Comparative simulations of Fresnel holography methods for atomic waveguides

We have simulated the optical properties of micro-fabricated Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) as an alternative to spatial light modulators (SLMs) for producing non-trivial light potentials to trap atoms within a lensless Fresnel arrangement. We show that binary (1-bit) FZPs with wavelength (1μm) spatial resolution consistently outperform kinoforms of spatial and phase resolution comparable to commercial SLMs in root mean square error comparisons, with FZP kinoforms demonstrating increasing improvement for complex target intensity distributions. Moreover, as sub-wavelength resolution microfabrication is possible, FZPs provide an exciting possibility for the creation of static cold-atom trapping potentials useful to atomtronics, interferometry, and the study of fundamental physics

Scalable Group Level Probabilistic Sparse Factor Analysis

Many data-driven approaches exist to extract neural representations of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, but most of them lack a proper probabilistic formulation. We propose a group level scalable probabilistic sparse factor analysis (psFA) allowing spatially sparse maps, component pruning using automatic relevance determination (ARD) and subject specific heteroscedastic spatial noise modeling. For task-based and resting state fMRI, we show that the sparsity constraint gives rise to components similar to those obtained by group independent component analysis. The noise modeling shows that noise is reduced in areas typically associated with activation by the experimental design. The psFA model identifies sparse components and the probabilistic setting provides a natural way to handle parameter uncertainties. The variational Bayesian framework easily extends to more complex noise models than the presently considered.Comment: 10 pages plus 5 pages appendix, Submitted to ICASSP 1

Stimulated secondary emission from semiconductor microcavities

We find strong influence of final-state stimulation on the time-resolved light emission dynamics from semiconductor microcavities after pulsed excitation allowing angle-resonant polariton-polariton scattering on the lower-polariton branch. The polariton dynamics can be controlled by injection of final-state polaritons at densities below a polariton saturation density of 5×108cm−2. A bosonic enhancement factor in the dynamics of up to 700 is evaluated

Optical characterisation of micro-fabricated Fresnel zone plates for atomic waveguides

We optically assess Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) that are designed to guide cold atoms. Imaging of various ring patterns produced by the FZPs gives an average RMS error in the brightest part of the ring of 3% with respect to trap depth. This residue is attributed to the imaging system, incident beam shape and FZP manufacturing tolerances. Axial propagation of the potentials is presented experimentally and through numerical simulations, illustrating prospects for atom guiding without requiring light sheets

Frictional quantum decoherence

The dynamics associated with a measurement-based master equation for quantum Brownian motion are investigated. A scheme for obtaining time evolution from general initial conditions is derived. This is applied to analyze dissipation and decoherence in the evolution of both a Gaussian and a Schr\"{o}dinger cat initial state. Dependence on the diffusive terms present in the master equation is discussed with reference to both the coordinate and momentum representations.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Fremtidens bibliotek på Aarhus Universitet

Aarhus Universitet er i fuld gang med at blive reorganiseret, og det får stor betydning for universitetets biblioteker. Biblioteksområdet, der fremover kommer til at hedde Aarhus University Library, skal samles i én organisation, og en af de væsentligste strategiske målsætninger bliver et tæt samarbejde med Statsbiblioteket

Resonance phenomena in ultracold dipole-dipole scattering

Elastic scattering resonances occurring in ultracold collisions of either bosonic or fermionic polar molecules are investigated. The Born-Oppenheimer adiabatic representation of the two-bodydynamics provides both a qualitative classification scheme and a quantitative WKB quantization condition that predicts several sequences of resonant states. It is found that the near-threshold energy dependence of ultracold collision cross sections varies significantly with the particle exchange symmetry, with bosonic systems showing much smoother energy variations than their fermionic counterparts. Resonant variations of the angular distributions in ultracold collisions are also described.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, revtex4, submitted to J. Phys.

OA phenotypes, rather than disease stage, drive structural progression – identification of structural progressors from 2 phase III randomized clinical studies with symptomatic knee OA

SummaryBackground/PurposeThe aim of this study was to identify key characteristics of disease progression through investigation of the association of radiographic progression over two years with baseline Joint Space Width (JSW), Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grade, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain, Joint Space Narrowing (JSN), and BMI.MethodsData from 2206 subjects (4390 knees) were combined for this post-hoc analysis of two randomized, double-blind, multi-center, placebo-controlled phase III trials (NCT00486434 and NCT00704847) that evaluated the efficacy and safety of 2-years treatment with oral salmon calcitonin of subjects with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA).ResultsThere was a clear positive and significant correlation between KL grade and WOMAC pain and total WOMAC, albeit the variance in pain measures was from min-to-max for all KL categories, emphasizing the heterogeneity of this patient population and pain perception. 32% of target knees did not progress, and only 51% had changes over minimum significant change (MSC). BMI, KL-Score and WOMAC pain was diagnostic, but only KL-score and pain had prognostic value, albeit pain in a non-linear manner.ConclusionThese data clearly describe significant associations between KL grade, JSW, pain and BMI in patients with symptomatic knee OA. KL grade, BMI and WOMAC pain were diagnostically associated with OA based on JSW but only KL-score and pain in a non-linier fashion was prognostic. 50% of patients did not progress more than MSC, highlighting the importance for identification of structural progressors and the phenotypes associated with these. These results suggest that disease phenotypes, rather than disease status, are responsible for disease progression

A surface-patterned chip as a strong source of ultracold atoms for quantum technologies

Laser-cooled atoms are central to modern precision measurements. They are also increasingly important as an enabling technology for experimental cavity quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing and matter–wave interferometry. Although significant progress has been made in miniaturizing atomic metrological devices, these are limited in accuracy by their use of hot atomic ensembles and buffer gases. Advances have also been made in producing portable apparatus that benefits from the advantages of atoms in the microkelvin regime. However, simplifying atomic cooling and loading using microfabrication technology has proved difficult. In this Letter we address this problem, realizing an atom chip that enables the integration of laser cooling and trapping into a compact apparatus. Our source delivers ten thousand times more atoms than previous magneto-optical traps with microfabricated optics and, for the first time, can reach sub-Doppler temperatures. Moreover, the same chip design offers a simple way to form stable optical lattices. These features, combined with simplicity of fabrication and ease of operation, make these new traps a key advance in the development of cold-atom technology for high-accuracy, portable measurement devices