Sensitivity of a tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis guianensis) to airborne sound

Auditory systems of cetaceans are considered highly specialized for underwater sound processing, whereas the extent of their hearing capacity in air is still a point of issue. In this study, the sensitivity to airborne sound in a male tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis guianensis) was tested by means of a go/no go response paradigm. Auditory thresholds were obtained from 2 to 31.5 kHz. Compared to the hearing thresholds of other dolphins as well as of amphibian mammals, the sensitivity to airborne sound of the test subject is low from 2 to 8 kHz, with the highest threshold at 4 kHz. Thresholds at 16 and 31.5 kHz reveal a sharp increase in hearing sensitivity. Thus, although not obtained in this study, the upper aerial hearing limit is in the ultrasonic range. A comparison of the present data with the underwater audiogram of the same test subject referred to sound intensity indicates that the sensitivity of Sotalia to underwater sound is generally better than to airborne sound.     

Instabilities in quantum-dot spin-VCSELs

A modified spin-flip model is used to investigate the stability of optically-pumped quantum-dot spin-vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers. in terms of pump intensity and polarization. The stability maps exhibit pronounced polarization switching in the stable regions. Periodic oscillations in unstable regions are attributed to competition between spin relaxation and birefringence.     

X-ray pump optical probe cross-correlation study of GaAs

Ultrafast dynamics in atomic, molecular and condensed-matter systems are increasingly being studied using optical-pump, X-ray probe techniques where subpicosecond laser pulses excite the system and X-rays detect changes in absorption spectra and local atomic structure(1-3). New opportunities are appearing as a result of improved synchrotron capabilities and the advent of X-ray free-electron lasers(4,5). These source improvements also allow for the reverse measurement: X-ray pump followed by optical probe. We describe here how an X-ray pump beam transforms a thin GaAs specimen from a strong absorber into a nearly transparent window in less than 100 ps, for laser photon energies just above the bandgap. We find the opposite effect-X-ray induced optical opacity-for photon energies just below the bandgap. This raises interesting questions about the ultrafast many-body response of semiconductors to X-ray absorption, and provides a new approach for an X-ray/optical cross-correlator for synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser applications.     

Design of broadband RF pulses with polynomial-phase response

The achievable bandwidth of common linear-phase RF pulses is limited by the maximum feasible B1 amplitude of the MR system. It has been shown previously, that this limitation can be circumvented by overlaying a quadratic phase in the frequency domain, which spreads the power across the pulse duration. Quadratic-phase RF pulses are near optimal in terms of achieving minimal B1max. In this work, it is demonstrated that further B1max reduction can be achieved by combining quadratic with higher-order polynomial-phase functions. RF pulses with a phase response up to tenth order were designed using the Shinnar-Le Roux transformation, yielding considerable increases in bandwidth and selectivity as compared to pure quadratic-phase pulses. These benefits are studied for a range of pulse specifications and demonstrated experimentally. For B1max = 20 microT and a pulse duration of 2.1 ms, it was possible to increase the bandwidth from 3.1 kHz for linear and 3.8 kHz for a quadratic to 9.9 kHz for a polynomial-phase pulse.     

Progress and challenge in polymer crazing and fatigue

In this review on polymer crazing and fatigue three aspects have been treated more explicitely: the molecular rearrangements preceding and provoking craze initiation, the competition between disentanglement and chain scission during lateral craze growth, and the distinct fatigue failure mechanism occurring in cyclically loaded PET and PA fibers. An overview on other aspects is given including references to work in progress.     

Entry distribution, fission barrier, and formation mechanism of 254102No

The entry distribution in angular momentum and excitation energy for the formation of 254No has been measured after the 208Pb(48Ca,2n) reaction at 215 and 219 MeV. This nucleus is populated up to spin 22Planck's over 2pi and excitation energy greater, similar6 MeV above the yrast line, with the half-maximum points of the energy distributions at approximately 5 MeV for spins between 12Planck's over 2pi and 22Planck's over 2pi. This suggests that the fission barrier is greater, similar5 MeV and that the shell-correction energy persists to high spin.