Photo-induced optical activity in phase-change memory materials

We demonstrate that optical activity in amorphous isotropic thin films of pure Ge2Sb2Te5 and N-doped Ge2Sb2Te5N phase-change memory materials can be induced using rapid photo crystallisation with circularly polarised laser light. The new anisotropic phase transition has been confirmed by circular dichroism measurements. This opens up the possibility of controlled induction of optical activity at the nanosecond time scale for exploitation in a new generation of high-density optical memory, fast chiroptical switches and chiral metamaterials

Spatial temperature and water molar concentration measurements using thermal and electrostrictive ligs during operation of a swirl burner at pressure

Laser-Induced Grating Spectroscopy (LIGS) was applied in a high-pressure combustion facility. Instantaneous (sub-μs), spatially resolved (within 5 mm) measurements of temperature and molar fractions of water were obtained using thermal and electrostrictive LIGS signals. Temperatures up to 1800~K and water molar fractions between 0.01 and 0.12 were measured. A new analytic approach was developed to extract temperature from the frequencies of the measured signal within the flame brush region, where mixtures contain both burnt and unburnt gases. Mean product temperatures are shown to be 8% lower than the adiabatic temperatures for the nominal equivalence ratio, and 14% higher than measurements made with a thermocouple, uncorrected for radiation losses. This work represents the first application of LIGS to a high-pressure, turbulent swirling flame, opening up the potential for future uses in other real world applications. Challenges associated with the deployment of the technique are described, as are potential measures to overcome these difficulties

Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

International audienceIntermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100−105 M⊙, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass ∼150 M⊙ providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200 M⊙ and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpc−3 yr−1 (90% confidence), a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpc−3 yr−1.Key words: gravitational waves / stars: black holes / black hole physicsCorresponding author: W. Del Pozzo, e-mail: [email protected]† Deceased, August 2020