Modelling radiation emission in the transition from the classical to the quantum regime

An emissivity formula is derived using the generalised Fermi-Weizacker-Williams method of virtual photons which accounts for the recoil the charged particle experiences as it emits radiation. It is found that through this derivation the formula obtained by Sokolov et al using QED perturbation theory is recovered. The corrected emissivity formula is applied to nonlinear Thomson scattering scenarios in the transition from the classical to the quantum regime, for small values of the nonlinear quantum parameter \chi. Good agreement is found between this method and a QED probabilistic approach for scenarios where both are valid. In addition, signatures of the quantum corrections are identified and explored.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio

All-optical trapping and acceleration of heavy particles

A scheme for fast, compact, and controllable acceleration of heavy particles in vacuum is proposed, in which two counterpropagating lasers with variable frequencies drive a beat-wave structure with variable phase velocity, thus allowing for trapping and acceleration of heavy particles, such as ions or muons. Fine control over the energy distribution and the total charge of the beam is obtained via tuning of the frequency variation. The acceleration scheme is described with a one-dimensional theory, providing the general conditions for trapping and scaling laws for the relevant features of the particle beam. Two-dimensional, electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations confirm the validity and the robustness of the physical mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic

Amplification and generation of ultra-intense twisted laser pulses via stimulated Raman scattering

Twisted Laguerre-Gaussian lasers, with orbital angular momentum and characterised by doughnut shaped intensity profiles, provide a transformative set of tools and research directions in a growing range of fields and applications, from super-resolution microcopy and ultra-fast optical communications to quantum computing and astrophysics. The impact of twisted light is widening as recent numerical calculations provided solutions to long-standing challenges in plasma-based acceleration by allowing for high gradient positron acceleration. The production of ultrahigh intensity twisted laser pulses could then also have a broad influence on relativistic laser-matter interactions. Here we show theoretically and with ab-initio three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, that stimulated Raman backscattering can generate and amplify twisted lasers to Petawatt intensities in plasmas. This work may open new research directions in non-linear optics and high energy density science, compact plasma based accelerators and light sources.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Beam loading in the nonlinear regime of plasma-based acceleration

A theory that describes how to load negative charge into a nonlinear, three-dimensional plasma wakefield is presented. In this regime, a laser or an electron beam blows out the plasma electrons and creates a nearly spherical ion channel, which is modified by the presence of the beam load. Analytical solutions for the fields and the shape of the ion channel are derived. It is shown that very high beam-loading efficiency can be achieved, while the energy spread of the bunch is conserved. The theoretical results are verified with the Particle-In-Cell code OSIRIS.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Dinâmica da ocupação de áreas cafeeiras de Minas Gerais utilizando geotecnologias.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi fazer uma avaliação espaço temporal das regiões cafeeiras de Machado e Patrocínio no estado de Minas Gerais, utilizando técnicas de geoprocessamento e dados de sensores remotos. Mapas de uso da terra dos anos 2000 e 2003 dessas duas áreas foram gerados com auxílio do software SPRING. Por intermédio do cruzamento dos dados percebeu-se que as culturas cafeeiras nesses dois ambientes tiveram comportamentos diferentes. Em Machado, o parque cafeeiro teve um pequeno decréscimo de cerca de 2% entre os anos avaliados, porém, percebe-se uma renovação do parque, já que existem cerca de 7% de áreas novas sendo plantadas e 9% de áreas sendo podadas ou retiradas da produção. Já em Patrocínio, a área total de café plantada não foi alterada, mas a área de café em produção aumentou significativamente, tendo provavelmente provocado um aumento também significativo na produção da região

Covariant conservation of energy momentum in modified gravities

An explicit proof of the vanishing of the covariant divergence of the energy-momentum tensor in modified theories of gravity is presented. The gravitational action is written in arbitrary dimensions and allowed to depend nonlinearly on the curvature scalar and its couplings with a scalar field. Also the case of a function of the curvature scalar multiplying a matter Lagrangian is considered. The proof is given both in the metric and in the first-order formalism, i.e. under the Palatini variational principle. It is found that the covariant conservation of energy-momentum is built-in to the field equations. This crucial result, called the generalized Bianchi identity, can also be deduced directly from the covariance of the extended gravitational action. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in all of these cases, the freely falling world lines are determined by the field equations alone and turn out to be the geodesics associated with the metric compatible connection. The independent connection in the Palatini formulation of these generalized theories does not have a similar direct physical interpretation. However, in the conformal Einstein frame a certain bi-metricity emerges into the structure of these theories. In the light of our interpretation of the independent connection as an auxiliary variable we can also reconsider some criticisms of the Palatini formulation originally raised by Buchdahl.Comment: 8 pages. v2: more discussio

Movimentação de inseticidas de tratamento de sementes no solo sob efeito da irrigação.

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido no Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Milho e Sorgo (CNPMS), EMBRAPA, Sete Lagoas, MG, e teve como objetivo avaliar o movimento de inseticidas de tratamento de sementes de milho no perfil do solo em areas irrigadas. Foram utilizadas tres laminas de irrigacao: deficiente (50% da adequada), adequada e excessiva (100% superior a adequada), e dois inseticidas de tratamento de semente de milho: Semevin 350 RA (Thiodicarb) e Furadan 350 TS (Carbofuran), nas doses recomendadas pelos fabricantes. O monitoramento da lixiviacao desses inseticidas no solo foi feito em camadas de 5 cm e em quatro intervalos de 10 dias, a partir semeadura. A analise de residuo das amostras de solo foi feita utilizando-se cromatografia liquida de alta performance (HPLC). Nas condicoes em que foi realizado o experimento obtiveram-se as seguintes conclusoes: o Thiodicarb apresentou-se o mais instavel (com relacao a sua atividade) no solo com baixo risco de contaminacao do lencol freatico; o Carbofuran apresentou-se com um potencial maior de lixiviacao no perfil do solo devido, possivelmente, a sua resistencia a degradacao e, com baixo risco de contaminacao do lencol freatico para as condicoes apresentadas. Para todos os tratamentos, houve maior retencao do principio ativo dos inseticidas nas camadas mais superficiais (0 a 15 cm) do solo

Three-point function of semiclassical states at weak coupling

We give the derivation of the previously announced analytic expression for the correlation function of three heavy non-BPS operators in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory at weak coupling. The three operators belong to three different su(2) sectors and are dual to three classical strings moving on the sphere. Our computation is based on the reformulation of the problem in terms of the Bethe Ansatz for periodic XXX spin-1/2 chains. In these terms the three operators are described by long-wave-length excitations over the ferromagnetic vacuum, for which the number of the overturned spins is a finite fraction of the length of the chain, and the classical limit is known as the Sutherland limit. Technically our main result is a factorized operator expression for the scalar product of two Bethe states. The derivation is based on a fermionic representation of Slavnov's determinant formula, and a subsequent bosonisation.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, cosmetic changes and more typos corrected in v

Anisotropic heating and magnetic field generation due to Raman scattering in laser-plasma interactions

We identify a mechanism for magnetic field generation in the interaction of intense electromagnetic waves and underdense plasmas. We show that Raman scattered plasma waves trap and heat the electrons preferentially in their propagation direction, resulting in a temperature anisotropy. In the trail of laser pulse, we observe magnetic field growth that matches the Weibel mechanism due to the temperature anisotropy. We discuss the role of the initial electron temperature in our results. The predictions are confirmed with multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We show how this configuration is an experimental platform to study the long-time evolution of the Weibel instabilityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

One-to-one full scale simulations of laser wakefield acceleration using QuickPIC

We use the quasi-static particle-in-cell code QuickPIC to perform full-scale, one-to-one LWFA numerical experiments, with parameters that closely follow current experimental conditions. The propagation of state-of-the-art laser pulses in both preformed and uniform plasma channels is examined. We show that the presence of the channel is important whenever the laser self-modulations do not dominate the propagation. We examine the acceleration of an externally injected electron beam in the wake generated by 10 J laser pulses, showing that by using ten-centimeter-scale plasma channels it is possible to accelerate electrons to more than 4 GeV. A comparison between QuickPIC and 2D OSIRIS is provided. Good qualitative agreement between the two codes is found, but the 2D full PIC simulations fail to predict the correct laser and wakefield amplitudes.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication IEEE TPS, Special Issue - Laser & Plasma Accelerators - 8/200