Ultrastable CO2 Laser Trapping of Lithium Fermions

We demonstrate an ultrastable CO2 laser trap that provides tight confinement of neutral atoms with negligible optical scattering and minimal laser-noise- induced heating. Using this method, fermionic 6Li atoms are stored in a 0.4 mK deep well with a 1/e trap lifetime of 300 sec, consistent with a background pressure of 10^(-11) Torr. To our knowledge, this is the longest storage time ever achieved with an all-optical trap, comparable to the best reported magnetic traps.Comment: 4 pages using REVTeX, 1 eps figur

Performance of a deterministic source of entangled photonic qubits

We study the possible limitations and sources of decoherence in the scheme for the deterministic generation of polarization-entangled photons, recently proposed by Gheri et al. [K. M. Gheri et al., Phys. Rev. A 58, R2627 (1998)], based on an appropriately driven single atom trapped within an optical cavity. We consider in particular the effects of laser intensity fluctuations, photon losses, and atomic motion.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Validation of a predictive method for an accurate assessment of resting energy expenditure in medical mechanically ventilated patients

Objective: Use comparison with indirect calorimetry to confirm the ability of our previously described equation to predict resting energy expenditure in mechanically ventilated patients.Design: Prospective, validation study. Setting: Eighteen-bed, medical intensive care unit at a teaching hospital. Patients: All adult patients intubated >24 hrs were assessed for eligibility. Exclusion criteria were clinical situations that could contribute to erroneous calorimetric measurements. Interventions: Resting energy expenditure was calculated using the original Harris-Benedict equations and those corrected for usual stress factors, the Swinamer equation, the Fusco equation, the Ireton-Jones equation, and our equation: resting energy expenditure (kcal/day) = 8 × weight (kg) + 14 × height (cm) + 32 × minute ventilation (L/min) + 94 × temperature (°C) − 4834. Measurements and Main Results: Resting energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry for the 45 included patients. Resting energy expenditure calculated with our predictive model correlated with the measured resting energy expenditure (r2 = .62, p < .0001), and Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean bias of −192 ± 277 kcal/day, with limits of agreement ranging from −735 to 351 kcal/day. Resting energy expenditure calculated with the Harris-Benedict equations was more weakly correlated with measured resting energy expenditure (r2 = .41, p < .0001), with Bland-Altman analysis showing a mean bias of 279 ± 346 kcal/day between them and the limits of agreement ranging from −399 to 957 kcal/day. Applying usual stress-correction factors to the Harris-Benedict equations generated wide variability, and the correlation with measured resting energy expenditure was poorer (r2 = .18, p < .0001), with Bland-Altman analysis showing a mean bias of −357 ± 750 kcal/day and limits of agreement ranging from −1827 to 1113 kcal/day. The use of the Swinamer, Fusco, or Ireton-Jones predictive methods yielded weaker correlation between calculated and measured resting energy expenditure (r2 = .41, p < .0001; r2 = .38, p < .0001; r2 = .39, p < .0001, respectively) than our equation, and Bland-Altman analysis showed no improvement in agreement and variability between methods. Conclusions: The Faisy equation, based on static (height), less stable (weight), and dynamic biometric variables (temperature and minute ventilation), provided precise and unbiased resting energy expenditure estimations in mechanically ventilated patients

Position-sensitive ion detection in precision Penning trap mass spectrometry

A commercial, position-sensitive ion detector was used for the first time for the time-of-flight ion-cyclotron resonance detection technique in Penning trap mass spectrometry. In this work, the characteristics of the detector and its implementation in a Penning trap mass spectrometer will be presented. In addition, simulations and experimental studies concerning the observation of ions ejected from a Penning trap are described. This will allow for a precise monitoring of the state of ion motion in the trap.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figure

Fast shower simulation in the ATLAS calorimeter

The time to simulate pp collisions in the ATLAS detector is largely dominated by the showering of electromagnetic particles in the heavy parts of the detector, especially the electromagnetic barrel and endcap calorimeters. Two procedures have been developed to accelerate the processing time of electromagnetic particles in these regions: (1) a fast shower parameterisation and (2) a frozen shower library. Both work by generating the response of the calorimeter to electrons and positrons with Geant 4, and then reintroduce the response into the simulation at runtime. In the fast shower parameterisation technique, a parameterisation is tuned to single electrons and used later by simulation. In the frozen shower technique, actual showers from low-energy particles are used in the simulation. Full Geant 4 simulation is used to develop showers down to ~1 GeV, at which point the shower is terminated by substituting a frozen shower. Judicious use of both techniques over the entire electromagnetic portion of the ATLAS calorimeter produces an important improvement of CPU time. We discuss the algorithms and their performance in this paper