1,044 research outputs found
Measurement of the 6S-7S transition polarizablility in atomic cesium and an improved test of the standard model
The ratio of the off-diagonal hyperfine amplitude to the tensor transition
polarizability (Mhf/beta) for the 6S-7S transition in cesium has been measured.
The value of beta=27.024(43)(expt)(67)(theory)a_0^3 is then obtained using an
accurate semi-empirical value of Mhf. This is combined with a previous
measurement of parity nonconservation in atomic cesium and previous atomic
structure calculations to determine the value of the weak charge. The
uncertainties in the atomic structure calculations are updated (and reduced) in
light of new experimental tests. The result Q_W=-72.06(28)(expt) (34)(theory)
differs from the prediction of the standard model of elementary particle
physics by 2.5 sigma.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Correction of SOHO CELIAS/SEM EUV Measurements saturated by extreme solar flare events
The solar irradiance in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) spectral bands has been
observed with a 15 sec cadence by the SOHO Solar EUV Monitor (SEM) since 1995.
During remarkably intense solar flares the SEM EUV measurements are saturated
in the central (zero) order channel (0.1 -- 50.0 nm) by the flare soft X-ray
and EUV flux. The first order EUV channel (26 -- 34 nm) is not saturated by the
flare flux because of its limited bandwidth, but it is sensitive to the arrival
of Solar Energetic Particles (SEP). While both channels detect nearly equal SEP
fluxes, their contributions to the count rate is sensibly negligible in the
zero order channel but must be accounted for and removed from the first channel
count rate. SEP contribution to the measured SEM signals usually follows the
EUV peak for the gradual solar flare events. Correcting the extreme solar flare
SEM EUV measurements may reveal currently unclear relations between the flare
magnitude, dynamics observed in different EUV spectral bands, and the measured
Earth atmosphere response. A simple and effective correction technique based on
analysis of SEM count-rate profiles, GOES X-ray, and GOES proton data has been
developed and used for correcting EUV measurements for the five extreme solar
flare events of July 14, 2000, October 28, November 2, November 4, 2003, and
January 20, 2005. Although none of the 2000 and 2003 flare peaks were
contaminated by the presence of SEPs, the January 20, 2005 SEPs were unusually
prompt and contaminated the peak. The estimated accuracy of the correction is
about 7.5% for large X-class events.Comment: To appear in Astron. Nachr. /A
Atomic wave packet dynamics in finite time-dependent optical lattices
Atomic wave packets in optical lattices which are both spatially finite and
time-dependent exhibit many striking similarities with light pulses in photonic
crystals. We analytically characterize the transmission properties of such a
potential geometry for an ideal gas in terms of a position-dependent band
structure. In particular, we find that at specific energies, wave packets at
the center of the finite lattice may be enclosed by pairs of band gaps. These
act as mirrors between which the atomic wave packet is reflected, thereby
effectively yielding a matter wave cavity. We show that long trapping times may
be obtained in such a resonator and investigate the collapse and revival
dynamics of the atomic wave packet by numerical evaluation of the Schr\"odinger
equation
Quantum synthesis of arbitrary unitary operators
Nature provides us with a restricted set of microscopic interactions. The
question is whether we can synthesize out of these fundamental interactions an
arbitrary unitary operator. In this paper we present a constructive algorithm
for realization of any unitary operator which acts on a (truncated) Hilbert
space of a single bosonic mode. In particular, we consider a physical
implementation of unitary transformations acting on 1-dimensional vibrational
states of a trapped ion. As an example we present an algorithm which realizes
the discrete Fourier transform.Comment: 6 RevTeX pages with 3 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.A, see also
http://nic.savba.sk/sav/inst/fyzi/qo
Observation of modified radiative properties of cold atoms in vacuum near a dielectric surface
We have observed a distance-dependent absorption linewidth of cold Rb
atoms close to a dielectric-vacuum interface. This is the first observation of
modified radiative properties in vacuum near a dielectric surface. A cloud of
cold atoms was created using a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and optical molasses
cooling. Evanescent waves (EW) were used to observe the behavior of the atoms
near the surface. We observed an increase of the absorption linewidth with up
to 25% with respect to the free-space value. Approximately half the broadening
can be explained by cavity-quantum electrodynamics (CQED) as an increase of the
natural linewidth and inhomogeneous broadening. The remainder we attribute to
local Stark shifts near the surface. By varying the characteristic EW length we
have observed a distance dependence characteristic for CQED.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, some minor revision
Making on-line science course materials easily translatable and accessible worldwide: Challenges and solutions
The PhET Interactive Simulations Project recently partnered with the Excellence Center of Science and Mathematics Education at King Saud University with the joint goal of making simulations available worldwide. One of the main challenges of this partnership is to make PhET simulations easily translatable so that truly anyone with a computer can use them in their classroom. The PhET project team has created the Translation Utility that allows a person, who
is fluent in both English and another language, to easily translate any of the PhET simulations. This can be done with minimal computer expertise, making the translation
process accessible to faculty and teachers. In this presentation we will share solutions to many of the unexpected problems we encountered that would apply in
general to on-line scientific course materials including working with a language that is written right-to-left, different character sets, possible misconceptions and various conventions for expressing equations, variables, units and scientific notation
Atomic parity nonconservation and neutron radii in cesium isotopes
The interpretation of future precise experiments on atomic parity violation
in terms of parameters of the Standard Model could be hampered by uncertainties
in the atomic and nuclear structure. While the former can be overcome by
measurement in a series of isotopes, the nuclear structure requires knowledge
of the neutron density. We use the nuclear Hartree-Fock method, which includes
deformation effects, to calculate the proton and neutron densities in
{125}Cs-{139}Cs. We argue that the good agreement with the experimental charge
radii, binding energies, and ground state spins signifies that the
phenomenological nuclear force and the method of calculation that we use is
adequate. Based on this agreement, and on calculations involving different
effective interactions, we estimate the uncertainties in the differences of the
neutron radii delta_{N,N'} and conclude that they cause uncertainties in
the ratio of weak charges, the quantities determined in the atomic parity
nonconservation experiments, of less than 10^{-3}. Such an uncertainty is
smaller than the anticipated experimental error.Comment: 24 pages (RevTeX) 4 figures (Postscript/uuencoded compressed) Caltech
Preprint No. MAP-153 (March 1993
meson production in = 200 GeV Au+Au and pp collisions at RHIC
We present the results for the measurement of meson production in
= 200 GeV Au+Au and pp collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion
Collider (RHIC). Using the event mixing technique, spectra and yields are
obtained from the decay channel for different centrality
bins in Au+Au collisions and in pp collisions. We observe that the spectrum
shape in Au+Au collisions depends weakly on the centrality and the shape of the
spectrum in pp collisions is significantly different from that in Au+Au
collisions. In Au+Au collisions, the extracted yield of meson is flat as
a function of rapidity; The of , extracted from the fit function
to the spectra, shows a different behavior as a function of centrality than
that of , and Comment: Proceedings for the 7th International Conference on Strangeness in
Quark Matte
Active laser frequency stabilization using neutral praseodymium (Pr)
We present a new possibility for the active frequency stabilization of a
laser using transitions in neutral praseodymium. Because of its five outer
electrons, this element shows a high density of energy levels leading to an
extremely line-rich excitation spectrum with more than 25000 known spectral
lines ranging from the UV to the infrared. We demonstrate the active frequency
stabilization of a diode laser on several praseodymium lines between 1105 and
1123 nm. The excitation signals were recorded in a hollow cathode lamp and
observed via laser-induced fluorescence. These signals are strong enough to
lock the diode laser onto most of the lines by using standard laser locking
techniques. In this way, the frequency drifts of the unlocked laser of more
than 30 MHz/h were eliminated and the laser frequency stabilized to within
1.4(1) MHz for averaging times >0.2 s. Frequency quadrupling the stabilized
diode laser can produce frequency-stable UV-light in the range from 276 to 281
nm. In particular, using a strong hyperfine component of the praseodymium
excitation line E = 16 502.616_7/2 cm^-1 -> E' = 25 442.742_9/2 cm^-1 at lambda
= 1118.5397(4) nm makes it possible - after frequency quadruplication - to
produce laser radiation at lambda/4 = 279.6349(1) nm, which can be used to
excite the D2 line in Mg^+.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure
Versatile transporter apparatus for experiments with optically trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We describe a versatile and simple scheme for producing magnetically and
optically-trapped Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates, based on a moving-coil
transporter apparatus. The apparatus features a TOP trap that incorporates the
movable quadrupole coils used for magneto-optical trapping and long-distance
magnetic transport of atomic clouds. As a stand-alone device, this trap allows
for the stable production of condensates containing up to one million atoms. In
combination with an optical dipole trap, the TOP trap acts as a funnel for
efficient loading, after which the quadrupole coils can be retracted, thereby
maximizing optical access. The robustness of this scheme is illustrated by
realizing the superfluid-to-Mott insulator transition in a three-dimensional
optical lattice
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