Ionospheric electron content at temperate latitudes during the declining phase of the sunspot cycle

Ionospheric electron density during declining phase of sunspot cycle by Faraday effect observation

Cherenkov and Scintillation Light Separation in Organic Liquid Scintillators

The CHErenkov / Scintillation Separation experiment (CHESS) has been used to demonstrate the separation of Cherenkov and scintillation light in both linear alkylbenzene (LAB) and LAB with 2g/L of PPO as a fluor (LAB/PPO). This is the first such demonstration for the more challenging LAB/PPO cocktail and improves on previous results for LAB. A time resolution of 338 +/- 12 ps FWHM results in an efficiency for identifying Cherenkov photons in LAB/PPO of 70 +/- 3% and 63 +/- 8% for time- and charge-based separation, respectively, with scintillation contamination of 36 +/- 5% and 38 +/- 4%. LAB/PPO data is consistent with a rise time of 0.75 +/- 0.25 ns

The exact theory for scattering of waves by thick holes in a slab and other objects with non-separable geometries

The theory for scattering of electromagnetic waves is developed for scattering objects for which the natural modes of the field inside the object do not couple one-to-one with those outside the scatterer. Key feature of the calculation of the scattered fields is the introduction of a new set of modes. As an example, we calculate the reflected and transmitted fields generated by an electromagnetic plane wave that impinges upon a multilayer slab of which the layers are stacked perpendicular to the boundary planes. As this is the geometry of a thick plate with slits our theory encompasses the exact scattering theory of electromagnetic waves by a thick plate with slits.

Transverse Bragg-reflector injection lasers

A GaAs-GaAlAs injection laser has been tested that confines light in the lateral dimension (normal to junction plane) by a multilayer Bragg reflector. In the past, light has been confined as a result of the higher-index guiding region and resulting evanescent fields

Wave propagation and earth satellite radio emission studies

Radio propagation studies of the ionosphere using satellite radio beacons are described. The ionosphere is known as a dispersive, inhomogeneous, irregular and sometimes even nonlinear medium. After traversing through the ionosphere the radio signal bears signatures of these characteristics. A study of these signatures will be helpful in two areas: (1) It will assist in learning the behavior of the medium, in this case the ionosphere. (2) It will provide information of the kind of signal characteristics and statistics to be expected for communication and navigational satellite systems that use the similar geometry

Time-reversal in dynamically-tuned zero-gap periodic systems

We show that short pulses propagating in zero-gap periodic systems can be reversed with 100% efficiency by using weak non-adiabatic tuning of the wave velocity at time-scales that can be much slower than the period. Unlike previous schemes, we demonstrate reversal of {\em broadband} (few cycle) pulses with simple structures. Our scheme may thus open the way to time-reversal in a variety of systems for which it was not accessible before.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Letter

Heat transfer in rotating serpentine passages with trips normal to the flow

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in turbine blade internal coolant passages. The experiments were conducted with a large scale, multipass, heat transfer model with both radially inward and outward flow. Trip strips on the leading and trailing surfaces of the radial coolant passages were used to produce the rough walls. An analysis of the governing flow equations showed that four parameters influence the heat transfer in rotating passages: coolant-to-wall temperature ratio, Rossby number, Reynolds number, and radius-to-passage hydraulic diameter ratio. The first three of these four parameters were varied over ranges which are typical of advanced gas turbine engine operating conditions. Results were correlated and compared to previous results from stationary and rotating similar models with trip strips. The heat transfer coefficients on surfaces, where the heat increased with rotation and buoyancy, varied by as much as a factor of four. Maximum values of the heat transfer coefficients with high rotation were only slightly above the highest levels obtained with the smooth wall model. The heat transfer coefficients on surfaces, where the heat transfer decreased with rotation, varied by as much as a factor of three due to rotation and buoyancy. It was concluded that both Coriolis and buoyancy effects must be considered in turbine blade cooling designs with trip strips and that the effects of rotation were markedly different depending upon the flow direction

Heat transfer in rotating serpentine passages with trips skewed to the flow

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in turbine blade internal coolant passages. The experiments were conducted with a large scale, multi-pass, heat transfer model with both radially inward and outward flow. Trip strips, skewed at 45 deg to the flow direction, were machined on the leading and trailing surfaces of the radial coolant passages. An analysis of the governing flow equations showed that four parameters influence the heat transfer in rotating passages: coolant-to-wall temperature, rotation number, Reynolds number, and radius-to-passage hydraulic diameter ratio. The first three of these four parameters were varied over ranges which are typical of advanced gas turbine engine operating conditions. Results were correlated and compared to previous results from similar stationary and rotating models with smooth walls and with trip strips normal to the flow direction. The heat transfer coefficients on surfaces, where the heat transfer decreased with rotation and buoyancy, decreased to as low as 40 percent of the value without rotation. However, the maximum values of the heat transfer coefficients with high rotation were only slightly above the highest levels previously obtained with the smooth wall models. It was concluded that (1) both Coriolis and buoyancy effects must be considered in turbine blade cooling designs with trip strips, (2) the effects of rotation are markedly different depending upon the flow direction, and (3) the heat transfer with skewed trip strips is less sensitive to buoyancy than the heat transfer in models with either smooth or normal trips. Therefore, skewed trip strips rather than normal trip strips are recommended and geometry-specific tests are required for accurate design information

Heat transfer in rotating serpentine passages with selected model orientation for smooth or skewed trip walls

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of model orientation as well as buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in turbine blade internal coolant passages. Turbine blades have internal coolant passage surfaces at the leading and trailing edges of the airfoil with surfaces at angles which are as large as +/- 50 to 60 degrees to the axis of rotation. Most of the previously-presented, multiple-passage, rotating heat transfer experiments have focused on radial passages aligned with the axis of rotation. Results from serpentine passages with orientations 0 and 45 degrees to the axis of rotation which simulate the coolant passages for the mid chord and trailing edge regions of the rotating airfoil are compared. The experiments were conducted with rotation in both directions to simulate serpentine coolant passages with the rearward flow of coolant or with the forward flow of coolant. The experiments were conducted for passages with smooth surfaces and with 45 degree trips adjacent to airfoil surfaces for the radial portion of the serpentine passages. At a typical flow condition, the heat transfer on the leading surfaces for flow outward in the first passage with smooth walls was twice as much for the model at 45 degrees compared to the model at 0 degrees. However, the differences for the other passages and with trips were less. In addition, the effects of buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in the rotating passage were decreased with the model at 45 degrees, compared to the results at 0 degrees. The heat transfer in the turn regions and immediately downstream of the turns in the second passage with flow inward and in the third passage with flow outward was also a function of model orientation with differences as large as 40 to 50 percent occurring between the model orientations with forward flow and rearward flow of coolant

Pattern Competition in the Photorefractive Semiconductors

We analytically study the photorefractive Gunn effect in n-GaAs subjected to two external laser beams which form a moving interference pattern (MIP) in the semiconductor. When the intensity of the spatially independent part of the MIP, denoted by $I_0$, is small, the system has a periodic domain train (PDT), consistent with the results of linear stability analysis. When $I_0$ is large, the space-charge field induced by the MIP will compete with the PDT and result in complex dynamics, including driven chaos via quasiperiodic route