Discrimination of fundamental frequency of synthesized vowel sounds in a noise background

An experiment was carried out, investigating the relationship between the just noticeable difference of fundamental frequency (jndfo) of three stationary synthesized vowel sounds in noise and the signal-to-noise ratio. To this end the S/N ratios were measured at which listeners could just discriminate a series of changes in fo in the range from 10% to 0.5%. Similar measurements were obtained for pulse trains and for pure tones as a reference for the results. A measure of S/N ratio based on an approximation of the critical bandwidth appeared to provide a fairly good predictor of the masked threshold of each signal, measured in a second experiment. Using this measure, it was found that a given change in the fundamental of a pulse train could be discriminated at a lower S/N ratio than in a pure tone with a frequency equal to that fundamental. The results for the vowel sounds were found to be in between those for a low-frequency pure tone and those for a pulse train. Owing to the signal-generation method (viz., changing fo by changing the sampling frequency), three cues could in principle be used to discriminate a change in the fundamental of a vowel: A change in the residue pitch, a change in the pitch of a single prominent harmonic, or a change in the spectral envelope of the signal. It can be inferred from the results that the subjects used that particular cue which yielded best performance. Which cue was optimal depended not only on the vowel but also on fo and on the presented change in fo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Test of Lorentz invariance in electrodynamics using rotating cryogenic sapphire microwave oscillators

We present the first results from a rotating Michelson-Morley experiment that uses two orthogonally orientated cryogenic sapphire resonator oscillators operating in whispering gallery modes near 10 GHz. The experiment is used to test for violations of Lorentz invariance in the framework of the photon sector of the standard model extension (SME), as well as the isotropy term of the Robertson-Mansouri-Sexl (RMS) framework. In the SME we set a new bound on the previously unmeasured kappa(ZZ)(e-) component of 2.1(5.7) x 10(-14), and set more stringent bounds by up to a factor of 7 on seven other components. In the RMS a more stringent bound of -0.9(2.0) x 10(-10) on the isotropy parameter, P(MM) = delta-beta + 1 / 2 is set, which is more than a factor of 7 improvement.     

Measurement of thermal lensing in a power amplifier of a terawatt Ti:sapphire laser

We have measured detailed thermal lensing in a power amplifier of a terawatt Ti:sapphire laser operating at 50 Hz. The thermal lensing in the amplifier was evaluated by measuring the optical path difference (OPD) using a Shack–Hartmann-type wavefront sensor. It was found that the radial dependence of the OPD was almost quadratic in the pumping region, despite inhomogeneous pumping. Therefore, a simple spherical lens or convex mirror effectively compensates for the thermal lens in our amplifier. We found that the thermal lens profile was temporally stable, and did not degrade the pointing stability of the amplified laser pulses. We also found that the time constant of the thermal distortion in our power amplifier was approximately 0.5 s. Received: 3 September 2001 / Revised version: 23 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Measurement of the noise spectrum using a multiple-pulse sequence

A method is proposed for obtaining the spectrum for noise that causes the phase decoherence of a qubit directly from experimentally available data. The method is based on a simple relationship between the spectrum and the coherence time of the qubit in the presence of a π pulse sequence. The relationship is found to hold for every system of a qubit interacting with the classical-noise, bosonic, and spin baths.     

Effect of noise on the detectability and fundamental frequency discrimination of complex tones

Percent correct performance for discrimination of the fundamental frequency (0) of a complex tone was measured as a function of the level of a background pink noise (using fixed values of the difference in F0, deltaF0) and compared with percent correct performance for detection of the complex tone in noise, again as a function of noise level. The tone included some low, resolvable components, but not the fundamental component. The results were used to test the hypothesis that the worsening in F0 discrimination with increasing noise level was caused by the reduced detectability of the tone rather than by reduced precision of the internal representation of F0. For small values of deltaF0, the hypothesis was rejected because measured performance fell below that predicted by the hypothesis. However, this was true only for high noise levels, within 2-4.5 dB of the level required for masked threshold. The results indicate that the mechanism for extracting the F0 of a complex tone with resolved harmonics is remarkably robust. They also indicate that adding a background noise to a complex tone containing resolved harmonics is not a good means for equating its pitch salience with that of a complex tone containing only unresolved harmonics.     

Logarithmic frequency scaling of semiconductor oscillations caused by a modified saddle-node bifurcation on a limit cycle

The oscillatory behavior of low-temperature impact ionization breakdown inp-type germanium is investigated experimentally. We explain the anomalous scaling behavior of a saddle-node bifurcation on a limit cycle in terms of a simple model approach. It represents the low-dimensional analog to a new type of intermittency proposed recently.     

Nondestructive probing of Rabi oscillations on the cesium clock transition near the standard quantum limit

We report on the nondestructive observation of Rabi oscillations on the Cs clock transition. The internal atomic state evolution of a dipole-trapped ensemble of cold atoms is inferred from the phase shift of a probe laser beam as measured using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. We describe a single color as well as a two-color probing scheme. Using the latter, measurements of the collective pseudospin projection of atoms in a superposition of the clock states are performed and the observed spin fluctuations are shown to be close to the standard quantum limit.     

Determination of the thermal noise limit in test of weak equivalence principle with a rotating torsion pendulum

Thermal noise is one of the most fundamental limits to the sensitivity in weak equivalence principle test with a rotating torsion pendulum. Velocity damping and internal damping are two of many contributions at the thermal noise, and which one mainly limits the torsion pendulum in low frequency is difficult to be verified by experiment. Based on the conventional method of fast Fourier transform, we propose a developed method to determine the thermal noise limit and then obtain the precise power spectrum density of the pendulum motion signal. The experiment result verifies that the thermal noise is mainly contributed by the internal damping in the fiber in the low frequency torsion pendulum experiment with a high vacuum. Quantitative data analysis shows that the basic noise level in the experiment is about one to two times of the theoretical value of internal damping thermal noise.     

Magnon squeezing in an antiferromagnet: reducing the spin noise below the standard quantum limit

We report the first experimental demonstration of quantum squeezing of a collective spin-wave excitation (magnon) using femtosecond optical pulses to generate correlations involving pairs of spins in an antiferromagnetic insulator MnF2. In the squeezed state, the fluctuations of the magnetization of a crystallographic unit cell vary periodically in time and are reduced below that of the ground-state quantum noise.     

Measurement of the thermal properties of liquid mixtures using a thermal wave interferometer

In this paper we discuss the use of an alternative photothermal technique for measurements of thermal properties of liquid mixtures. The proposed technique is based upon the concept of a thermal wave interferometer. The liquid sample is confined between two thin pyroelectric detectors. One of these detectors acts as a modulated light absorber while the other is used for sensing the temperature fluctuations transmitted through the liquid layer. It is demonstrated that the proposed experimental configuration allows us to fully characterize the thermal properties of the constituent liquids. Received: 19 February 2001 / Published online: 18 July 2001     

Measurement of beam-loaded resonant frequency and quality factor ina gyroklystron input cavity using noise emissions

The spectral shape of noise emissions from a 35-GHz gyroklystron input cavity is used to directly measure the cavity resonant frequency and quality factor under beam-loaded conditions. The quality factors obtained with this technique at a number of magnetic fields are found to be consistent with quality factors obtained from reflection coefficient measurements made at the identical operating points. The measured variation in quality factor is used to identify various regimes of operation based on input cavity coupling. Comparisons between the measurements and simulations are in good agreement in resonant frequency, but moderate discrepancies in quality factor exist     

Wide-band measurement of mechanical thermal noise using a laser interferometer

We have measured the displacement thermal noise of a mechanical cantilever, made of phosphor bronze, using a laser interferometer. The measured noise spectrum agrees well with an estimation based on the fluctuation–dissipation theorem with a mechanical-admittance measurement. The frequency range where we could measure the thermal noise was from 50  to 500 Hz; this range is important for the noise characterization of interferometric gravitational wave detectors.     

Measurement and characterization of the frequency noise of a laser-diode-pumped single-frequency Tm-Ho:YAG laser

The frequency noise characteristics of a single-frequency 2.1-m Tm-Ho:YAG laser have been thoroughly investigated. From the measurement of the frequency noise spectral density, performed by means of an interferometric technique, a short-term laser linewidth of 550 kHz over 1-ms time interval has been obtained. The frequency stability, defined as the two sample standard deviation of the frequency fluctuations with dead time T, has been also evaluated, obtaining values ranging from 250 kHz to 2.5 MHz for T values between 1 and 100 ms over an observation time of 100 ns. It has been shown through a numerical analysis that a significant improvement is achievable, attaining a frequency stability of 25 kHz for T up to 100 ms, by using the Pound–Drever locking technique in connection with a roto-vibrational line of the HBr molecule.     

Measurement of frequency noise spectra of frequency-stabilized LD-pumped Nd:YAG laser by using a cavity with separately suspended mirrors

We have developed a frequency stability system for a commercial LD-pumped Nd:YAG laser in a nonplanar ring oscillator geometry (MISER) which is used for our 20-m prototype gravitational wave detector. The frequency of the laser is locked to the rigid cavity resonance frequency, and the relative frequency noise is suppressed down to 3 × 10⁻⁴ Hz/Hz^1/2 the shot-noise limited level at below 1 kHz. We are successful in evaluating the frequency noise level more accurately by means of a separately suspended reirror type cavity (4-m mode-cleaner); the noise level is 2 × 10⁻² Hz/Hz^1/2. As compared to a frequency noise spectrum which is locked to separately suspended mirror type cavities, the frequency noise is lower at a frequency below 400 Hz.     

Measurement of cold neutron spectra using a model cryogenic moderator of the IBR-2M reactor

The method and results of an experiment to determine the cold neutron spectrum from solid mesitylene at moderator temperatures of 10–50 K are presented. This study was performed at the DIN-2PI spectrometer of the IBR-2 reactor. The objective of the study was to verify the system of constants used in the Monte Carlo simulation of cryogenic neutron moderators of the IBR-2M reactor and to obtain the cold neutron yield as a function of the moderator temperature. Satisfactory agreement between the experimental and calculated neutron spectra at a mesitylene temperature of 20 K has been obtained; the ratio of cold neutron intensities at 10 and 50 K is ∼1.8.     

Collective oscillations of a trapped fermi gas near the unitary limit

We calculate the oscillation frequencies of trapped Fermi condensate with particular emphasis on the equation of state of the interacting Fermi system. We confirm Stringari's finding that the frequencies are independent of the interaction in the unitary limit, and we extend the theory away from that limit, where the interaction does affect the frequencies of the compressional modes only.