My Life in Nuclear Physics, Photography, and Opera

I sketch my life as an experimental nuclear physicist, beginning as a graduate student at Harvard University from 1948 to 1951, then as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory from 1951 to 1952, and finally as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota from 1952 until my retirement in 1991. I also carried out research at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Indiana University, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and I participated in a number of summer schools and international conferences on nuclear physics. I also have worked in photography and opera. Over the years, I met and collaborated with many people in many walks of life who became friends for life.     

Edward Gerjuoy: From Physics to Law and Back Again

Theoretical physicist Edward Gerjuoy discusses his family background, elementary and secondary education in Brooklyn, New York, undergraduate studies at City College, graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley, research during World War II, and subsequent career at the University of Southern California, New York University, the General Atomics Laboratory, the Radio Corporation of America, and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as his work as a lawyer and service as a judge on the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board in Pittsburgh.     

BaTiO3 thin-film waveguide modulator with a low voltage-length product at near-infrared wavelengths of 0.98 and 1.55 microm

A BaTiO3 thin-film electro-optic waveguide modulator with a low half-wave voltage-length product has been demonstrated at near-infrared wavelengths of 1-1.6 microm. Half-wave voltage-length products as small as 0.25 and 0.5 V cm were measured for a 5-mm-long device at wavelengths of 973 and 1561 nm, respectively. The effective electro-optic coefficients were calculated as 420 pm/V at 973 nm and 360 pm/V at 1561 nm. Further improvements in device performance by optimizing the ferroelectric domain structure are anticipated.     

Phase transition in ammonium aluminium and ammonium chromium alums— A high pressure EPR study

An investigation of the phase transitions at high pressures in the alums mentioned in the title has been carried out using EPR of the Cr³⁺ ion (at the trivalent metal ion site). It is observed that at ambient as well as at high pressures there is a change of slope in the linear variations of the zero field splitting with temperature and that the low temperature phase is characterised by a large number of lines in the EPR spectra. The transition temperature shows a large positive shift with pressure, for both the alums. All these facts are explained in terms of our model of the origin of the trigonal field at the trivalent metal ion site as well as the details of the motion of NH₄⁺ ion.     

Disassembly of an excited nuclear aggregate through sequential decay

The disassembly of an excited nuclear aggregate is described as a time-dependent decay process in which clusters are continuously and sequentially emitted by the primitive aggregate and those which have already been formed at a given time. The dynamics describe the rate at which the different species are generated as well as the rate at which the system de-excites and expands isotropically in space. The model is applied to the study of sequentially decaying⁴⁰Ar as a function of the initial excitation energy.     

Observation of thermal-induced optical guiding and bistability in a mid-IR continuous-wave, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We report the observation of thermal-induced optical guiding and bistability in a mid-IR cw, singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) at approximately 3.2 microm. The SRO employs a MgO:PPLN crystal as the gain medium and a 1-nm-linewidth Yb-fiber laser at 1.064 microm as the pump source. As soon as the pump power reaches the thermal guiding threshold at 16.5 W, the SRO shows a step increase in the parametric efficiency by a factor of 2.5. At 25 W pump power, the SRO generated 5.3 and 1.2 W at 1.58 and 3.23 microm, respectively, with single-longitudinal-mode performance for the 3.23 microm radiation.     

Crystalline Pr:SrAl12O19 waveguide laser in the visible spectral region

We fabricated waveguides in Pr:SrAl(12)O(19) crystals by direct femtosecond laser writing. The propagation losses were calculated to be as low as 0.16 dB/cm at a wavelength of 633 nm. Laser oscillation in a diode-pumped waveguide at a wavelength of 643.5 nm was realized. The output power of the waveguide laser was 28.1 mW at a slope efficiency of 8%.     

Oscillations at a difference frequency in the middle and far infrareds in GaP semiconductor waveguides

The feasibility of oscillation at a difference frequency in the middle and far infrareds is considered under the condition of phase matching between a nonlinear polarization wave and a difference mode produced by two fundamental modes with a wavelength near 1 μm excited in a GaP dielectric waveguide. With 10-W short-wave modes propagating in a 100-μm-wide planar waveguide, the power of the difference mode can be as high as 300 μW at 1–8 THz at room temperature. When the GaP waveguide leans upon a silicon substrate, the power of the difference mode may reach 5 mW at 10–14 THz at the same temperatures.     

Neutron diffraction and electrical transport studies on the incommensurate magnetic phase transition in holmium at high pressures

Neutron diffraction and electrical transport measurements have been made on the heavy rare earth metal holmium at high pressures and low temperatures in order to elucidate its transition from a paramagnetic (PM) to a helical antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordered phase as a function of pressure. The electrical resistance measurements show a change in the resistance slope as the temperature is lowered through the antiferromagnetic Néel temperature. The temperature of this antiferromagnetic transition decreases from approximately 122 K at ambient pressure at a rate of -4.9 K GPa(-1) up to a pressure of 9 GPa, whereupon the PM-to-AFM transition vanishes for higher pressures. Neutron diffraction measurements as a function of pressure at 89 and 110 K confirm the incommensurate nature of the phase transition associated with the antiferromagnetic ordering of the magnetic moments in a helical arrangement and that the ordering occurs at similar pressures as determined from the resistance results for these temperatures.     

Spin-polarized to valley-polarized transition in graphene bilayers at ν=0 in high magnetic fields

We investigate the transverse electric field (E) dependence of the ν=0 quantum Hall state (QHS) in dual-gated graphene bilayers in high magnetic fields. The longitudinal resistivity ρ(xx) measured at ν=0 shows an insulating behavior which is strongest in the vicinity of E=0, as well as at large E fields. At a fixed perpendicular magnetic field (B), the ν=0 QHS undergoes a transition as a function of the applied E, marked by a minimum, temperature-independent ρ(xx). This observation is explained by a transition from a spin-polarized ν=0 QHS at small E fields to a valley- (layer-)polarized ν=0 QHS at large E fields. The E field value at which the transition occurs follows a linear dependence on B.     

Evanescent-wave trapping and evaporative cooling of an atomic gas at the crossover to two dimensions

A dense gas of cesium atoms at the crossover to two dimensions is prepared in a highly anisotropic surface trap that is realized with two evanescent light waves. Temperatures as low as 100 nK are reached with 20,000 atoms at a phase-space density close to 0.1. The lowest quantum state in the tightly confined direction is populated by more than 60%. The system provides atoms at a mean distance from the surface as low as 1 microm, and offers intriguing prospects for future experiments on degenerate quantum gases in two dimensions.     

Forward- and simultaneous-masked thresholds in bandlimited maskers in subjects with normal hearing and cochlear hearing loss

Forward- and simultaneous-masked thresholds were measured at 0.5 and 2.0 kHz in bandpass maskers as a function of masker bandwidth and in a broadband masker with the goal of estimating psychophysical suppression. Suppression was operationally defined in two ways: (1) as a change in forward-masked threshold as a function of masker bandwidth, and (2) as a change in effective masker level with increased masker bandwidth, taking into account the nonlinear growth of forward masking. Subjects were younger adults with normal hearing and older adults with cochlear hearing loss. Thresholds decreased as a function of masker bandwidth in forward masking, which was attributed to effects of suppression; thresholds remained constant or increased slightly with increasing masker bandwidth in simultaneous masking. For subjects with normal hearing, slightly larger estimates of suppression were obtained at 2.0 kHz rather than at 0.5 kHz. For hearing-impaired subjects, suppression was reduced in regions of hearing loss. The magnitude of suppression was strongly correlated with the absolute threshold at the signal frequency, but did not vary with thresholds at frequencies remote from the signal. The results suggest that measuring forward-masked thresholds in bandlimited and broadband maskers may be an efficient psychophysical method for estimating suppression.     

GaN基p-i-n型雪崩探测器的制备与表征

制备和表征了p-i-n型的GaN基雪崩探测器.器件在-5V下的暗电流约为0.05 nA,-20 V下的暗电流小于0.5 nA.响应增益-偏压曲线显示,可重复的雪崩增益起始于80 V附近,在85 V左右增益达到最大为120,表明所制备的器件具有较好的质量.C-V测量用来确定载流子的分布和耗尽信息,结果显示,P型层在15 ...     

Glass transition and intermixing of amorphous water and methanol

The diffusion of molecules in amorphous water and methanol films has been investigated on the basis of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry as a function of temperature. The glass-liquid transition of the amorphous water film occurs at 130-145 K as confirmed from the surface segregation of embedded methanol molecules. The morphology of the pure amorphous water film changes drastically at 160 K as a consequence of dewetting induced by the surface tension and the strongly decreased viscosity of the film. The morphology of the amorphous methanol film changes at 115 K following the self-diffusion onset at 80 K. The binary films of water and heavy methanol are intermixed completely at 136 K as evidenced by the occurrence of the H/D exchange.     

Stability of small planar dust cluster in the presence of an external magnetic field

Oscillations and stability of planar symmetric dust clusters shaped as a regular polygon and a regular polygon with a particle at the center in the presence of an external uniform magnetic field are analyzed. The structure stability against small perturbations is considered. To this end, the equation of motion was linearized with respect to small coordinate variations. As a result, a dispersion relation (quartic algebraic equation) was derived and numerically studied for particular types of interactions between particles. A comparison of stability regions for a quadrangle and a triangle with a particle at the center, as well as a pentagon and a quadrangle with a particle at the center shows that there are ranges of parameters, where configurations without particle at the center are stable and configurations with a particle at the center are unstable, and vice versa.     

EuMo_6S_8的超导性、电荷密度波和磁性间的相互影响

我们已观察到在120K时Eu_(1.2)Mo_6S_8的热容量、电阻及霍尔系数的反常规象,并确定为一种马氏体结构的相变特征;这种马氏体结构相变产生于一种模糊的电荷密度波的转变,后者在部分费米面上造成能隙。 费米面出现部分能隙说明了在常压下直10mK不出现超导的原因。高压抑制了电荷密度波的转变。从费米面上状态的超导性和这种转变相互竞争出发,计算得到的超导转变温度对压力的依赖性,与实验结果非常一致。在低温时,临界场随温度的变化非常强烈,这种变化已用Jaccarino-Peter补偿效应进行了解释。在高压时与理论的预言比较,EuMo_6S_8的临界场非常高,至少与现有任何的超导体一样高。压力为14Kbar、温度低于2K时在10T到15T范围内已观察到低场下电阻态到超导态的转变,这就是称之为场诱导超导性的一种新效应。     

Lead Analysis in Soils and Sediments at the Saginaw Field and Stream Club

Samples from the Saginaw Field and Stream Club in Saginaw County, Michigan, were collected to determine whether lead levels at the club shooting ranges pose a threat to the environment. Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used to determine lead levels in soil and sediment samples digested for total lead as well as soluble lead. Lead was present at levels exceeding 10,000 mg/kg in some surface soil samples. In general, lead was pervasive at the site in both metallic and soluble forms. Each of the shooting ranges contains areas where lead occurs at concentrations significantly in excess of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality criteria and therefore poses a potential risk to the human users of the land as well as to the native wildlife.     

Underwater localization of pure tones by harbor seals (Phoca vitulina)

The underwater sound localization acuity of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) was measured in the horizontal plane. Minimum audible angles (MAAs) of pure tones were determined as a function of frequency from 0.2 to 16 kHz for two seals. Testing was conducted in a 10-m-diam underwater half circle using a right/left psychophysical procedure. The results indicate that for both harbor seals, MAAs were large at high frequencies (13.5 degrees and 17.4 degrees at 16 kHz), transitional at intermediate frequencies (9.6 degrees and 10.1 degrees at 4 kHz), and particularly small at low frequencies (3.2 degrees and 3.1 degrees at 0.2 kHz). Harbor seals seem to be able to utilize both binaural cues, interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural intensity differences (IIDs), but a significant decrease in the sound localization acuity with increasing frequency suggests that IID cues may not be as robust as ITD cues under water. These results suggest that the harbor seal can be regarded as a low-frequency specialist. Additionally, to obtain a MAA more representative of the species, the horizontal underwater MAA of six adult harbor seals was measured at 2 kHz under identical conditions. The MAAs of the six animals ranged from 8.8 degrees to 11.7 degrees , resulting in a mean MAA of 10.3 degrees .     

Work fluctuation theorem for coloured noise driven open systems

We have studied work fluctuation behaviour in the presence of internal thermal noise as well as external coloured noise. The external coloured noise may have both Gaussian or non-Gaussian characteristics. We have investigated the dependence of position and work fluctuations on the properties of both the environments. For thermal noise driven systems, there is a maximum in the variation of mean square fluctuation of work (MSFW) as a function of damping strength at intermediate times, while at asymptotic long times MSFW monotonically increases in the same damping regime. But for external noise, MSFW monotonically decreases as a function of damping strength at intermediate times, whereas at long times it becomes almost independent of damping strength.Another interesting observation is that for the external noise driven systems, noise correlation time and damping strength have similar roles in the dynamics.     

Mode locking in a free-electron laser amplifier

A technique is proposed to generate attosecond pulse trains of radiation from a free-electron laser amplifier. The optics-free technique synthesizes a comb of longitudinal modes by applying a series of spatiotemporal shifts between the copropagating radiation and electron bunch in the free-electron laser. The modes may be phase locked by modulating the electron beam energy at the mode spacing frequency. Three-dimensional simulations demonstrate the generation of a train of 400 as pulses at gigawatt power levels evenly spaced by 2.5 fs at a wavelength of 124 angstroms. In the x-ray at wavelength 1.5 angstroms, trains of 23 as pulses evenly spaced by 150 as and of peak power up to 6 GW are predicted.