Cold atoms near superconductors: Atomic spin coherence beyond the Johnson noise limit

We report on the measurement of atomic spin coherence near the surface of a superconducting niobium wire. As compared to normal conducting metal surfaces, the atomic spin coherence is maintained for time periods beyond the Johnson noise limit. The result provides experimental evidence that magnetic near field noise near the superconductor is strongly suppressed. Such long atomic spin coherence times near superconductors open the way towards the development of coherently coupled cold atom / solid state hybrid quantum systems with potential applications in quantum information processing and precision force sensing.Comment: Major revisions of the text for submission to New Journal of Physics 8 pages, 4 figure

Bovine Sperm Sexing Alters Sperm Morphokinetics and Subsequent Early Embryonic Development

In artificial insemination the use of sex-sorted bovine sperm results in reduced conception, the causes of which are only partly understood. Therefore, we set out to investigate the effects of sexing on bovine sperm function and early embryonic development. Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) of sperm of the same bulls (n = 5), before and after sexing, demonstrated significantly reduced fast (A) and slow (B) progressively motile sperm (p [less than] 0.05) after sexing. Sexed-sperm also revealed significantly less hyperactivated sperm (p [less than] 0.05). As shown by time-lapse videomicroscopy of in vitro produced embryos (n = 360), embryos derived from sexed-sperm displayed significantly increased incidences of arrest at the 4-cell stage (p [less than] 0.05). The relative risk for shrinkage/fusion of blastomeres with subsequent lysis was 1.71 times higher in the embryos derived from sexed-sperm as compared to conventional embryos (p [less than] 0.05) resulting in significantly reduced blastocyst rates (p [less than] 0.001). The relative risk for cleavage was 2.36 times lower in the embryos derived from sex-sorted sperm (p [less than] 0.001). Additionally, sexed-sperm-derived embryos showed reduced survival times (hazard ratio HR = 1.54, p [less than] 0.001) which were bull dependent (p [less than] 0.001). However, the percentage of apoptotic cells was similar to conventional embryos. Furthermore, embryos derived from sexed-sperm were found to reach developmental stages at similar timings as conventional embryos. Our results suggest that reduced conception rates after sexing are due to altered sperm morphokinetics, decreasing the chance of sperm to reach and fertilise the oocyte, and aberrant early embryonic development

FROM MULTIPLE POLYGONS TO SINGLE GEOMETRY: OPTIMIZATION OF POLYGON INTEGRATION FOR CROWDSOURCED DATA

Paid crowdsourcing is a popular approach for creating training data in machine learning, but output quality can suffer from various drawbacks, such as noisy data. One solution is to obtain multiple acquisitions of the same dataset and perform integration steps, which can be challenging for geometries such as polygons. In this paper, we propose a raster-based polygon integration approach for the use of crowdsourced data, providing a solution for integrating multiple geometric shapes into single geometries. We analyze the effects of the choice of the integration threshold parameter for different sample sizes on the quality measures intersection over union (IoU) and Hausdorff distance, and provide a recommendation for its optimal selection based on empirical analysis. Additionally, further possibilities to improve integration results are explored, i.e., methods of filtering data before integration by outlier detection

Trapping of ultra-cold atoms with the magnetic field of vortices in a thin film superconducting micro-structure

We store and control ultra-cold atoms in a new type of trap using magnetic fields of vortices in a high temperature superconducting micro-structure. This is the first time ultra-cold atoms have been trapped in the field of magnetic flux quanta. We generate the attractive trapping potential for the atoms by combining the magnetic field of a superconductor in the remanent state with external homogeneous magnetic fields. We show the control of crucial atom trap characteristics such as an efficient intrinsic loading mechanism, spatial positioning of the trapped atoms and the vortex density in the superconductor. The measured trap characteristics are in good agreement with our numerical simulations.Comment: 4pages, comments are welcom

Direct neutron capture of 48Ca at kT = 52 keV

The neutron capture cross section of 48Ca was measured relative to the known gold cross section at kT = 52 keV using the fast cyclic activation technique. The experiment was performed at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator, Universitaet Tuebingen. The new experimental result is in good agreement with a calculation using the direct capture model. The 1/v behaviour of the capture cross section at thermonuclear energies is confirmed, and the adopted reaction rate which is based on several previous experimental investigations remains unchanged.Comment: 9 pages (uses Revtex), 2 postscript figures, accepted for publication as Brief Report in Phys. Rev.

Comparison of low--energy resonances in 15N(alpha,gamma)19F and 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne and related uncertainties

A disagreement between two determinations of Gamma_alpha of the astro- physically relevant level at E_x=4.378 MeV in 19F has been stated in two recent papers by Wilmes et al. and de Oliveira et al. In this work the uncertainties of both papers are discussed in detail, and we adopt the value Gamma_alpha=(1.5^{+1.5}_{-0.8})10^-9eV for the 4.378 MeV state. In addition, the validity and the uncertainties of the usual approximations for mirror nuclei Gamma_gamma(19F) approx Gamma_gamma(19Ne), theta^2_alpha(19F) approx theta^2_alpha(19Ne) are discussed, together with the resulting uncertainties on the resonance strengths in 19Ne and on the 15O(alpha,gamma)19Ne rate.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, To appear in Phys. Rev.

Expert Elicitation on Wind Farm Control

Wind farm control is an active and growing field of research in which the control actions of individual turbines in a farm are coordinated, accounting for inter-turbine aerodynamic interaction, to improve the overall performance of the wind farm and to reduce costs. The primary objectives of wind farm control include increasing power production, reducing turbine loads, and providing electricity grid support services. Additional objectives include improving reliability or reducing external impacts to the environment and communities. In 2019, a European research project (FarmConners) was started with the main goal of providing an overview of the state-of-the-art in wind farm control, identifying consensus of research findings, data sets, and best practices, providing a summary of the main research challenges, and establishing a roadmap on how to address these challenges. Complementary to the FarmConners project, an IEA Wind Topical Expert Meeting (TEM) and two rounds of surveys among experts were performed. From these events we can clearly identify an interest in more public validation campaigns. Additionally, a deeper understanding of the mechanical loads and the uncertainties concerning the effectiveness of wind farm control are considered two major research gaps

Halogen Oxidation Reactions of (C5Ph5)Cr(CO)3 and Lewis Base Addition To [(C5Ph5)Cr(μ-X)X]2: Electrochemical, Magnetic, and Raman Spectroscopic Characterization of [(C5Ph5)CrX2]2 and (C5Ph5)CrX2(THF) (X = Cl, Br, I). X-ray Crystal Structure of [(C5Ph5)Cr(μ-Cl)Cl]2

The 17-electron complex (C5Ph5)Cr(CO)3 reacts with halogens (C6H5I•Cl2, Br2, and I2) in C6H6 to yield the dimeric oxidation products [(C5Ph5)Cr(m-X)X]2 as thermally stable solids. Reactions with other chlorinating agents similarly yield [(C5Ph5)CrCl2]2. An X-ray crystal structure of [(C5Ph5)Cr(m-Cl)Cl]2 was obtained. The magnetic properties of the Cl2 bridged dimer have been determined and modeled using the usual isotropic hamiltonian which yields J/k = –30 K. Low-temperature (77 K) Raman spectra of solid [(C5Ph5)CrX2]2 (X = Cl, I) allow assignments to be made for the metal-ring and metal halogen stretching modes in the low frequency region (\u3c 600 cm-1). Tetrahydrofuran (THF) cleaves these dimers to yield complexes of the form (C5Ph5)CrX2(THF)