The influence of age and high-frequency hearing loss on sensitivity to temporal fine structure at low frequencies (L)

Sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) at low frequencies may be adversely affected by hearing loss at high frequencies even when absolute thresholds at low frequencies are within the normal range. However, in several studies suggesting this, the effects of hearing loss and age were confounded. Here, interaural phase discrimination (IPD) thresholds for pure tones at 500 and 750 Hz were measured for 39 subjects with ages from 61 to 83 yr. All subjects had near-normal audiometric thresholds at low frequencies, but thresholds varied across subjects at high frequencies. IPD thresholds were correlated with age. IPD thresholds for the test frequency of 750 Hz were weakly correlated with absolute thresholds at high frequencies, but these correlations became non-significant when the effect of age was partialed out. The results do not confirm that sensitivity to TFS at low frequencies is influenced by hearing loss at high frequencies, independently of age.     

Energy flow analysis and design sensitivity of structural problems at high frequencies

The design sensitivity formulation of an energy finite element method is presented using the direct differentiation and adjoint variable methods. The continuum method is used to derive the design sensitivity equation of the energy flow equation, whereas the discrete method is used to calculate the variation of the coupling relation. For design variables, material property, panel thickness, and structural shape are taken into account, in addition to the structural damping factor. The design variable's effect on the power transfer coefficient is discussed in detail. Even if the system matrix equation is not symmetric, the adjoint problem is solved using the same factorized matrix from response analysis. Design sensitivity results calculated from the proposed method are compared to the finite difference sensitivity results with a good agreement.     

Elevation localization and head-related transfer function analysis at low frequencies

Monaural spectral features due to pinna diffraction are the primary cues for elevation. Because these features appear above 3 kHz where the wavelength becomes comparable to pinna size, it is generally believed that accurate elevation estimation requires wideband sources. However, psychoacoustic tests show that subjects can estimate elevation for low-frequency sources. In the experiments reported, random noise bursts low-pass filtered to 3 kHz were processed with individualized head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), and six subjects were asked to report the elevation angle around four cones of confusion. The accuracy in estimating elevation was degraded when compared to a baseline test with wideband stimuli. The reduction in performance was a function of azimuth and was highest in the median plane. However, when the source was located away from the median plane, subjects were able to estimate elevation, often with surprisingly good accuracy. Analysis of the HRTFs reveals the existence of elevation-dependent features at low frequencies. The physical origin of the low-frequency features is attributed primarily to head diffraction and torso reflections. It is shown that simple geometrical approximations and models of the head and torso explain these low-frequency features and the corresponding elevations cues.     

Experimental study of air-core dielectric tube at terahertz frequencies

In this paper, an experimental study of air-core dielectric tube waveguide is proposed at terahertz frequencies. By using the THz time domain measure system, the terahertz dispersion characteristics, loss characteristic and energy focusing characteristic of air-core single-layer and dual-layer dielectric tube are obtained. The results show that this type of air-core dielectric tube can realize low dispersion characteristics. Due to the difference of refractive index between two dielectric materials, stronger energy focusing can be achieved in air-core dual-layer dielectric tube. After the coupling of the THz pulse using the dual-layer dielectric tube waveguide, the THz pulse increased 2.4 times compared with the single-layer dielectric tube waveguide at 1.5 THz.     

Ablation with femtosecond pulses: The effect of temporal contrast

An inherent property of the ultrashort pulse lasers used presently for materials processing is that the main pulse is accompanied by an amplified spontaneous emission background. The temporal quality of the pulses is characterized by the temporal contrast. Due to the 5-6 orders of magnitude difference in the duration of the main pulse and the pedestal, high intensity contrast does not mean necessarily high enough difference in the respective energies. In materials processing applications consideration of the energy contrast is advisable. The importance of the contrast in determining the ablation process is exemplified by the dependence of the ablation rate of boron carbide on the cleanness of the pulses of a high brightness hybrid dye/excimer laser system. It is shown that serious consideration of the effects of the nanosecond background is mandatory when evaluating the results.     

The influence of surface roughness on conductor at terahertz frequencies

In this paper, a theoretical study of the influence of surface roughness on conductor is proposed at terahertz frequencies. By using the analytic small perturbation method, the effects of a random rough surface on the absorption by a metallic surface at terahertz frequencies are analyzed. And the effect of rough surface on reflectivity and power spectral density are also demonstrated. The numerical results are very useful for the development of terahertz devices and terahertz material.     

光频三维各向同性左手超材料结构单元模型的仿真设计

基于树枝结构单元思想,提出了光频三维各向同性左手超材料球刺结构单元模型.采用金属的Drude原理,运用等效媒质理论,仿真研究了结构的电磁响应特性.在晶格间距与工作波长的比值满足等效媒质理论要求的前提下,通过调节结构单元的几何参数,发现它能在光波段出现介电常数和磁导率同时为负值的区域,实现折射率小于零的左手超材料响应特性.该模型结构简单,具有各向同性特点.研究结果为采用"由下向上"方法制备光波段的三维左手超材料指出了新的途径. 关键词： 球刺模型 光波段 三维 各向同性     

Ultrashort pulse temporal contrast enhancement based on noncollinear optical-parametric amplification

A pulse clean technique in time domain combining noncollinear optical-parametric amplification and second-harmonic generation is demonstrated. The measurement-limited >10(10) temporal contrast ratio of the 0.5?mJ/40?fs pulse near 800?nm is obtained over a large temporal range extending from <1?ps before the main pulse. The contrast ratio enhancement as fourth power of the initial contrast is demonstrated. The total efficiency is >6% for the 8.2?mJ/40?fs initial incident femtosecond pulse.     

The effect of large openings on cavity amplification at ultrasonic frequencies

It is sometimes desired to exploit acoustic amplification in a cavity that is not entirely enclosed. Because of the presence of openings in the cavity, acoustic energy will leave the cavity and degrade the degree of amplification. The extent of this problem is unknown when the size of the openings becomes large relative to a wavelength. The present paper describes a quantitative estimation of the effect of large openings on the amplification performance of an acoustic cavity. Air was assumed to be the working medium. The amplification taking place in a rigid-walled rectangular channel excited by a transducer flush-mounted in one wall was compared to the amplification that would take place in a bounded rectangular resonator excited by the same transducer. It was found, for frequencies in the range 25 kHz-1 MHz, that source ka's greater than 37 and 42 were required in order for the collimation of the transducer beam to overcome the leakage of acoustic energy through the openings for one- and two-half wavelength resonances, respectively. Experimental measurements conducted over source ka's ranging from 6.5 to 26.1, resulted in quality factors 8%-18% lower than theoretically predicted values for one-, two-, and three-half wavelength resonances.     

Bounds on dynamical polarizabilities at high frequencies

A simple procedure for imposing upper and lower bounds on the dynamical polarizability of a ground-state atom or molecule at frequencies higher than the first transition frequency is described. The method makes use of low frequency refractive index information together with bounds on the first few oscillator strengths. Successive transformations are used to construct a type of multipoint Padé approximant, yielding bounds on the dynamical polarizability which take into account the scatter in the experimental data. The method is applied to krypton.     

The study of the effects of higher-order aberrations on human contrast sensitivity with white-light retinal aerial image modulation (AIM)

The impact of higher-order aberrations on contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is calculated using individual white-light retinal aerial image modulation (AIM). Wavefront aberrations of 26 eyes are measured with Hartmann-Shack sensor, and the CSFs in natural light are acquired through a range of 2-48 c/deg. The white-light AIM is computed as the ratio of modulation transfer function (MTF) in white-light to CSF. Through manipulating the higher-order aberrations, the affected CSF is predicted by employing the white-light AIM. We find that coma aberration mainly influences CSF at higher spatial frequency and spherical aberration affects CSF in the whole spatial frequency range non-selectively. Additionally, it is spherical aberration rather than coma that impacts the CSF more substantially. Furthermore, the maximum value of area under CSF (AUCSF) is obtained without full correction of higher-order aberration, which indicates that there is compensatory mechanism among aberrations.     

Calibration of the pressure sensitivity of microphones by a free-field method at frequencies up to 80 khz

A free-field (FF) substitution method for calibrating the pressure sensitivity of microphones at frequencies up to 80 kHz is demonstrated with both grazing and normal-incidence geometries. The substitution-based method, as opposed to a simultaneous method, avoids problems associated with the nonuniformity of the sound field and, as applied here, uses a 1/4-in. air-condenser pressure microphone as a known reference. Best results were obtained with a centrifugal fan, which is used as a random, broadband sound source. A broadband source minimizes reflection-related interferences that can plague FF measurements. Calibrations were performed on 1/4-in. FF air-condenser, electret, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones in an anechoic chamber. The uncertainty of this FF method is estimated by comparing the pressure sensitivity of an air-condenser FF microphone, as derived from the FF measurement, with that of an electrostatic actuator calibration. The root-mean-square difference is found to be +/- 0.3 dB over the range 1-80 kHz, and the combined standard uncertainty of the FF method, including other significant contributions, is +/- 0.41 dB.     

Ultrasonic study of binary mixtures of acetone with chlorobenzene at different frequencies

The ultrasonic velocity (C) and density (ρ) have been measured at different frequencies (1MHz, 3MHz and 5 MHz) in the binary mixtures of acetone with chlorobenzene over the entire range of mole fraction at temperature 303.16K. The data of C and ρ have been used to evaluate the isentropic compressibility (β), intermolecular free length (L_f) and acoustic impedance (Z) and their excess values to elucidate the molecular association in the mixture. The variation of these parameters with solute (acetone) indicates the nature of interaction present in the binary mixture.     

The study of the electron spin exchange efficiency in liquid solutions of radicals at various EPR frequencies

The electron spin exchange efficiency in toluene solutions of stable nitroxide radicals at different EPR frequencies has been studied. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theory. The spin exchange constantsK _e measured at X-band and 2-mm band coincide. TheK _e values measured from the exchange broadening of the EPR lines do not depend on the value of the nitrogen nuclear spinI _N     

The effect of metal dispersion on the resonance of antennas at infrared frequencies

In this paper the optical parameters at infrared frequencies of metallic thin films were obtained experimentally using a variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer and used to simulate numerically the frequency response of antennas and antenna-coupled detectors at infrared frequencies (5–15 μm). The simulation results agree with previously published data and practical guidelines are presented for the design and fabrication of dipole and bowtie antennas at infrared frequencies.     

The thermal activation of cummulative fatigue damage at ultrasonic frequencies

Internal friction, modulus defects and the initial occurrence of slip lines on the surface of armco iron specimens were studied during and after loading at 22.5 kHz, at temperatures of 296, 333, 373 and 423 K and with strain amplitudes ranging from 1.5 × 10^-7 to 4 × 10^-4. At a particular strain, amplitude dependent internal friction begins, the modulus starts to change and the slip lines may be observed. These strain amplitudes are thermally affected by activation energies of 25.1, 16.7 or 13.6 J kmol^-1 as defined by the Arrhenius equation.