Spectroscopy of Ly-α Lines at Storage Rings by Crystal Spectrometry and Absorption Edge Technique

Crystal spectrometry and absorption edge technique have the capability to overcome the gap in accuracy between experiment and theory in the strong field domain of QED. New results are presented which indicate the capacity of these methods to measure the energies of X-rays emitted by highly charged heavy ions at modern storage rings with a precision sensitive to second order corrections to the Lambshift in H-like very heavy ions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quantum Nonlocality of Photon Pairs in Interference in a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

Nonlocal character of entangled photon pairs generated in spontaneous parametric downconversion is demonstrated. One photon from a pair propagates through a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and is detected in coincidence-count measurement with its twin. Width of the coincidence-count interference pattern (measured for various values of path difference in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer) depends on spectral width of the twin as a result of entanglement of photons in a pair. The experimental setup is analyzed for a Gaussian spectral filter and a Fabry-Perot resonator. It is shown that nonlocal interference is much stronger for cw pumping in comparison with femtosecond pulsed pumping for values of parameters commonly used in spontaneous parametric downconversion experiments.     

Highly efficient 1063-nm continuous-wave laser emission in Nd:GdVO4

Highly efficient 1-microm continuous-wave laser emission in 3-mm-thick, 0.5- and 1.0-at. % Nd:GdVO4 crystals longitudinally pumped at 879 nm into the laser emitting level is reported. Under Ti:sapphire pumping, the slope efficiency in absorbed power is approximately 80% for both crystals, while the slope efficiency, the optical-to-optical efficiency (at 1700-mW pump power), and the laser threshold in incident power are 79%, 78%, and 31 mW for 0.5-at. % Nd and 80%, 77%, and 40 mW for 1.0-at. % Nd, respectively. The slope efficiency is close to the quantum defect limit, the difference being fully accounted for by the residual optical losses. Under 879-nm diode laser pumping, the slope efficiency and the optical-to-optical efficiency in absorbed power of the 0.5-at. % Nd:GdVO4 crystal are 60% and 53%, owing to poorer superposition of the pumped and the laser mode volumes.     

Brine rejection from freezing salt solutions: a molecular dynamics study

The atmospherically and technologically very important process of brine rejection from freezing salt solutions is investigated with atomic resolution using molecular dynamics simulations. The present calculations allow us to follow the motion of each water molecule and salt ion and to propose a microscopic mechanism of brine rejection, in which a fluctuation (reduction) of the ion density in the vicinity of the ice front is followed by the growth of a new ice layer. The presence of salt slows down the freezing process, which leads to the formation of an almost neat ice next to a disordered brine layer.     

Forces between a single atom and its distant mirror image

An excited-state atom whose emitted light is backreflected by a distant mirror can experience trapping forces, because the presence of the mirror modifies both the electromagnetic vacuum field and the atom's own radiation reaction field. We demonstrate this mechanical action using a single trapped barium ion. We observe the trapping conditions to be notably altered when the distant mirror is translated across an optical wavelength. The well-localized barium ion enables the spatial dependence of the forces to be measured explicitly. The experiment has implications for quantum information processing and may be regarded as the most elementary optical tweezers.     

A possibility of parallel and anti-parallel diffraction measurements on neutron diffractometer employing bent perfect crystal monochromator at the monochromatic focusing condition

In a conventional diffractometer having single monochromator, only one position, parallel position, is used for the diffraction experiment (i.e. detection) because the resolution property of the other one, anti-parallel position, is very poor. However, a bent perfect crystal (BPC) monochromator at monochromatic focusing condition can provide a quite flat and equal resolution property at both parallel and anti-parallel positions and thus one can have a chance to use both sides for the diffraction experiment. From the data of the FWHM and the Δd/d measured on three diffraction geometries (symmetric, asymmetric compression and asymmetric expansion), we can conclude that the simultaneous diffraction measurement in both parallel and anti-parallel positions can be achieved.     

Braided differential operators on quantum algebras

We propose a general scheme of constructing braided differential algebras via algebras of “quantum exponentiated vector fields” and those of “quantum functions”. We treat a reflection equation algebra as a quantum analog of the algebra of vector fields. The role of a quantum function algebra is played by a general quantum matrix algebra. As an example we mention the so-called RTT algebra of quantized functions on the linear matrix group GL(m)$GL\left(m\right)$. In this case our construction essentially coincides with the quantum differential algebra introduced by S. Woronowicz. If the role of a quantum function algebra is played by another copy of the reflection equation algebra we get two different braided differential algebras. One of them is defined via a quantum analog of (co)adjoint vector fields, the other algebra is defined via a quantum analog of right-invariant vector fields. We show that the former algebra can be identified with a subalgebra of the latter one. Also, we show that “quantum adjoint vector fields” can be restricted to the so-called “braided orbits” which are counterparts of generic GL(m)$GL\left(m\right)$-orbits in gl^∗(m)$g{l}^{\ast }\left(m\right)$. Such braided orbits endowed with these restricted vector fields constitute a new class of braided differential algebras.     

Theoretical analysis of imaging properties of a pressure-actuated deformable mirror for adaptive compensation of rotationally symmetrical wavefronts

Our work presents a theoretical analysis of aberration properties of a simple single-channel deformable mirror from both the aspect of modeling the shape of the mirror reflecting surface and the mechanisms of wave-front correction using such mirror. The proposed mirror can be used for a compensation of rotationally symmetrical wavefronts, e.g. focusing of optical beams, adaptive change of resonator parameters in laser technology, phase shifting, etc. The detailed analysis of possibilities of wave-front correction was performed.