73 research outputs found
Birefringence of interferential mirrors at normal incidence Experimental and computational study
In this paper we present a review of the existing data on interferential
mirror birefringence. We also report new measurements of two sets of mirrors
that confirm that mirror phase retardation per reflection decreases when mirror
reflectivity increases. We finally developed a computational code to calculate
the expected phase retardation per reflection as a function of the total number
of layers constituting the mirror. Different cases have been studied and we
have compared computational results with the trend of the experimental data.
Our study indicates that the origin of the mirror intrinsic birefringence can
be ascribed to the reflecting layers close to the substrate.Comment: To be published in Applied Physics
Experimental determination of the 6s^2 ^1S_0 -> 5d6s ^3 D_1 magnetic-dipole transition amplitude in atomic ytterbium
We report on a measurement of the highly forbidden 6s^2 ^1S_0 \to 5d6s ^3
D_1 magnetic-dipole transition in atomic ytterbium using the
Stark-interference technique. This amplitude is important in interpreting a
future parity nonconservation experiment that exploits the same transition. We
find , where the larger uncertainty comes from the previously
measured vector transition polarizability . The amplitude is small
and should not limit the precision of the parity nonconservation experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures Paper resubmitted with minor corrections and
additions based on comments from referee
Equilibrium and nonequilibrium fluctuations at the interface between two fluid phases
We have performed small-angle light-scattering measurements of the static
structure factor of a critical binary mixture undergoing diffusive partial
remixing. An uncommon scattering geometry integrates the structure factor over
the sample thickness, allowing different regions of the concentration profile
to be probed simultaneously. Our experiment shows the existence of interface
capillary waves throughout the macroscopic evolution to an equilibrium
interface, and allows to derive the time evolution of surface tension.
Interfacial properties are shown to attain their equilibrium values quickly
compared to the system's macroscopic equilibration time.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Calculation of the ultracold neutron upscattering loss probability in fluid walled storage bottles using experimental measurements of the thermomechanical properties of Fomblin
We present experimental measurements of the properties of a liquid "Fomblin"
surface obtained by the quasielastic scattering of laser light. The properties
include the surface tension and viscosity as a function of temperature. The
results are compared to the measurements of the bulk fluid properties.
We then calculate the upscattering rate of ultracold neutrons (UCN) from
thermally excited surface capillary waves on the liquid surface and compare the
results to experimental measurements of the UCN lifetime in Fomblin
fluid-walled UCN storage bottles, and show that the excess loss rate for UCN
energies near the Fomblin potential can be explained. The rapid temperature
dependence of the Fomblin storage lifetime is explained by our analysis.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures; 2nd version corrects several error
The anapole moment and nucleon weak interactions
From the recent measurement of parity nonconservation (PNC) in the Cs atom we
have extracted the constant of the nuclear spin dependent electron-nucleon PNC
interaction, ; the anapole moment constant, ; the strength of the PNC proton-nucleus potential, ; the -meson-nucleon interaction constant,
; and the strength of the neutron-nucleus potential, .Comment: Uses RevTex, 12 pages. We have added an explanation of the effect of
finite nuclear siz
Search for anisotropic effects of hcp solid helium on optical lines of cesium impurities
The anisotropic effect of a hcp 4He solid matrix on cesium atoms has been
proposed as a tool to reveal the parity violating anapole moment of its
nucleus. It should also result in splitting the D2 optical excitation line in a
way depending on the light polarization. An experimental investigation has been
set up using oriented hcp helium crystals in which cesium metal grains are
embedded. Atoms are created by laser sputtering from this grains. Optical
absorption spectra of the D2 line have been recorded in the temperature range
of 1.0 to 1.4 K at liquid/solid coexistence pressure by monitoring the
fluorescence on the D2 line at 950 nm. No significant effect of the light
polarization has been found, suggesting a statistically isotropic disordered
solid environment for the cesium atoms.Comment: The original publication will be available at
http://www.springerlink.co
Reevaluation of the role of nuclear uncertainties in experiments on atomic parity violation with isotopic chains
In light of new data on neutron distributions from experiments with
antiprotonic atoms [ Trzcinska {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 082501
(2001)], we reexamine the role of nuclear-structure uncertainties in the
interpretation of measurements of parity violation in atoms using chains of
isotopes of the same element. With these new nuclear data, we find an
improvement in the sensitivity of isotopic chain measurements to ``new
physics'' beyond the standard model. We compare possible constraints on ``new
physics'' with the most accurate to date single-isotope probe of parity
violation in the Cs atom. We conclude that presently isotopic chain experiments
employing atoms with nuclear charges Z < 50 may result in more accurate tests
of the weak interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 1 fig., submitted to Phys. Rev.
Time-reversal violating rotation of polarization plane of light in gas placed in electric field
Rotation of polarization plane of light in gas placed in electric field is
considered. Different factors causing this phenomenon are investigated. Angle
of polarization plane rotation for transition 6S_{1/2} - 7S_{1/2} in cesium
(lambda=539 nm) is estimated. The possibility to observe this effect
experimentally is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, Late
Measurement of the 6s - 7p transition probabilities in atomic cesium and a revised value for the weak charge Q_W
We have measured the 6s - 7p_{1/2,3/2} transition probabilities in atomic
cesium using a direct absorption technique. We use our result plus other
previously measured transition rates to derive an accurate value of the vector
transition polarizability \beta and, consequently, re-evaluate the weak charge
Q_W. Our derived value Q_W=-72.65(49) agrees with the prediction of the
standard model to within one standard deviation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Tops and Writhing DNA
The torsional elasticity of semiflexible polymers like DNA is of biological
significance. A mathematical treatment of this problem was begun by Fuller
using the relation between link, twist and writhe, but progress has been
hindered by the non-local nature of the writhe. This stands in the way of an
analytic statistical mechanical treatment, which takes into account thermal
fluctuations, in computing the partition function. In this paper we use the
well known analogy with the dynamics of tops to show that when subjected to
stretch and twist, the polymer configurations which dominate the partition
function admit a local writhe formulation in the spirit of Fuller and thus
provide an underlying justification for the use of Fuller's "local writhe
expression" which leads to considerable mathematical simplification in solving
theoretical models of DNA and elucidating their predictions. Our result
facilitates comparison of the theoretical models with single molecule
micromanipulation experiments and computer simulations.Comment: 17 pages two figure
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