and a 13CO abundance 70 times lower, our synthetic images reproduce the morphology of the 12CO (J = 3−2) and 13CO (J = 3−2) observed channel maps where the cloud absorption allowed a detection. From our simulations, we estimate that a stellar mass M* = 0.2 M⊙ and a systemic velocity vsys = 6.25 km s−1 are needed to reproduce the gas rotation as retrieved from molecular line observations. Applying an empirical relation between planet mass and gap width in the dust, we predict a maximum planet mass of ~4−8 MJup. Conclusions. Our results suggest the presence of a massive planet orbiting CIDA 1, thus challenging our understanding of planet formation around VLM stars

Ultrathin Tropical Tropopause Clouds (UTTCs) : I. Cloud morphology and occurrence

Subvisible cirrus clouds (SVCs) may contribute to dehydration close to the tropical tropopause. The higher and colder SVCs and the larger their ice crystals, the more likely they represent the last efficient point of contact of the gas phase with the ice phase and, hence, the last dehydrating step, before the air enters the stratosphere. The first simultaneous in situ and remote sensing measurements of SVCs were taken during the APE-THESEO campaign in the western Indian ocean in February/March 1999. The observed clouds, termed Ultrathin Tropical Tropopause Clouds (UTTCs), belong to the geometrically and optically thinnest large-scale clouds in the Earth´s atmosphere. Individual UTTCs may exist for many hours as an only 200--300 m thick cloud layer just a few hundred meters below the tropical cold point tropopause, covering up to 105 km2. With temperatures as low as 181 K these clouds are prime representatives for defining the water mixing ratio of air entering the lower stratosphere

Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR) Observation Capabilities of an "Airwatch from Space'' Mission

The longitudinal development and other characteristics of the EECR induced atmospheric showers can be studied from space by detecting the fluorescence light induced in the atmospheric nitrogen. According to the Airwatch concept a single fast detector can be used for measuring both intensity and time development of the streak of fluorescence light produced by the atmospheric shower induced by an EECR. In the present communication the detection capabilities for the EECR observation from space are discussed.Comment: 3 pages (LaTeX). To appear in the Proceedings of TAUP'9

A giant planet shaping the disk around the very low-mass star CIDA 1

Stars and planetary system

CEFLES2: the remote sensing component to quantify photosynthetic efficiency from the leaf to the region by measuring sun-induced fluorescence in the oxygen absorption bands

The CEFLES2 campaign during the Carbo Europe Regional Experiment Strategy was designed to provide simultaneous airborne measurements of solar induced fluorescence and CO2 fluxes. It was combined with extensive ground-based quantification of leaf- and canopy-level processes in support of ESA's Candidate Earth Explorer Mission of the "Fluorescence Explorer" (FLEX). The aim of this campaign was to test if fluorescence signal detected from an airborne platform can be used to improve estimates of plant mediated exchange on the mesoscale. Canopy fluorescence was quantified from four airborne platforms using a combination of novel sensors: (i) the prototype airborne sensor AirFLEX quantified fluorescence in the oxygen A and B bands, (ii) a hyperspectral spectrometer (ASD) measured reflectance along transects during 12 day courses, (iii) spatially high resolution georeferenced hyperspectral data cubes containing the whole optical spectrum and the thermal region were gathered with an AHS sensor, and (iv) the first employment of the high performance imaging spectrometer HYPER delivered spatially explicit and multi-temporal transects across the whole region. During three measurement periods in April, June and September 2007 structural, functional and radiometric characteristics of more than 20 different vegetation types in the Les Landes region, Southwest France, were extensively characterized on the ground. The campaign concept focussed especially on quantifying plant mediated exchange processes (photosynthetic electron transport, CO2 uptake, evapotranspiration) and fluorescence emission. The comparison between passive sun-induced fluorescence and active laser-induced fluorescence was performed on a corn canopy in the daily cycle and under desiccation stress. Both techniques show good agreement in detecting stress induced fluorescence change at the 760 nm band. On the large scale, airborne and ground-level measurements of fluorescence were compared on several vegetation types supporting the scaling of this novel remote sensing signal. The multi-scale design of the four airborne radiometric measurements along with extensive ground activities fosters a nested approach to quantify photosynthetic efficiency and gross primary productivity (GPP) from passive fluorescence

Eupraxia, a step toward a plasma-wakefield based accelerator with high beam quality

The EuPRAXIA project aims at designing the world's first accelerator based on advanced plasma-wakefield techniques to deliver 5 GeV electron beams that simultaneously have high charge, low emittance and low energy spread, which are required for applications by future user communities. Meeting this challenging objective will only be possible through dedicated effort. Many injection/acceleration schemes and techniques have been explored by means of thorough simulations in more than ten European research institutes. This enables selection of the most appropriate methods for solving each particular problem. The specific challenge of generating, extracting and transporting high charge beams, while maintaining the high quality needed for user applications, are being tackled using innovative approaches. This article highlights preliminary results obtained by the EuPRAXIA collaboration, which also exhibit the required laser and plasma parameters