Are polar rings indeed polar?

We have considered polar ring galaxy candidates, the images of which can be found in the SDSS. The sample of 78 galaxies includes the most reliable candidates from the SPRC and PRC catalogs, some of which already have kinematic confirmations. We analyze the distributions of studied objects by the angle between the polar ring and the central disk, and by the optical diameter of the outer ring structures. In the vast majority of cases, the outer structures lie in the plane close to polar (within 10-20 deg) which indicates the stability of the corresponding orbits in the gravitational potential of the halo. Moderately inclined outer structures are observed only in about 6% of objects which probably indicates their short lifetime. In such an unstable configuration, the polar ring would often cross the disk of the galaxy, being smaller than it in the diameter. We show that the inner polar structures and outer large-scale polar rings form a single family in the distribution of diameters normalized to the optical size of the galaxy. At the same time, this distribution is bimodal, as the number of objects with d_ring= (0.4-0.7)*d_disk is negligible. Such a shape of size distribution is most likely due to the fact that the stability of polar orbits in the inner regions of galaxies is maintained by the bulge or the bar, while in the outer regions it is provided by the spheroidal (or triaxial) halo.Comment: Corrected version accepted in Astrophysical Bulletin, 8 pages, 5 EPS figure

Photon storage in Lambda-type optically dense atomic media. I. Cavity model

In a recent paper [Gorshkov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 123601 (2007)], we used a universal physical picture to optimize and demonstrate equivalence between a wide range of techniques for storage and retrieval of photon wave packets in Lambda-type atomic media in free space, including the adiabatic reduction of the photon group velocity, pulse-propagation control via off-resonant Raman techniques, and photon-echo-based techniques. In the present paper, we perform the same analysis for the cavity model. In particular, we show that the retrieval efficiency is equal to C/(1+C) independent of the retrieval technique, where C is the cooperativity parameter. We also derive the optimal strategy for storage and, in particular, demonstrate that at any detuning one can store, with the optimal efficiency of C/(1+C), any smooth input mode satisfying T C gamma >> 1 and a certain class of resonant input modes satisfying T C gamma ~ 1, where T is the duration of the input mode and 2 gamma is the transition linewidth. In the two subsequent papers of the series, we present the full analysis of the free-space model and discuss the effects of inhomogeneous broadening on photon storage.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. V2: significant changes in presentation, new references, higher resolution of figure

Photon storage in Lambda-type optically dense atomic media. III. Effects of inhomogeneous broadening

In a recent paper [Gorshkov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 123601 (2007)] and in the two preceding papers [Gorshkov et al., Phys. Rev. A 76, 033804 (2007); 76, 033805 (2007)], we used a universal physical picture to optimize and demonstrate equivalence between a wide range of techniques for storage and retrieval of photon wave packets in homogeneously broadened Lambda-type atomic media, including the adiabatic reduction of the photon group velocity, pulse-propagation control via off-resonant Raman techniques, and photon-echo-based techniques. In the present paper, we generalize this treatment to include inhomogeneous broadening. In particular, we consider the case of Doppler-broadened atoms and assume that there is a negligible difference between the Doppler shifts of the two optical transitions. In this situation, we show that, at high enough optical depth, all atoms contribute coherently to the storage process as if the medium were homogeneously broadened. We also discuss the effects of inhomogeneous broadening in solid state samples. In this context, we discuss the advantages and limitations of reversing the inhomogeneous broadening during the storage time, as well as suggest a way for achieving high efficiencies with a nonreversible inhomogeneous profile.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. V2: minor changes in presentation, new references, higher resolution of figure