Possible Verification of Tilted Anisotropic Dirac Cone in \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2 I_3 Using Interlayer Magnetoresistance

It is proposed that the presence of a tilted and anisotropic Dirac cone can be verified using the interlayer magnetoresistance in the layered Dirac fermion system, which is realized in quasi-two-dimensional organic compound \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2 I_3. Theoretical formula is derived using the analytic Landau level wave functions and assuming local tunneling of electrons. It is shown that the resistivity takes the maximum in the direction of the tilt if anisotropy of the Fermi velocity of the Dirac cone is small. The procedure is described to determine the parameters of the tilt and anisotropy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, corrected Fig.

Calibration System with Cryogenically-Cooled Loads for CMB Polarization Detectors

We present a novel system to calibrate millimeter-wave polarimeters for CMB polarization measurements. This technique is an extension of the conventional metal mirror rotation approach, however it employs cryogenically-cooled blackbody absorbers. The primary advantage of this system is that it can generate a slightly polarized signal ($\sim100$ mK) in the laboratory; this is at a similar level to that measured by ground-based CMB polarization experiments observing a $\sim$ 10 K sky. It is important to reproduce the observing condition in the laboratry for reliable characterization of polarimeters before deployment. In this paper, we present the design and principle of the system, and demonstrate its use with a coherent-type polarimeter used for an actual CMB polarization experiment. This technique can also be applied to incoherent-type polarimeters and it is very promising for the next-generation CMB polarization experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures Submitted to RS

Innovative Demodulation Scheme for Coherent Detectors in CMB Experiments

We propose an innovative demodulation scheme for coherent detectors used in cosmic microwave background polarization experiments. Removal of non-white noise, e.g., narrow-band noise, in detectors is one of the key requirements for the experiments. A combination of modulation and demodulation is used to extract polarization signals as well as to suppress such noise. Traditional demodulation, which is based on the two- point numerical differentiation, works as a first-order high pass filter for the noise. The proposed demodulation is based on the three-point numerical differentiation. It works as a second-order high pass filter. By using a real detector, we confirmed significant improvements of suppression power for the narrow-band noise. We also found improvement of the noise floor.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Sub-TeV proton beam generation by ultra-intense laser irradiation of foil-and-gas target

A two-phase proton acceleration scheme using an ultra-intense laser pulse irradiating a proton foil with a tenuous heavier-ion plasma behind it is presented. The foil electrons are compressed and pushed out as a thin dense layer by the radiation pressure and propagate in the plasma behind at near the light speed. The protons are in turn accelerated by the resulting space-charge field and also enter the backside plasma, but without the formation of a quasistationary double layer. The electron layer is rapidly weakened by the space-charge field. However, the laser pulse originally behind it now snowplows the backside-plasma electrons and creates an intense electrostatic wakefield. The latter can stably trap and accelerate the pre-accelerated proton layer there for a very long distance and thus to very high energies. The two-phase scheme is verified by particle-in-cell simulations and analytical modeling, which also suggests that a 0.54 TeV proton beam can be obtained with a 10(23) W/cm(2) laser pulse. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3684658]Physics, Fluids & PlasmasSCI(E)EI0ARTICLE2null1