4,373 research outputs found
Hyperspectral compressive wavefront sensing
Presented is a novel way to combine snapshot compressive imaging and lateral shearing interferometry in order to capture the spatio-spectral phase of an ultrashort laser pulse in a single shot. A deep unrolling algorithm is utilized for snapshot compressive imaging reconstruction due to its parameter efficiency and superior speed relative to other methods, potentially allowing for online reconstruction. The algorithmâs regularization term is represented using a neural network with 3D convolutional layers to exploit the spatio-spectral correlations that exist in laser wavefronts. Compressed sensing is not typically applied to modulated signals, but we demonstrate its success here. Furthermore, we train a neural network to predict the wavefronts from a lateral shearing interferogram in terms of Zernike polynomials, which again increases the speed of our technique without sacrificing fidelity. This method is supported with simulation-based results. While applied to the example of lateral shearing interferometry, the methods presented here are generally applicable to a wide range of signals, including ShackâHartmann-type sensors. The results may be of interest beyond the context of laser wavefront characterization, including within quantitative phase imaging
Methods for Extremely Sparse-Angle Proton Tomography
Proton radiography is a widely-fielded diagnostic used to measure magnetic
structures in plasma. The deflection of protons with multi-MeV kinetic energy
by the magnetic fields is used to infer their path-integrated field strength.
Here, the use of tomographic methods is proposed for the first time to lift the
degeneracy inherent in these path-integrated measurements, allowing full
reconstruction of spatially resolved magnetic field structures in three
dimensions. Two techniques are proposed which improve the performance of
tomographic reconstruction algorithms in cases with severely limited numbers of
available probe beams, as is the case in laser-plasma interaction experiments
where the probes are created by short, high-power laser pulse irradiation of
secondary foil targets. The methods are equally applicable to optical probes
such as shadowgraphy and interferometry [M. Kasim et al. Phys. Rev. E 95,
023306 (2017)], thereby providing a disruptive new approach to three
dimensional imaging across the physical sciences and engineering disciplines.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, companion article to arXiv:2103.1126
Non-Riemannian Gravity and the Einstein-Proca System
We argue that all Einstein-Maxwell or Einstein-Proca solutions to general
relativity may be used to construct a large class of solutions (involving
torsion and non-metricity) to theories of non-Riemannian gravitation that have
been recently discussed in the literature.Comment: 9 pages Plain Tex (No Figures), Letter to Editor Classical and
Quantum Gravit
Quantum lattice dynamical effects on the single-particle excitations in 1D Mott and Peierls insulators
As a generic model describing quasi-one-dimensional Mott and Peierls
insulators, we investigate the Holstein-Hubbard model for half-filled bands
using numerical techniques. Combining Lanczos diagonalization with Chebyshev
moment expansion we calculate exactly the photoemission and inverse
photoemission spectra and use these to establish the phase diagram of the
model. While polaronic features emerge only at strong electron-phonon
couplings, pronounced phonon signatures, such as multi-quanta band states, can
be found in the Mott insulating regime as well. In order to corroborate the
Mott to Peierls transition scenario, we determine the spin and charge
excitation gaps by a finite-size scaling analysis based on density-matrix
renormalization group calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Black Holes with Weyl Charge and Non-Riemannian Waves
A simple modification to Einstein's theory of gravity in terms of a
non-Riemannian connection is examined. A new tensor-variational approach yields
field equations that possess a covariance similar to the gauge covariance of
electromagnetism. These equations are shown to possess solutions analogous to
those found in the Einstein-Maxwell system. In particular one finds
gravi-electric and gravi-magnetic charges contributing to a spherically
symmetric static Reissner-Nordstr\"om metric. Such Weyl ``charges'' provide a
source for the non-Riemannian torsion and metric gradient fields instead of the
electromagnetic field. The theory suggests that matter may be endowed with
gravitational charges that couple to gravity in a manner analogous to
electromagnetic couplings in an electromagnetic field. The nature of
gravitational coupling to spinor matter in this theory is also investigated and
a solution exhibiting a plane-symmetric gravitational metric wave coupled via
non-Riemannian waves to a propagating spinor field is presented.Comment: 18 pages Plain Tex (No Figures), Classical and Quantum Gravit
Dark Matter Gravitational Interactions
We argue that the conjectured dark mater in the Universe may be endowed with
a new kind of gravitational charge that couples to a short range gravitational
interaction mediated by a massive vector field. A model is constructed that
assimilates this concept into ideas of current inflationary cosmology. The
model is also consistent with the observed behaviour of galactic rotation
curves according to Newtonian dynamics. The essential idea is that stars
composed of ordinary (as opposed to dark matter) experience Newtonian forces
due to the presence of an all pervading background of massive gravitationally
charged cold dark matter. The novel gravitational interactions are predicted to
have a significant influence on pre-inflationary cosmology. The precise details
depend on the nature of a gravitational Proca interaction and the description
of matter. A gravitational Proca field configuration that gives rise to
attractive forces between dark matter charges of like polarity exhibits
homogeneous isotropic eternal cosmologies that are free of cosmological
curvature singularities thus eliminating the horizon problem associated with
the standard big-bang scenario. Such solutions do however admit dense hot
pre-inflationary epochs each with a characteristic scale factor that may be
correlated with the dark matter density in the current era of expansion. The
model is based on a theory in which a modification of Einsteinian gravity at
very short distances can be expressed in terms of the gradient of the Einstein
metric and the torsion of a non-Riemannian connection on the bundle of linear
frames over spacetime. Indeed we demonstrate that the genesis of the model
resides in a remarkable simplification that occurs when one analyses the
variational equations associated with a broad class of non-Riemannian actions.Comment: 40 pages, 4 Postscript figure
Semen quality in relation to biomarkers of pesticide exposure.
We previously reported reduced sperm concentration and motility in fertile men in a U.S. agrarian area (Columbia, MO) relative to men from U.S. urban centers (Minneapolis, MN; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY). In the present study we address the hypothesis that pesticides currently used in agriculture in the Midwest contributed to these differences in semen quality. We selected men in whom all semen parameters (concentration, percentage sperm with normal morphology, and percentage motile sperm) were low (cases) and men in whom all semen parameters were within normal limits (controls) within Missouri and Minnesota (sample sizes of 50 and 36, respectively) and measured metabolites of eight current-use pesticides in urine samples provided at the time of semen collection. All pesticide analyses were conducted blind with respect to center and case-control status. Pesticide metabolite levels were elevated in Missouri cases, compared with controls, for the herbicides alachlor and atrazine and for the insecticide diazinon [2-isopropoxy-4-methyl-pyrimidinol (IMPY)]; for Wilcoxon rank test, p = 0.0007, 0.012, and 0.0004 for alachlor, atrazine, and IMPY, respectively. Men from Missouri with high levels of alachlor or IMPY were significantly more likely to be cases than were men with low levels [odds ratios (ORs) = 30.0 and 16.7 for alachlor and IMPY, respectively], as were men with atrazine levels higher than the limit of detection (OR = 11.3). The herbicides 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and metolachlor were also associated with poor semen quality in some analyses, whereas acetochlor levels were lower in cases than in controls (p = 0.04). No significant associations were seen for any pesticides within Minnesota, where levels of agricultural pesticides were low, or for the insect repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) or the malathion metabolite malathion dicarboxylic acid. These associations between current-use pesticides and reduced semen quality suggest that agricultural chemicals may have contributed to the reduction in semen quality in fertile men from mid-Missouri we reported previously
Macrodimers: ultralong range Rydberg molecules
We study long range interactions between two Rydberg atoms and predict the
existence of ultralong range Rydberg dimers with equilibrium distances of many
thousand Bohr radii. We calculate the dispersion coefficients ,
and for two rubidium atoms in the same excited level , and find
that they scale like , and , respectively. We show that
for certain molecular symmetries, these coefficients lead to long range
potential wells that can support molecular bound levels. Such macrodimers would
be very sensitive to their environment, and could probe weak interactions. We
suggest experiments to detect these macrodimers.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to PR
Advantages to a diverging Raman amplifier
The plasma Raman instability can efficiently compress a nanosecond long high-power laser pulse to sub-picosecond duration. Although, many authors envisaged a converging beam geometry for Raman amplification, here we propose the exact opposite geometry; the amplification should start at the intense focus of the seed. We generalise the coupled laser envelope equations to include this non-collimated case. The new geometry completely eradicates the usual trailing secondary peaks of the output pulse, which typically lower the efficiency by half. It also reduces, by orders of magnitude, the initial seed pulse energy required for efficient operation. As in the collimated case, the evolution is self similar, although the temporal pulse envelope is different. A two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation demonstrates efficient amplification of a diverging seed with only 0.3âmJ energy. The pulse has no secondary peaks and almost constant intensity as it amplifies and diverges
- âŠ