Secure thermal infrared communications using engineered blackbody radiation

The thermal (emitted) infrared frequency bands, from 20–40 THz and 60–100 THz, are best known for applications in thermography. This underused and unregulated part of the spectral range offers opportunities for the development of secure communications. The ‘THz Torch' concept was recently presented by the authors. This technology fundamentally exploits engineered blackbody radiation, by partitioning thermally-generated spectral noise power into pre-defined frequency channels; the energy in each channel is then independently pulsed modulated and multiplexing schemes are introduced to create a robust form of short-range secure communications in the far/mid infrared. To date, octave bandwidth (25–50 THz) single-channel links have been demonstrated with 380 bps speeds. Multi-channel ‘THz Torch' frequency division multiplexing (FDM) and frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) schemes have been proposed, but only a slow 40 bps FDM scheme has been demonstrated experimentally. Here, we report a much faster 1,280 bps FDM implementation. In addition, an experimental proof-of-concept FHSS scheme is demonstrated for the first time, having a 320 bps data rate. With both 4-channel multiplexing schemes, measured bit error rates (BERs) of < 10(−6) are achieved over a distance of 2.5 cm. Our approach represents a new paradigm in the way niche secure communications can be established over short links

Dynamics of small trapped one-dimensional Fermi gas under oscillating magnetic fields

Deterministic preparation of an ultracold harmonically trapped one-dimensional Fermi gas consisting of a few fermions has been realized by the Heidelberg group. Using Floquet formalism, we study the time dynamics of two- and three-fermion systems in a harmonic trap under an oscillating magnetic field. The oscillating magnetic field produces a time-dependent interaction strength through a Feshbach resonance. We explore the dependence of these dynamics on the frequency of the oscillating magnetic field for non-interacting, weakly interacting, and strongly interacting systems. We identify the regimes where the system can be described by an effective two-state model and an effective three-state model. We find an unbounded coupling to all excited states at the infinitely strong interaction limit and several simple relations that characterize the dynamics. Based on our findings, we propose a technique for driving transition from the ground state to the excited states using an oscillating magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Transmutation prospect of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge electron beam from laser plasma accelerator

Photo-transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge relativistic electron beam (e-beam) from laser plasma accelerator is demonstrated. Collimated relativistic e-beam with a high charge of approximately 100 nC is produced from high-intensity laser interaction with near-critical-density (NCD) plasma. Such e-beam impinges on a high-Z convertor and then radiates energetic bremsstrahlung photons with flux approaching 10^{11} per laser shot. Taking long-lived radionuclide ^{126}Sn as an example, the resulting transmutation reaction yield is the order of 10^{9} per laser shot, which is two orders of magnitude higher than obtained from previous studies. It is found that at lower densities, tightly focused laser irradiating relatively longer NCD plasmas can effectively enhance the transmutation efficiency. Furthermore, the photo-transmutation is generalized by considering mixed-nuclide waste samples, which suggests that the laser-accelerated high-charge e-beam could be an efficient tool to transmute long-lived nuclear waste.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, it has been submitted to Physics of Plasm

Suppressing longitudinal double-layer oscillations by using elliptically polarized laser pulses in the hole-boring radiation pressure acceleration regime

It is shown that well collimated mono-energetic ion beams with a large particle number can be generated in the hole-boring radiation pressure acceleration regime by using an elliptically polarized laser pulse with appropriate theoretically determined laser polarization ratio. Due to the $\bm{J}\times\bm{B}$ effect, the double-layer charge separation region is imbued with hot electrons that prevent ion pileup, thus suppressing the double-layer oscillations. The proposed mechanism is well confirmed by Particle-in-Cell simulations, and after suppressing the longitudinal double-layer oscillations, the ion beams driven by the elliptically polarized lasers own much better energy spectrum than those by circularly polarized lasers.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Phys. Plasmas (2013) accepte