Fast autotuning of a hydrogen maser by cavity Q modulation

A new fast autotuner for the hydrogen maser was implemented. By modulating the cavity, a phase shift in the maser output signal is induced which is proportional to the cavity tuning error. The phase shift is detected and fed back to a varactor tuner to stabilize the cavity against long-term drifts. Also, a PIN-diode cavity modulator which gives no incidental frequency shift over a very wide range of operation was developed. Modulated at over 200 Hz, it allows variations in maser cavity frequency to be compensated with a loop gain greater than 1000. Compensation of incidental amplitude modulation of the output was demonstrated

Operational parameters for the superconducting cavity maser

Tests of the superconducting cavity maser (SCM) ultra-stable frequency source have been made for the first time using a hydrogen maser for a frequency reference. In addition to characterizing the frequency stability, the sensitivity of the output frequency to several crucial parameters was determined for various operating conditions. Based on this determination, the refrigeration and thermal control systems of the SCM were modified. Subsequent tests showed substantially improved performance, especially at the longest averaging times

Versatile compact atomic source for high resolution dual atom interferometry

We present a compact $^{87}$Rb atomic source for high precision dual atom interferometers. The source is based on a double-stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) design, consisting of a 2-dimensional (2D)-MOT for efficient loading of a 3D-MOT. The accumulated atoms are precisely launched in a horizontal moving molasses. Our setup generates a high atomic flux ($>10^{10}$ atoms/s) with precise and flexibly tunable atomic trajectories as required for high resolution Sagnac atom interferometry. We characterize the performance of the source with respect to the relevant parameters of the launched atoms, i.e. temperature, absolute velocity and pointing, by utilizing time-of-flight techniques and velocity selective Raman transitions.Comment: uses revtex4, 9 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Hot new directions for quasi-Monte Carlo research in step with applications

This article provides an overview of some interfaces between the theory of quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods and applications. We summarize three QMC theoretical settings: first order QMC methods in the unit cube $[0,1]^s$ and in $\mathbb{R}^s$, and higher order QMC methods in the unit cube. One important feature is that their error bounds can be independent of the dimension $s$ under appropriate conditions on the function spaces. Another important feature is that good parameters for these QMC methods can be obtained by fast efficient algorithms even when $s$ is large. We outline three different applications and explain how they can tap into the different QMC theory. We also discuss three cost saving strategies that can be combined with QMC in these applications. Many of these recent QMC theory and methods are developed not in isolation, but in close connection with applications

Quasi-Monte Carlo sparse grid Galerkin finite element methods for linear elasticity equations with uncertainties

We explore a linear inhomogeneous elasticity equation with random Lam\'e parameters. The latter are parameterized by a countably infinite number of terms in separated expansions. The main aim of this work is to estimate expected values (considered as an infinite dimensional integral on the parametric space corresponding to the random coefficients) of linear functionals acting on the solution of the elasticity equation. To achieve this, the expansions of the random parameters are truncated, a high-order quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) is combined with a sparse grid approach to approximate the high dimensional integral, and a Galerkin finite element method (FEM) is introduced to approximate the solution of the elasticity equation over the physical domain. The error estimates from (1) truncating the infinite expansion, (2) the Galerkin FEM, and (3) the QMC sparse grid quadrature rule are all studied. For this purpose, we show certain required regularity properties of the continuous solution with respect to both the parametric and physical variables. To achieve our theoretical regularity and convergence results, some reasonable assumptions on the expansions of the random coefficients are imposed. Finally, some numerical results are delivered

A Study of the Water Cherenkov Calorimeter

The novel idea of water Cherenkov calorimeter made of water tanks as the next generation neutrino detector for nu factories and nu beams is investigated. A water tank prototype with a dimension of 1*1*13m^3 is constructed, its performance is studied and compared with a GEANT4 based Monte Carlo simulation. By using measured parameters of the water tank, including the light collection efficiency, attenuation length, angular dependent response etc, a detailed Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the detector performance is excellent for identifying neutrino charged current events while rejecting neutral current and wrong-flavor backgrounds.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to NI

Sympathetic Cooling of Mixed Species Two-Ion Crystals for Precision Spectroscopy

Sympathetic cooling of trapped ions has become an indispensable tool for quantum information processing and precision spectroscopy. In the simplest situation a single Doppler-cooled ion sympathetically cools another ion which typically has a different mass. We analytically investigate the effect of the mass ratio of such an ion crystal on the achievable temperature limit in the presence of external heating. As an example, we show that cooling of a single Al+ with Be+, Mg+ and Ca+ ions provides similar results for heating rates typically observed in ion traps, whereas cooling ions with a larger mass perform worse. Furthermore, we present numerical simulation results of the rethermalisation dynamics after a background gas collision for the Al+/Ca+ crystal for different cooling laser configurations.Comment: Made Graphics black & white print compatible, clarified abstract and summar

Cosmological implications of a light dilaton

Supersymmetric Peccei-Quinn symmetry and string theory predict a complex scalar field comprising a dilaton and an axion. These fields are massless at high energies, but it is known since long that the axion is stabilized in an instanton dominated vacuum. Instantons and axions together also provide a mechanism to stabilize a dilaton, thus accounting for a dilaton as a possible cold dark matter component accompanying the axion. We briefly review the prospects of this scenario and point out further implications.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages incl. 1 figure, reference adde