Scattering differentiates Alzheimer disease in vitro

The molecular bases of Alzheimer disease and related neurodegenerative disorders are becoming better understood, but the means for definitive diagnosis and monitoring in vivo remain lacking. Near-infrared optical spectroscopy offers a potential solution. We acquired transmission and reflectance spectra of thin brain tissue slabs, from which we calculated wavelength-dependent absorption and reduced scattering coefficients from 470-1000 nm. The reduced scattering coefficients in the near infrared clearly differentiated Alzheimer from control specimens. Diffuse reflectance spectra of gross brain tissue in vitro confirmed this observation. These results suggest a means for diagnosing and monitoring Alzheimer disease in vivo, using near-infrared optical spectroscopy.     

Widely tunable monolithic narrowband grating filter for near-infrared radiation

We propose a monolithic narrowband guided-mode grating filter in fused silica that is widely tunable in the near-IR wavelength region. Based on a recently demonstrated approach for a monolithic reflector comprising an encapsulated grating, we theoretically investigate such a device by means of rigorous modeling aimed at a narrow linewidth. It is demonstrated that upon a spatial variation of the filter's grating period its resonance wavelength can be tuned in a remarkably wide range of near-IR radiation with 800 nm<λ(res)< 1600 nm by translating the laser beam relative to the grating area. The filter performance in terms of linewidth and contrast is essentially preserved over the entire tuning interval.     

Observation of B(0)(s)-->Psi(2S)Phi and measurement of the ratio of branching fractions Beta(B(0)(s)-->Psi(2S)Phi)/Beta(B(0)(s)-->J/PsiPhi)

We report the first observation of B(0)(s)-->Psi(2S)Phi decay in p(p_) collisions at square root of 8=1.96 TeV using 360 pb(-1) of data collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We observe 20.2 +/- 5.0 and 12.3 +/- 4.1 B(0)(s)-->Psi(2S)Phi candidates, in Psi(2S)-->mu(+)mu(-) and Phi(2S)-->J/Phipi(+)pi(-) decay modes, respectively. We present a measurement of the relative branching fraction Beta(B(0)(s)-->Psi(2S)Phi)/Beta(B(0)(s)-->J/PsiPhi)=0.52 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) +/- 0.06(BR) using the Psi(2S)-->mu(+)mu(-) decay mode.     

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to emu in pp collisions at square root = 1.69 TeV

We describe a general search for resonances decaying to a neutral emu final state in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. Using a data sample representing 344 pb(-1) of integrated luminosity recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab II experiment, we compare standard model predictions with the number of observed events for invariant masses between 50 and 800 GeV/c2. Finding no significant excess (5 events observed vs 7.7 +/- 0.8 expected for M(emu) > 100 GeV/c2 ), we set limits on sneutrino and Z' masses as functions of lepton family number violating couplings.     

Diffractive beam splitter characterization via a power-recycled interferometer

We used the high-precision laser interferometer technique of power recycling to characterize the optical loss of an all-reflective grating beam splitter. This beam splitter was used to set up a Michelson interferometer with a power-recycling resonator with a finesse of 883. Analyzing the results obtained, we determined the beam splitter's total optical loss to be (0.193+/-0.019)%. Low loss all-reflective beam splitters might find application in future high-power laser interferometers for the detection of gravitational waves.