896 research outputs found
Resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation using III-V semiconductor all-dielectric metasurfaces
Nonlinear optical phenomena in nanostructured materials have been challenging
our perceptions of nonlinear optical processes that have been explored since
the invention of lasers. For example, the ability to control optical field
confinement, enhancement, and scattering almost independently, allows nonlinear
frequency conversion efficiencies to be enhanced by many orders of magnitude
compared to bulk materials. Also, the subwavelength length scale renders phase
matching issues irrelevant. Compared with plasmonic nanostructures, dielectric
resonator metamaterials show great promise for enhanced nonlinear optical
processes due to their larger mode volumes. Here, we present, for the first
time, resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) using Gallium
Arsenide (GaAs) based dielectric metasurfaces. Using arrays of cylindrical
resonators we observe SHG enhancement factors as large as 104 relative to
unpatterned GaAs. At the magnetic dipole resonance we measure an absolute
nonlinear conversion efficiency of ~2X10^(-5) with ~3.4 GW/cm2 pump intensity.
The polarization properties of the SHG reveal that both bulk and surface
nonlinearities play important roles in the observed nonlinear process
Evolution of dust and ice features around FU Orionis objects
(abridged) We present spectroscopy data for a sample of 14 FUors and 2 TTauri
stars observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope or with the Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO). Based on the appearance of the 10 micron silicate feature we
define 2 categories of FUors. Objects showing the silicate feature in
absorption (Category 1) are still embedded in a dusty and icy envelope. The
shape of the 10 micron silicate absorption bands is compared to typical dust
compositions of the interstellar medium and found to be in general agreement.
Only one object (RNO 1B) appears to be too rich in amorphous pyroxene dust, but
a superposed emission feature can explain the observed shape. We derive optical
depths and extinction values from the silicate band and additional ice bands at
6.0, 6.8 and 15.2 micron. In particular the analysis of the CO_2 ice band at
15.2 micron allows us to search for evidence for ice processing and constrains
whether the absorbing material is physically linked to the central object or in
the foreground. For objects showing the silicate feature in emission (Category
2), we argue that the emission comes from the surface layer of accretion disks.
Analyzing the dust composition reveals that significant grain growth has
already taken place within the accretion disks, but no clear indications for
crystallization are present. We discuss how these observational results can be
explained in the picture of a young, and highly active accretion disk. Finally,
a framework is proposed as to how the two categories of FUors can be understood
in a general paradigm of the evolution of young, low-mass stars. Only one
object (Parsamian 21) shows PAH emission features. Their shapes, however, are
often seen toward evolved stars and we question the object's status as a FUor
and discuss other possible classifications.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ; 63 pages preprint style including 8
tables and 24 figure
Chromospheric seismology above sunspot umbrae
The acoustic resonator is an important model for explaining the three-minute
oscillations in the chromosphere above sunspot umbrae. The steep temperature
gradients at the photosphere and transition region provide the cavity for the
acoustic resonator, which allows waves to be both partially transmitted and
partially reflected. In this paper, a new method of estimating the size and
temperature profile of the chromospheric cavity above a sunspot umbra is
developed. The magnetic field above umbrae is modelled numerically in 1.5D with
slow magnetoacoustic wave trains travelling along magnetic fieldlines.
Resonances are driven by applying the random noise of three different
colours---white, pink and brown---as small velocity perturbations to the upper
convection zone. Energy escapes the resonating cavity and generates wave trains
moving into the corona. Line of sight (LOS) integration is also performed to
determine the observable spectra through SDO/AIA. The numerical results show
that the gradient of the coronal spectra is directly correlated with the
chromosperic temperature configuration. As the chromospheric cavity size
increases, the spectral gradient becomes shallower. When LOS integrations is
performed, the resulting spectra demonstrate a broadband of excited frequencies
that is correlated with the chromospheric cavity size. The broadband of excited
frequencies becomes narrower as the chromospheric cavity size increases. These
two results provide a potentially useful diagnostic for the chromospheric
temperature profile by considering coronal velocity oscillations
The X-ray properties of the magnetic cataclysmic variable UUColumbae
Aims. XMM-Newton observations to determine for the first time the broad-band X-ray properties of the faint, high galactic latitude intermediate polar UUCol are presented.
Methods. We performed X-ray timing analysis in different energy ranges of the EPIC cameras, which reveals the dominance of the 863 s white dwarf rotational period. The spin pulse is strongly energy dependent. Weak variabilities at the beat 935 s and at the 3.5 h orbital periods are also observed, but the orbital modulation is detected only below 0.5 keV. Simultaneous UV and optical photometry shows that the spin pulse is anti-phased with respect to the hard X-rays. Analysis of the EPIC and RGS spectra reveals
the complexity of the X-ray emission, which is composed of a soft 50 eV black–body component and two optically thin emission components at 0.2 keV and 11 keV strongly absorbed by dense material with an equivalent hydrogen column density of 1023 cm−2 that partially (50%) covers the X-ray source.
Results. The complex X-ray and UV/optical temporal behaviour indicates that accretion occurs predominantly (∼80%) via a disc with a partial contribution (∼20%) directly from the stream. The main accreting pole dominates at high energies whilst the secondary pole mainly contributes in the soft X-rays and at lower energies. The bolometric flux ratio of the soft-to-hard X-ray emissions is found to be consistent with the prediction of the standard accretion shock model. We find the white dwarf in UUCol accretes at a low rate and possesses a low magnetic moment. It is therefore unlikely that UUCol will evolve into a moderate field strength polar, so that the soft X-ray intermediate polars still remain an enigmatic small group of magnetic cataclysmic variables
Post common envelope binaries from the SDSS VI. SDSS J120615.73+510047.0 : a new low accretion rate magnetic binary
We report the discovery of the ninth pre-polar consisting of a late-type ZAMS secondary and a magnetic white dwarf. The white dwarf accretes at an extreme low rate, \dot{M} \sim 10^ yr-1, from the wind of the companion donor star. The source was found in our systematic search for WD/MS binaries within SDSS/SEGUE. Based on seven Sloan spectra we estimate a binary period of ~200, 230, or 270 min. The UV to IR spectral energy distribution was decomposed into a dM3-dM4 ZAMS secondary and a cool white dwarf, ~9000 K, which consistently imply a distance between 360 and 420 pc. The optical spectrum displays one pronounced cyclotron hump, likely originating from a low-temperature plasma, ~1 keV, in a field of 108 MG. We comment on the evolutionary link between polars and pre-polars
Silicon Mie Resonators for Highly Directional Light Emission from monolayer MoS2
Controlling light emission from quantum emitters has important applications
ranging from solid-state lighting and displays to nanoscale single-photon
sources. Optical antennas have emerged as promising tools to achieve such
control right at the location of the emitter, without the need for bulky,
external optics. Semiconductor nanoantennas are particularly practical for this
purpose because simple geometries, such as wires and spheres, support multiple,
degenerate optical resonances. Here, we start by modifying Mie scattering
theory developed for plane wave illumination to describe scattering of dipole
emission. We then use this theory and experiments to demonstrate several
pathways to achieve control over the directionality, polarization state, and
spectral emission that rely on a coherent coupling of an emitting dipole to
optical resonances of a Si nanowire. A forward-to-backward ratio of 20 was
demonstrated for the electric dipole emission at 680 nm from a monolayer MoS2
by optically coupling it to a Si nanowire
Dual-channel spontaneous emission of quantum dots in magnetic metamaterials
Metamaterials, artificial electromagnetic media realized by subwavelength nano-structuring, have become a paradigm for engineering electromagnetic space, allowing for independent control of both electric and magnetic responses of the material. Whereas mo
Can we identify non-stationary dynamics of trial-to-trial variability?"
Identifying sources of the apparent variability in non-stationary scenarios is a fundamental problem in many biological data analysis settings. For instance, neurophysiological responses to the same task often vary from each repetition of the same experiment (trial) to the next. The origin and functional role of this observed variability is one of the fundamental questions in neuroscience. The nature of such trial-to-trial dynamics however remains largely elusive to current data analysis approaches. A range of strategies have been proposed in modalities such as electro-encephalography but gaining a fundamental insight into latent sources of trial-to-trial variability in neural recordings is still a major challenge. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept study to the analysis of trial-to-trial variability dynamics founded on non-autonomous dynamical systems. At this initial stage, we evaluate the capacity of a simple statistic based on the behaviour of trajectories in classification settings, the trajectory coherence, in order to identify trial-to-trial dynamics. First, we derive the conditions leading to observable changes in datasets generated by a compact dynamical system (the Duffing equation). This canonical system plays the role of a ubiquitous model of non-stationary supervised classification problems. Second, we estimate the coherence of class-trajectories in empirically reconstructed space of system states. We show how this analysis can discern variations attributable to non-autonomous deterministic processes from stochastic fluctuations. The analyses are benchmarked using simulated and two different real datasets which have been shown to exhibit attractor dynamics. As an illustrative example, we focused on the analysis of the rat's frontal cortex ensemble dynamics during a decision-making task. Results suggest that, in line with recent hypotheses, rather than internal noise, it is the deterministic trend which most likely underlies the observed trial-to-trial variability. Thus, the empirical tool developed within this study potentially allows us to infer the source of variability in in-vivo neural recordings
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