Phase memory effects in probe-field spectroscopy of two-level systems at low collision frequencies

The absorption (amplification) spectrum of a weak probe field by two-level atoms located in a strong resonant laser field and colliding with buffer-gas atoms is analyzed theoretically. The analysis is performed for low collision frequencies compared to the Doppler absorption linewidth (low gas pressure) and with allowance made for an arbitrary change in the phase of the radiation-induced dipole moment at elastic collisions between gas particles. The phase memory effects have been found to lead to a strong qualitative and quantitative transformation of the probe-field spectrum even at rare collisions, when the well-known Dicke manifestation mechanism of the phase memory effects (the removal of Doppler broadening due to the restriction of the spatial particle motion by collisions) is inoperative. The strong influence of the phase memory effects on the spectral resonances at low gas pressures stems from the fact that the phase-conserving collisions change the velocity dependence of the partial refractive index n(v) (the refractive index for particles moving with velocity v).     

Ferrimagnetic resonance spectra of magnetic bubble films at low microwave frequencies

Magnetic bubble films exhibit a number of ferrimagnetic resonance modes due to the spatial variation of the anisotropy. The resonance frequencies have been measured as a function of the applied bias fieldH ₀. In the lower field range the magnetization of the transient layer, which has negative anisotropy, is not yet parallel toH ₀. In this range the resonance frequencies are shifted to higher values due to pinning effects. In films grown by the vertical dipping method an additional layer on top of the transient layer is observed within which the magnetization rotates from the direction in the transient layer to that of the bulk of the film. In films grown by horizontal dipping no such layer could be detected. Each ferrimagnetic resonance mode excites transverse elastic waves in the film due to the magnetoelastic interaction and thus gives rise to elastic resonances of the whole crystal, film and substrate. These elastic resonances lead to a fine-structure of the ferrimagnetic resonances. The observed fine-structure vanishes periodically with frequency and from this behaviour the thickness of the magnetic film and of the transient layer has been determined.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance at microwave frequencies

Instrumental requirements for pulsed NMR studies of hyperfine splittings in rate-earth metals and compounds are considered, with particular attention to factors affecting the design of the specimen cavity. A spin-echo spectrometer for hyperfine studies in the 2 to 8 GHz frequency range is described.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance experiments at high frequencies and low temperatures in one dimensional TMMC

We report the existence of collective excitations of spins in TMMC at high magnetic fields and low temperatures, but higher than T_N at zero magnetic field. The main features of the resonances can be attributed to those of AFMR. Three kinds of crystallographic domains obtained from twining are established. Two magnon excitations may have also been observed.     

Heterodyne spectroscopy at very low frequencies

We have studied the spectrum of light scattered by capillary waves, thermally excited at the free surface of highly viscous liquids, by heterodyne spectroscopy techniques. We were able to measure spectral widths down to 0.2 Hz.     

Auditory filter shapes at low center frequencies

Auditory-filter shapes were estimated in normally hearing subjects for signal frequencies (fs) of 100, 200, 400, and 800 Hz using the notched-noise method [R. D. Patterson and I. Nimmo-Smith, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 229-245 (1980)]. Two noise bands, each 0.4fs wide, were used; they were placed both symmetrically and asymmetrically about the signal frequency to allow the measurement of filter shape and asymmetry. Two overall noise levels were used: 77 and 87 dB SPL. In deriving the shapes of the auditory filters, account was taken of the nonflat frequency response of the Sennheiser HD424 earphone, and also of the frequency-dependent attenuation produced by the middle ear. The auditory filters were asymmetric; the upper skirt was steeper than the lower skirt. The asymmetry tended to be greater at the higher noise level. The equivalent rectangular bandwidths (ERBs) of the filters at the lower noise level had average values of 36, 47, 87, and 147 Hz for values of fs of 100, 200, 400, and 800 Hz, respectively. The standard deviations of the ERBs across subjects were typically about 10% of the ERB values. The signal-to-masker ratio at the output of the auditory filter required to achieve threshold increased markedly with decreasing fs.     

Magnetic resonance imaging at frequencies below 1 kHz

Within the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) community the trend is going to higher and higher magnetic fields, ranging from 1.5 T to 7 T, corresponding to Larmor frequencies of 63.8–298 MHz. Since for high-field MRI the magnetization increases with the applied magnetic field, the signal-to-noise-ratio increases as well, thus enabling higher image resolutions. On the other hand, MRI is possible also at ultra-low magnetic fields, as was shown by different groups. The goal of our development was to reach a Larmor frequency range of the low-field MRI system corresponding to the frequency range of human brain activities ranging from near zero-frequency (near-DC) to over 1 kHz. Here, first 2D MRI images of phantoms taken at Larmor frequencies of 100 Hz and 731 Hz will be shown and discussed. These frequencies are examples of brain activity triggered by electrostimulation of the median nerve. The method will allow the magnetic fields of the brain currents to influence the magnetic resonance image, and thus lead to a direct functional imaging modality of neuronal currents.     

Acoustic properties of glasses at low temperatures and low frequencies

We generalize the low temperature expressions for the variation of the sound velocity and sound absorption in glasses due to structural defects for the case of arbitrary frequencies. In case ωτ₂ ? 1 our expressions reduce to well known results.     

Decay rates and wall absorption at low frequencies

This paper is concerned with evaluating the error of conventional estimates of the boundary absorption of rectangular enclosures, with particular reference to reverberation room sound power measurements. The reverberation process is examined theoretically; the relative contributions to the decay rate from different modes in a rectangular room are calculated from an ensemble average over rooms with nearly the same dimensions. It is shown that the traditional method of determining the absorption of the walls of reverberation rooms systematically underestimates the absorption at low frequencies; the error is computed from the ensemble average. Finally, an unbiased estimate of the sound power radiated by a source in a reverberation room is derived. This estimate involves measurement of the initial decay rates of the room and is, unlike the usual reverberation room sound power estimate, neither based on statistical diffuse field considerations nor on the normal mode theory.     

Vortex mass in a superfluid at low frequencies

An inertial mass of a vortex can be calculated by driving it around in a circle with a steadily revolving pinning potential. We show that in the low-frequency limit this gives precisely the same formula that was used by Baym and Chandler, but find that the result is not unique and depends on the force field used to cause the acceleration. We apply this method to the Gross-Pitaevskii model, and derive a simple formula for the vortex mass. We study both the long-range and short-range properties of the solution. We agree with earlier results that the nonzero compressibility leads to a divergent mass. From the short-range behavior of the solution we find that the mass is sensitive to the form of the pinning potential, and diverges logarithmically when the radius of this potential tends to zero.     

Low-temperature elastic experiments on glasses at very low frequencies

The Grüneisen parameter and the low-frequency elastic loss of vitreous silica, PMMA, and of the metallic glasses PdSiCu, PdZr, and CuZr have been measured between 0.4 K and 6 K using an elasto-caloric technique. The absorption measurements between 5·10^–3 Hz and 30 Hz give further support for the tunneling model in a hitherto poorly investigated domain of relaxation times. New features of the low-temperature behaviour of glasses are a long-time creep and an absorption peak of the metallic glass PdZr nearT _c.Dedicated to K. Dransfeld on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Psychophysical evidence for auditory compression at low characteristic frequencies

Psychophysical estimates of compression often assume that the basilar-membrane response to frequencies well below characteristic frequency (CF) is linear. Two techniques for estimating compression are described here that do not depend on this assumption at low CFs. In experiment 1, growth of forward masking was measured for both on- and off-frequency pure-tone maskers for pure-tone signals at 250, 500, and 4000 Hz. The on- and off-frequency masking functions at 250 and 500 Hz were just as shallow as the on-frequency masking function at 4000 Hz. In experiment 2, the forward masker level required to mask a fixed low-level signal was measured as a function of the masker-signal interval. The slopes of these functions did not differ between signal frequencies of 250 and 4000 Hz for the on-frequency maskers. At 250 Hz, the slope for the 150-Hz masker was almost as steep as that for the on-frequency masker, whereas at 4000 Hz the slope for the 2400-Hz masker was much shallower than that for the on-frequency masker. The results suggest that there is substantial compression, of around 0.2-0.3 dB/dB, at low CFs in the human auditory system. Furthermore, the results suggest that at low CFs compression does not vary greatly with stimulation frequency relative to CF.     

Measurement of collision broadening of the calcium resonance line by low resolution spectroscopy

The Lorentzian half-widths of the Ca λ4227 Å (4s²¹S₀?4s4p¹P₁) line in the impact regime have been measured by low resolution spectroscopy. They were determined from measurements of the total absorption of both a white source and an emission line of the same transition. The absorption cells contained calcium at about 410°C with a perturbing gas of argon at pressures of up to about 50 cm of Hg. Corrections were applied to account for the width of the emission line and the non-transparency of the absorption cells. High resolution measurements of absorption profiles from a grating spectrometer are also described and the results of both methods are compared.     

Third-order optical harmonic coefficients of atomic hydrogen at low frequencies

The analytical expression is derived for the third-order optical harmonic coefficients χ⁽³⁾₁₁₁₁ (ω, ω, ω) = χ⁽³⁾₂₂₂₂ (ω, ω, ω) = χ⁽³⁾₃₃₃₃ (ω, ω, ω) of the atomic hydrogen at very low frequencies ω → 0.