Vector Area Theorem mapping in crystals and polarization stability of SIT-solitons

The stability of polarization, areas, and number of self-induced transparency (SIT)-solitons at the output from the LaF_3:Pr^{3+} crystal is theoretically studied versus the polarization direction and the area of the input linearly polarized laser pulse. For this purpose the Vector Area Theorem is rederived and two-dimensional Vector Area Theorem map is obtained. The map is governed by the crystal symmetry and takes into account directions of the dipole matrix element vectors of the different site subgroups of optically excited ions. The Vector Area Theorem mapping of the time evolution of the laser pulse allows one to highlight soliton polarization properties.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor corrected labels in Fig. 3 and its cuptur

Numerical modelling of liquid droplet dynamics in microgravity

Microgravity provides ideal experimental conditions for studying highly reactive and under-cooled materials where there is no contact between the sample and the other experimental apparatus. The non-contact conditions allow material properties to be measured from the oscillating liquid droplet response to perturbations. This work investigates the impact of a strong magnetic field on these measurement processes for weakly viscous, electrically conducting droplets. We present numerical results using an axisymmetric model that employs the pseudo-spectral collocation method and a recently developed 3D model. Both numerical models have been developed to solve the equations describing the coupled electromagnetic and fluid flow processes. The models represent the changing surface shape that results from the interaction between forces inside the droplet and the surface tension imposed boundary conditions. The models are used to examine the liquid droplet dynamics in a strong DC magnetic field. In each case the surface shape is decomposed into a superposition of spherical harmonic modes. The oscillation of the individual mode coefficients is then analysed to determine the oscillation frequencies and damping rates that are then compared to the low amplitude solutions predicted by the published analytical asymptotic theory

Helical motion of magnetic flux tubes in the solar atmosphere

Photospheric granulation may excite transverse kink pulses in anchored vertical magnetic flux tubes. The pulses propagate upwards along the tubes with the kink speed, while oscillating wakes are formed behind the wave front in a stratified atmosphere. The wakes oscillate at the kink cut-off frequency of stratified medium and gradually decay in time. When two or more consecutive kink pulses with different polarizations propagate in the same thin tube, then the wakes corresponding to different pulses may superimpose. The superposition sets up helical motions of magnetic flux tubes in the photosphere/chromosphere as seen by recent Hinode movies. The energy carried by the pulses is enough to heat the solar chrmosphere/corona and accelerate the solar wind.Comment: Accepted in ApJ

Fuzzy Fluid Mechanics in Three Dimensions

We introduce a rotation invariant short distance cut-off in the theory of an ideal fluid in three space dimensions, by requiring momenta to take values in a sphere. This leads to an algebra of functions in position space is non-commutative. Nevertheless it is possible to find appropriate analogues of the Euler equations of an ideal fluid. The system still has a hamiltonian structure. It is hoped that this will be useful in the study of possible singularities in the evolution of Euler (or Navier-Stokes) equations in three dimensions.Comment: Additional reference

On the motion of a heavy rigid body in an ideal fluid with circulation

Chaplygin's equations describing the planar motion of a rigid body in an unbounded volume of an ideal fluid involved in a circular flow around the body are considered. Hamiltonian structures, new integrable cases, and partial solutions are revealed, and their stability is examined. The problems of non-integrability of the equations of motion because of a chaotic behavior of the system are discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure

Dynamics of nearly spherical vesicles in an external flow

We analytically derive an equation describing vesicle evolution in a fluid where some stationary flow is excited regarding that the vesicle shape is close to a sphere. A character of the evolution is governed by two dimensionless parameters, $S$ and $\Lambda$, depending on the vesicle excess area, viscosity contrast, membrane viscosity, strength of the flow, bending module, and ratio of the elongation and rotation components of the flow. We establish the ``phase diagram'' of the system on the $S-\Lambda$ plane: we find curves corresponding to the tank-treading to tumbling transition (described by the saddle-node bifurcation) and to the tank-treading to trembling transition (described by the Hopf bifurcation).Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Gamma-Ray Bursts as a Probe of the Very High Redshift Universe

We show that, if many GRBs are indeed produced by the collapse of massive stars, GRBs and their afterglows provide a powerful probe of the very high redshift (z > 5) universe.Comment: To appear in Proc. of the 5th Huntsville Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium, 5 pages, LaTe

Coherent vibrations of submicron spherical gold shells in a photonic crystal

Coherent acoustic radial oscillations of thin spherical gold shells of submicron diameter excited by an ultrashort optical pulse are observed in the form of pronounced modulations of the transient reflectivity on a subnanosecond time scale. Strong acousto-optical coupling in a photonic crystal enhances the modulation of the transient reflectivity up to 4%. The frequency of these oscillations is demonstrated to be in good agreement with Lamb theory of free gold shells.Comment: Error in Eqs.2 and 3 corrected; Tabl. I corrected; Fig.1 revised; a model that explains the dependence of the oscillation amplitude of the transient reflectivity with wavelength adde

Implications of kHz QPOs for the spin frequencies and magnetic fields of neutron stars: new results from Circinus X-1

Detection of paired kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) in the X-ray emission of a compact object is compelling evidence that the object is an accreting neutron star. In many neutron stars, the stellar spin rate is equal or roughly equal to Delta-nu, the frequency separation of the QPO pair, or to 2Delta-nu. Hence, if the mechanism that produces the kilohertz QPOs is similar in all stars, measurement of Delta-nu can provide an estimate of the star's spin rate. The involvement of the stellar spin in producing Delta-nu indicates that the magnetic fields of these stars are dynamically important. We focus here on the implications of the paired kHz QPOs recently discovered in the low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) system Cir X-1 (Boutloukos et al. 2006). The kHz QPOs discovered in Cir X-1 are generally similar to those seen in other stars, establishing that the compact object in the Cir X-1 system is a neutron star. However, the frequency nu-u of its upper kHz QPO is up to a factor of three smaller than is typical, and Delta-nu varies by about a factor 2 (167 Hz, the largest variation so far observed). Periodic oscillations have not yet been detected from Cir X-1, so its spin rate has not yet been measured directly. The low values of nu-u and the large variation of Delta-nu challenge current models of the generation of kHz QPOs. Improving our understanding of Cir X-1 will improve our knowledge of the spin rates and magnetic fields of all neutron stars.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, a table with all known accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars up to October 2007. To appear in "40 Years of Pulsars, Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More" conference proceeding