Wavelength-independent all-optical synchronization of a Q-switched 100-ps microchip laser to a femtosecond laser reference source

We present a Q-switched microchip laser emitting 1064-nm pulses as short as 100 ps synchronized to a cavity dumped femtosecond laser emitting 800-nm pulses as short as 80 fs. The synchronization is achieved by presaturating the saturable absorber of the microchip laser with femtosecond pulses even though both lasers emit at widely separated wavelengths. The mean timing jitter is 40 ps and thus considerably shorter than the pulse duration of the microchip laser.     

Laser-based sensor for a coolant leak detection in a nuclear reactor

Currently, the nuclear industry needs strongly a reliable detection system to continuously monitor a coolant leak during a normal operation of reactors for the ensurance of nuclear safety. In this work, we propose a new device for the coolant leak detection based on tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) by using a compact diode laser. For the feasibility experiment, we established an experimental setup consisted of a near-IR diode laser with a wavelength of about 1392 nm, a home-made multi-pass cell and a sample injection system. The feasibility test was performed for the detection of the heavy water (D₂O) leaks which can happen in a pressurized heavy water reactor (PWHR). As a result, the device based on the TDLS is shown to be operated successfully in detecting a HDO molecule, which is generated from the leaked heavy water by an isotope exchange reaction between D₂O and H₂O. Additionally, it is suggested that the performance of the new device, such as sensitivity and stability, can be improved by adapting a cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy and a compact DFB diode laser. We presume that this laser-based leak detector has several advantages over the conventional techniques currently employed in the nuclear power plant, such as radiation monitoring, humidity monitoring and FT-IR spectroscopy.     

Representation of Quantum States as Points in a Probability Simplex Associated to a SIC-POVM

The quantum state of a d-dimensional system can be represented by a probability distribution over the d ² outcomes of a Symmetric Informationally Complete Positive Operator Valued Measure (SIC-POVM), and then this probability distribution can be represented by a vector of \mathbb R^d2-1\mathbb {R}^{d^{2}-1} in a (d ²−1)-dimensional simplex, we will call this set of vectors Q\mathcal{Q}. Other way of represent a d-dimensional system is by the corresponding Bloch vector also in \mathbb R^d2-1\mathbb {R}^{d^{2}-1}, we will call this set of vectors B\mathcal{B}. In this paper it is proved that with the adequate scaling B=Q\mathcal{B}=\mathcal{Q}. Also we indicate some features of the shape of Q\mathcal{Q}.     

Quantum Dynamics of a Harmonic Oscillator in a Deformed Bath

The dissipative quantum dynamics of a harmonic oscillator in the presence of a deformed bath is investigated. The deformed bath is modelled by a collection of deformed quantum harmonic oscillators as a generalization of Hopfield model. The transition probabilities between energy levels of the oscillator are obtained perturbatively and discussed.     

Boltzmann Limit for a Homogeneous Fermi Gas with Dynamical Hartree-Fock Interactions in a Random Medium

We study the dynamics of the thermal momentum distribution function for an interacting, homogeneous Fermi gas on ℤ³ in the presence of an external weak static random potential, where the pair interactions between the fermions are modeled in dynamical Hartree-Fock theory. We determine the Boltzmann limits associated to different scaling regimes defined by the size of the random potential, and the strength of the fermion interactions.     

Study of a Long Range Perturbation of a One-Dimensional Kac Model

We consider a one dimensional ferromagnetic Ising spin system with interactions that correspond to a 1/r ² long range perturbation of the usual Kac model. We apply a coarse graining procedure widely used for higher-dimensional finite range Kac potentials to describe the basic properties of the system and the relation with the mean field theory.     

Cosmological Spacetimes Balanced by a Weyl Geometric Scale Covariant Scalar Field

A Weyl geometric approach to cosmology is explored, with a scalar field φ of (scale) weight −1 as crucial ingredient besides classical matter. Its relation to Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory is analyzed; overlap and differences are discussed. The energy-stress tensor of the basic state of the scalar field consists of a vacuum-like term Λg _{μ ν} with Λ depending on the Weylian scale connection and, indirectly, on matter density. For a particularly simple class of Weyl geometric models (called Einstein-Weyl universes) the energy-stress tensor of the φ-field can keep space-time geometries in equilibrium. A short glance at observational data, in particular supernovae Ia (Riess et al. in Astrophys. J. 659:98ff, 2007), shows encouraging empirical properties of these models.     

Nucleon electromagnetic form factors in a quark–gluon core model

We study the nucleon electromagnetic form factors in a quark–gluon core model framework, which can be viewed as an extension of the Isgur–Karl model of baryons. Using this picture we derive nucleon electromagnetic dipole form factors at low Q ² and the deviation from the dipole form at high Q ², that are consistent with the existing experimental data.     

Classical and Non-relativistic Limits of a Lorentz-Invariant Bohmian Model for a System of Spinless Particles

A completely Lorentz-invariant Bohmian model has been proposed recently for the case of a system of non-interacting spinless particles, obeying Klein-Gordon equations. It is based on a multi-temporal formalism and on the idea of treating the squared norm of the wave function as a space-time probability density. The particle’s configurations evolve in space-time in terms of a parameter σ with dimensions of time. In this work this model is further analyzed and extended to the case of an interaction with an external electromagnetic field. The physical meaning of σ is explored. Two special situations are studied in depth: (1) the classical limit, where the Einsteinian Mechanics of Special Relativity is recovered and the parameter σ is shown to tend to the particle’s proper time; and (2) the non-relativistic limit, where it is obtained a model very similar to the usual non-relativistic Bohmian Mechanics but with the time of the frame of reference replaced by σ as the dynamical temporal parameter.     

On azimuthal anisotropy in fragmentation of a classical relativistic string

A fragmenting relativistic string is widely used for modeling particle production via quark–gluon strings formed in hadronic and nuclear inelastic interactions at high energies. In this note we focus on motion and fragmentation of a relativistic string with non-zero transverse separation of its ends and study this scenario as a possible mechanism for bringing anisotropy into the azimuthal angle distribution of produced particles in inelastic interactions of hadrons.     

Measurements of cavitation bubble dynamics based on a beam-deflection probe

We present an optodynamic measurement of a laser-induced cavitation bubble and its oscillations based on a scanning technique using a laser beam-deflection probe. The deflection of the beam was detected with a fast quadrant photodiode which was built into the optical probe. The applied experimental setup enabled us to carry out one- or two-dimensional scanning of the cavitation bubble, automatic control of the experiment, data acquisition and data processing. Shadow photography was used as a comparative method during the experiments.     

Annealed Lower Tails for the Energy of a Charged Polymer

We consider a randomly charged polymer. Each monomer carries a random charge, and only charges on the same site interact pairwise. We study the lower tails of the energy, when averaged over both randomness, in dimension three or more. As a corollary, we obtain the correct temperature-scale for the Gibbs measure.     

Fermi’s Golden Rule and Exponential Decay as a RG Fixed Point

We discuss the decay of unstable states into a quasicontinuum using Hamiltonian models. We show that exponential decay and the golden rule are exact in a suitable scaling limit, and that there is an associated renormalization group (RG) with these properties as a fixed point. The method is inspired by a limit theorem for infinitely divisible distributions in probability theory, where there is a RG with a Cauchy distribution, i.e. a Lorentz line shape, as a fixed point. Our method of solving for the spectrum is well known; it does not involve a perturbation expansion in the interaction, and needs no assumption of a weak interaction. Using random matrices for the interaction we show that the ensemble fluctuations vanish in the scaling limit. For non-random models we can use uniformity assumptions on the density of states and the interaction matrix elements to estimate the deviations from the decay rate defined by the golden rule.     

Radiation Laws of a Kerr Nonlinear Blackbody in a Moving Frame of Reference

A Kerr nonlinear blackbody (KNB) is a new kind of blackbody in which bare photons with opposite wave vectors and helicities are bound into pairs and unpaired photons are transformed into nonpolaritons. In the present paper, the radiation of a KNB is considered from the viewpoint of an observer in arbitrary uniform motion with respect to a rest frame of reference of the radiation. It is found that the radiation laws, which include the distribution of nonpolaritons and so forth, are modified due to the motion. Moreover, under a special condition, we notice that the only effect of the motion is to introduce an angle-dependent directional temperature, which replaces the rest-frame temperature of the cavity. Besides, we try to extend the model of a KNB to the whole Universe and apply the modified radiation laws to the question of 2.7 K cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR).     

Dynamical coupling between a Bose–Einstein condensate and a cavity optical lattice

A Bose–Einstein condensate is dispersively coupled to a single mode of an ultra-high finesse optical cavity. The system is governed by strong interactions between the atomic motion and the light field even at the level of single quanta. While coherently pumping the cavity mode the condensate is subject to the cavity optical lattice potential whose depth depends nonlinearly on the atomic density distribution. We observe optical bistability already below the single photon level and strong back-action dynamics which tunes the coupled system periodically out of resonance.     

Top-hat cw laser induced thermal mirror: a complete model for material characterization

A complete theoretical model is presented for the thermal mirror technique under top-hat laser excitation. Considering the attenuation of the top-hat excitation laser intensity along the thickness of a sample due to its optical absorption coefficient, we calculate the laser-induced temperature and surface deformation profiles. A simplified theoretical model for a high absorption sample is also developed. The center intensity of a probe beam reflected from the thermal mirror at a detector plane is derived. Numerical simulation shows that the thermal mirror under the top-hat laser excitation is as sensitive as that under Gaussian laser excitation. With top-hat laser excitation, the experimental results of thermo-physical properties of opaque samples are found to be well consistent with literature values, validating the theory.     

Dynamic pulsed-beam shaping using a TAG lens in the near UV

The ability to dynamically shape the spatial intensity profile of an incident laser beam enables new ways to modify and structure surfaces through pulsed laser processing. Here we describe a method to generate doughnut-shaped beams from an input Gaussian source using a tunable acoustic gradient index (TAG) lens. The TAG lens is capable of modulating between focused beams and annular rings of variable size, using sinusoidal driving frequencies. Laser micromachining is accomplished by synchronizing the TAG lens to a 355 nm pulsed nanosecond laser. Results in polyimide demonstrate the ability to generate adjacent surface features with different shapes and sizes.     

Measures on Classes of Subspaces Affiliated with a von Neumann Algebra

Let ℳ be a von Neumann algebra acting on a Hilbert space H and let S be a dense lineal in H that is affiliated with a von Neumann algebra ℳ. The “topological” definition of measures on the classes of orthoclosed and splitting subspaces of S affiliated with a von Neumann algebra ℳ is given and results on the relationships of these measures to measures on orthoprojections of the algebra ℳ are presented.     

Linear optimal control for tracking a single fluorescent particle in a confocal microscope

We study the problem of localizing and tracking in a confocal laser scanning microscope a single fluorescent particle diffusing in three dimensions. The position of the particle is estimated from a collection of intensity measurements using a novel analytical algorithm. This estimator is then combined with a tracking algorithm based on a linear quadratic Gaussian controller to steer the detection volume of the microscope and follow the molecule. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through numerical simulations. These results indicate that, in such a system, tracking in three dimensions of a particle moving with a diffusion constant larger than 1 μm²/s is possible without the need for additional sensors or lasers.     

Ultrashort-pulse laser irradiation of metal films: the effect of a double-peak laser pulse

The optical properties of blue-violet InGaN light-emitting diodes under normal and reversed polarizations are numerically studied. The best light-emitting performance under normal and reversed polarization is obtained in a single quantum-well structure and double quantum-well structure, respectively. The key factors responsible for these phenomena are presumably the carrier concentration distribution and the amount of carriers in quantum wells. The turn-on voltage of light-emitting diodes under reversed polarization is lower than that of light-emitting diodes under normal polarization, due mainly to lower potential heights for electrons and holes in the active region.