A rapid,spatially dispersive frequency comb spectrograph aimed at gas phase chemical reaction kinetics

This New Views article will highlight some recent advances in high sensitivity gas detection using direct infrared absorption frequency comb laser spectroscopy, with a focus on frequency comb use in chemical reaction kinetics and our own contribution to this field. Our recently implemented detection technique uses a combination of a 12.9?GHz free spectral range virtually imaged phased array and diffraction grating to spatially disperse the mid-infrared frequency comb onto a camera. Individual frequencies or ‘comb teeth’ of a 250?MHz repetition-rate frequency comb are able to be resolved. High molecular sensitivity is achieved by increasing the interaction path length using a Herriott multipass cell. High spectral resolution, broadband spectral coverage, and high molecular sensitivity are all achieved on an adjustable 1–50 µs timescale, making this frequency comb apparatus ideal for measuring chemical reaction kinetics where multiple absorbing species can be monitored simultaneously. This New Views article will also discuss some of the challenges and decisions that chemists might face in implementing this advanced physics technology in their own laboratory.

Spatially dispersed 250 MHz mid-infrared frequency comb laser, with absorption of some frequencies by a dilute sample of methane.     

Capturing the experimental behaviour of a point-absorber WEC by simplified numerical models

The paper presents a wave basin experiment of a direct-driven point-absorber wave energy converter moving in six degrees of freedom. The goal of the work is to study the dynamics and energy absorption of the wave energy converter, and to verify under which conditions numerical models restricted to heave can capture the behaviour of a point-absorber moving in six degrees of freedom. Several regular and irregular long-crested waves and different damping values of the power take-off system have been tested. We collected data in terms of power output, device motion in six degrees of freedom and wave elevation at different points of the wave basin. A single-body numerical model in the frequency domain and a two-body model in the time domain are used in the study. Motion instabilities due to parametric resonance observed during the experiments are discussed and analysis of the buoy motion in terms of the Mathieu instability is also presented. Our results show that the simplified models can reproduce the body dynamics of the studied converter as long as the transverse non-linear instabilities are not excited, which typically is the case in irregular waves. The performance of the more complex time domain model is able to reproduce both the buoy and PTO dynamics, while the simpler frequency domain model can only reproduce the PTO dynamics for specific cases. Finally, we show that the two-body dynamics of the studied wave energy converter affects the power absorption significantly, and that common assumptions in the numerical models, such as stiff mooring line or that the float moves only in heave, may lead to incorrect predictions for certain sea states.     

考虑制动力影响的大型客车舒适性分析

利用有限元法和动力平衡原理,建立了具有层间接触的沥青路面和13个自由度的大型客车人体三维模型。以不平顺作为激励,随机模拟车流分布,在不同制动情况下,从时域和频域两方面分析人-车-路耦合振动下车辆和人体的动力响应。时域分析采用客观评价标准和主观烦恼率相结合的方法,频域分析考虑人体共振、人的心理和生理因素。结果表明:随着制动力增大,人体的竖向加速度幅值不变,俯仰、侧倾加速度幅值都增大,但是俯仰加速度增幅远大于侧倾加速度的情况,人的舒适性变差,烦恼率增高;在紧急制动时,主频段对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响很小,但是次主频段与人体某些器官固有频段重合,对人体共振、心理和生理产生的影响是不容忽视的。     

Effect of mechanical force on domain switching in BiFeO_3 ultrathin films

Ferroelectric polarization can be switched by an external applied electric field and may also be reversed by a mechanical force via flexoelectricity from the strain gradient.In this study,we report the mechanical writing of an epitaxial BiFeO3(BFO)thin film and the combined action of an applied mechanical force and electric field on domain switching,where the mechanical force and electric field are applied using the tip of atomic force microscopy.When the applied force exceeds the threshold value,the upward polarization of the BFO thin film can be reversed by pure mechanical force via flexoelectricity;when an electric field is simultaneously applied,the mechanical force can reduce the coercive electric field because both the piezoelectricity from the homogeneous strain and the flexoelectricity from strain gradient contribute to the internal electric field in the film.The mechanically switched domains exhibit a slightly lower surface potential when compared with that exhibited by the electrically switched domains due to no charge injection in the mechanical method.Furthermore,both the mechanically and electrically switched domains exhibit a tunneling electroresistance in the BFO ferroelectric tunnel junction.     

The FDTD simulation for the performance of dispersive cloak devices

In this paper, we defined the scattering energy intensity based on the Poynting vector to quantitatively study the cloak effect of electromagnetic waves in the time domain. The influences of the effective working frequency bands of four kinds of electromagnetic cloak materials, incidence angle of electromagnetic waves and the number of approximately cloak layers on the cloak effect are studied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to use the time domain method to quantitatively study the effective working frequency band and the scattering energy intensity of cloak materials.     

Direct calculation of time varying Aharonov-Bohm effect

The Aharonov-Bohm effect (ABE) for steady magnetic fields is a well known phenomenon. However, if the current in the infinite solenoid that creates the magnetic field is time-dependent, that is in the presence of both magnetic and electric fields, there is no agreement whether the effect would be present. In this note, we try to investigate time varying ABE by a direct calculation in a set-up with a weak time dependent magnetic field. We find that the electric field arising out of the time-varying magnetic field in the path of the electrons does not enter the action integral but only changes the path of the electron from the source to the slits and then on to the detector. We find a frequency dependent AB phase shift. At low frequencies the result smoothly approaches the one for a constant field as the frequency tends towards zero. On the other hand, for high frequencies such that the AB-phase induced in the path of the wave packet oscillates rapidly, the net effect will be very small which is borne out by our results.     

On the limit Sobolev regularity for Dirichlet and Neumann problems on Lipschitz domains

We construct a bounded C¹ domain Ω in for which the regularity for the Dirichlet and Neumann problems for the Laplacian cannot be improved, that is, there exists f in such that the solution of in Ω and either on or on is contained in but not in for any . An analogous result holds for Sobolev spaces with .