7,788 research outputs found
Storage and Retrieval of Thermal Light in Warm Atomic Vapor
We report slowed propagation and storage and retrieval of thermal light in
warm rubidium vapor using the effect of electromagnetically-induced
transparency (EIT). We first demonstrate slowed-propagation of the probe
thermal light beam through an EIT medium by measuring the second-order
correlation function of the light field using the Hanbury-BrownTwiss
interferometer. We also report an experimental study on the effect of the EIT
slow-light medium on the temporal coherence of thermal light. Finally, we
demonstrate the storage and retrieval of thermal light beam in the EIT medium.
The direct measurement of the photon number statistics of the retrieved light
field shows that the photon number statistics is preserved during the storage
and retrieval process.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Reversing the Weak Quantum Measurement for a Photonic Qubit
We demonstrate the conditional reversal of a weak (partial-collapse) quantum
measurement on a photonic qubit. The weak quantum measurement causes a
nonunitary transformation of a qubit which is subsequently reversed to the
original state after a successful reversing operation. Both the weak
measurement and the reversal operation are implemented linear optically. The
state recovery fidelity, determined by quantum process tomography, is shown to
be over 94% for partial-collapse strength up to 0.9. We also experimentally
study information gain due to the weak measurement and discuss the role of the
reversing operation as an information erasure
AN ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION PASSIVATED SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE SENSOR FOR BACTERIAL BIOFILM GROWTH MONITORING
This thesis reports for the first time the design, fabrication, and testing of a reusable Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensor for biofilm growth monitoring. Bacterial biofilms cause severe infections, and are often difficult to remove without an invasive surgery. Thus, their detection at an early stage is critical for effective treatments. A highly sensitive SAW sensor for biofilm growth monitoring was fabricated by depositing a high quality zinc oxide (ZnO) piezoelectric thin film by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The sensor was successfully passivated by aluminum oxide (Al2O3) using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) to prevent ZnO damage from long term media contact. The sensor was reusable over multiple biofilm formation experiments using the ALD Al2O3 passivation and an oxygen plasma biofilm cleaning method. The SAW sensor was studied with Escherichia coli biofilm growth in Lysogeny Broth (LB) and in 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) as a simulated an in vivo environment. A multiple MHz level resonant frequency shift measured at the output of the SAW sensor in both LB and 10% FBS corresponded to the natural biofilm growth progression. These repeatable E. coli biofilm growth monitoring results validate the novel application of a SAW sensor for future implantable biofilm sensing applications
Early-type Host Galaxies of Type Ia Supernovae. I. Evidence for Downsizing
Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) cosmology provides the most direct evidence for the
presence of dark energy. This result is based on the assumption that the
look-back time evolution of SN Ia luminosity, after light-curve corrections,
would be negligible. Recent studies show, however, that the Hubble residual
(HR) of SN Ia is correlated with the mass and morphology of host galaxies,
implying the possible dependence of SN Ia luminosity on host galaxy properties.
In order to investigate this more directly, we have initiated spectroscopic
survey for the early-type host galaxies, for which population age and
metallicity can be more reliably determined from the absorption lines. As the
first paper of the series, here we present the results from high
signal-to-noise ratio (>100 per pixel) spectra for 27 nearby host galaxies in
the southern hemisphere. For the first time in host galaxy studies, we find a
significant (~3.9sigma) correlation between host galaxy mass (velocity
dispersion) and population age, which is consistent with the "downsizing" trend
among non-host early-type galaxies. This result is rather insensitive to the
choice of population synthesis models. Since we find no correlation with
metallicity, our result suggests that stellar population age is mainly
responsible for the relation between host mass and HR. If confirmed, this would
imply that the luminosity evolution plays a major role in the systematic
uncertainties of SN Ia cosmology.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
An Evidence-Based Review of Probiotics and Prebiotics
Probiotics and prebiotics have a variety of beneficial effects on the host’s health. Extensive studies have established probiotic strains such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and further the concept of next-generation probiotics has been advocated. Clinical trials and mechanism of action research have demonstrated that the gut microbiota and host health are inextricably linked, and that probiotics can benefit intestinal-related disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease by controlling the gut microbiota. Accordingly, the host’s gut microbiota has the greatest direct effect on the efficiency of probiotics and prebiotics. Due to the highly individualized gut microbiota, supplementation with probiotics and prebiotics must take the host’s gut microbiota into account. Personalized and specific interventions, as well as the development of next-generation probiotics, will be the new focus of research
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