Observation of amplified phase-conjugate reflection and optical parametric oscillation by degenerate four-wave mixing in a transparent medium

We report on the observation of amplified reflection and optical parametric oscillation via degenerate four-wave mixing in a nonresonant medium. The process is mediated through the third-order nonlinear susceptibility in a transparent liquid medium, CS2. A collinear mixing geometry is utilized to obtain long interaction lengths and polarization discrimination is used to separate the pump and signal fields

Compensation for channel dispersion by nonlinear optical phase conjugation

It is proposed that the process of nonlinear optical phase conjugation can be utilized to compensate for channel dispersion and hence to correct for temporal pulse broadening. Specifically, a four-wave nonlinear interaction is shown to achieve pulse renarrowing. Spectral bandwidth constraints of the input pulse are presented for typical phase-conjugate interaction parameters

Spatial convolution and correlation of optical fields via degenerate four-wave mixing

A nonlinear optical technique is described that performs, essentially instantaneously, the functions of spatial correlation and convolution of spatially encoded waves. These real-time operations are accomplished by mixing spatially dependent optical fields in the Fourier-transform plane of a lens system. The use of a degenerate four-wave mixing scheme eliminates (in the Fresnel approximation) phase-matching restrictions and (optical) frequency-scaling factors. Spatial bandwidth-gain considerations and numerical examples, as well as applications to nonlinear microscopy, are presented

Image phase compensation and real-time holography by four-wave mixing in optical fibers

It is proposed that real-time holography can be performed inside multimode fibers (or optical waveguides) using four-wave optical mixing. Of particular interest is the generation of complex-conjugate replicas of input fields for image transmission and compensation of propagation distortion. A theoretical analysis and a numerical estimate are presented

Scaling gridded river networks for macroscale hydrology: Development, analysis, and control of error

A simple and robust river network scaling algorithm (NSA) is presented to rescale fine‐resolution networks to any coarser resolution. The algorithm was tested over the Danube River basin and the European continent. Coarse‐resolution networks, at 2.5, 5, 10, and 30 min resolutions, were derived from higher‐resolution gridded networks using NSA and geomorphometric attributes, such as river order, shape index, and width function. These parameters were calculated and compared at each resolution. Simple scaling relationships were found to predict decreasing river lengths with coarser‐resolution data. This relationship can be used to correct river length as a function of grid resolution. The length‐corrected width functions of the major river basins in Europe were compared at different resolutions to assess river network performance. The discretization error in representing basin area and river lengths at coarser resolutions were analyzed, and simple relationships were found to calculate the minimum number of grid cells needed to maintain the catchment area and length within a desired level of accuracy. This relationship among geomorphological characteristics, such as shape index and width function (derived from gridded networks at different resolutions), suggests that a minimum of 200–300 grid cells is necessary to maintain the geomorphological characteristics of the river networks with sufficient accuracy

Global system of rivers: Its role in organizing continental land mass and defining land‐to‐ocean linkages

The spatial organization of the Earth\u27s land mass is analyzed using a simulated topological network (STN‐30p) representing potential flow pathways across the entire nonglacierized surface of the globe at 30‐min (longitude × latitude) spatial resolution. We discuss a semiautomated procedure to develop this topology combining digital elevation models and manual network editing. STN‐30p was verified against several independent sources including map products and drainage basin statistics, although we found substantial inconsistency within the extant literature itself. A broad suite of diagnostics is offered that quantitatively describes individual grid cells, river segments, and complete drainage systems spanning orders 1 through 6 based on the Strahler classification scheme. Continental and global‐scale summaries of key STN‐30p attributes are given. Summaries are also presented which distinguish basins that potentially deliver discharge to an ocean (exorheic) from those that potentially empty into an internal receiving body (endorheic). A total of 59,122 individual grid cells constitutes the global nonglacierized land mass. At 30‐min spatial resolution, the cells are organized into 33,251 distinct river segments which define 6152 drainage basins. A global total of 133.1 × 106 km2 bear STN‐SOp flow paths with a total length of 3.24 × 106 km. The organization of river networks has an important role in linking land mass to ocean. From a continental perspective, low‐order river segments (orders 1‐3) drain the largest fraction of land (90%) and thus constitute a primary source area for runoff and constituents. From an oceanic perspective, however, the small number (n=101) of large drainage systems (orders 4‐6) predominates; draining 65% of global land area and subsuming a large fraction of the otherwise spatially remote low‐order rivers. Along river corridors, only 10% of land mass is within 100 km of a coastline, 25% is within 250 km, and 50% is within 750 km. The global mean distance to river mouth is 1050 km with individual continental values from 460 to 1340 km. The Mediterranean/Black Sea and Arctic Ocean are the most land‐dominated of all oceans with land:ocean area ratios of 4.4 and 1.2, respectively; remaining oceans show ratios from 0.55 to 0.13. We discuss limitations of the STN‐30p together with its potential role in future global change studies. STN‐30p is geographically linked to several hundred river discharge and chemistry monitoring stations to provide a framework for calibrating and validating macroscale hydrology and biogeochemical flux models

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the modes of optical resonators with phase-conjugate mirrors

We present an analysis of resonator properties for a cavity bounded by a phase conjugate mirror, which is generated by a degenerate four-wave nonlinear optical interaction. Using a ray matrix formalism to describe the conjugate mirror, resonator stability conditions are derived. Longitudinal and transverse mode characteristics are discussed. Results are compared with an experiment where laser oscillation was observed at 6943 Å using carbon disulfide as the nonlinear interacting medium comprising the phase conjugate mirror

Entanglement Generation of Clifford Quantum Cellular Automata

Clifford quantum cellular automata (CQCAs) are a special kind of quantum cellular automata (QCAs) that incorporate Clifford group operations for the time evolution. Despite being classically simulable, they can be used as basic building blocks for universal quantum computation. This is due to the connection to translation-invariant stabilizer states and their entanglement properties. We will give a self-contained introduction to CQCAs and investigate the generation of entanglement under CQCA action. Furthermore, we will discuss finite configurations and applications of CQCAs.Comment: to appear in the "DPG spring meeting 2009" special issue of Applied Physics

An Algorithmic Study of Manufacturing Paperclips and Other Folded Structures

We study algorithmic aspects of bending wires and sheet metal into a specified structure. Problems of this type are closely related to the question of deciding whether a simple non-self-intersecting wire structure (a carpenter's ruler) can be straightened, a problem that was open for several years and has only recently been solved in the affirmative. If we impose some of the constraints that are imposed by the manufacturing process, we obtain quite different results. In particular, we study the variant of the carpenter's ruler problem in which there is a restriction that only one joint can be modified at a time. For a linkage that does not self-intersect or self-touch, the recent results of Connelly et al. and Streinu imply that it can always be straightened, modifying one joint at a time. However, we show that for a linkage with even a single vertex degeneracy, it becomes NP-hard to decide if it can be straightened while altering only one joint at a time. If we add the restriction that each joint can be altered at most once, we show that the problem is NP-complete even without vertex degeneracies. In the special case, arising in wire forming manufacturing, that each joint can be altered at most once, and must be done sequentially from one or both ends of the linkage, we give an efficient algorithm to determine if a linkage can be straightened.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, Latex, to appear in Computational Geometry - Theory and Application

Crystal balls into the future: are global circulation and water balance models ready?

Abstract. Variabilities and changes due to natural and anthropogenic causes in the water cycle always presented a challenge for water management planning. Practitioners traditionally coped with variabilities in the hydrological processes by assuming stationarity in the probability distributions and attempted to address non-stationarity by revising this probabilistic properties via continued hydro-climatological observations. Recently, this practice was questioned and more reliance on Global Circulation Models was put forward as an alternative for water management plannig. This paper takes a brief assessment of the state of Global Circulation Models (GCM) and their applications by presenting case studies over Global, European and African domains accompanied by literature examples. Our paper demonstrates core deficiencies in GCM based water resources assessments and articulates the need for improved Earth system monitoring that is essential not only for water managers, but to aid the improvements of GCMs in the future