Circular partially coherent flattened Gaussian beam

An alternative theoretical model called circular partially coherent flattened Gaussian beam (FGB) is developed to describe a circular partially coherent beam with a flat-topped spatial profile. Explicit expression for the propagation factor of a circular partially coherent FGB is derived. We drive the analytical formulae for the cross-spectral density and mean-squared beam width of a circular partially coherent FGB propagating through a paraxial ABCD optical system based on the generalized Collins formula. The intensity, spreading and directionality properties of a circular partially coherent FGB propagating in free space are studied as numerical examples. The propagation properties of a circular partially coherent FGB agree well with those of a partially coherent flat-topped beam reported in the literature. Thus, our model provides an alternative but reliable model for describing a circular partially coherent beam with flat-topped profile.     

Asynchronous sampling for ultrafast experiments with low momentum compaction at the ANKA ring

A high‐repetition‐rate pump–probe experiment is presented, based on the asynchronous sampling approach. The low‐α mode at the synchrotron ANKA can be used for a time resolution down to the picosecond limit for the time‐domain sampling of the coherent THz emission as well as for hard X‐ray pump–probe experiments, which probe structural dynamics in the condensed phase. It is shown that a synchronization of better than 1 ps is achieved, and examples of phonon dynamics of semiconductors are presented.     

Synthesis of narrow bandwidth flat-top ns pulse with multi-ultra-short pulses

Making use of the spectral narrowing of ultra-short pulses subject to amplification in the gain bandwidth media, a multi-ultra-short pulse coherent synthesizer (MUSPCS) developed from the traditional regenerative amplifier is proposed, and its operational principle is described. In the small signal gain regime, the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation on the MUSPCS have been made. The simulation results show that the narrow bandwidth flat-top long pulse can be composed if the parameters were controlled carefully.     

Classicalization times of parametrically amplified “Schrödinger cat” states coupled to phase-sensitive reservoirs

The exact Wigner function of a parametrically excited quantum oscillator in a phase-sensitive amplifying/attenuating reservoir is found for initial even/odd coherent states. Studying the evolution of negativity of the Wigner function we show the difference between the “initial positivization time” (IPT), which is inversely proportional to the square of the initial size of the superposition, and the “final positivization time” (FPT), which does not depend on this size. Both these times can be made arbitrarily long in maximally squeezed high-temperature reservoirs. Besides, we find the conditions when some (small) squeezing can exist even after the Wigner function becomes totally positive.     

CFD simulation of oil–water separation characteristics in a compact flotation unit by population balance modeling

Huge amounts of produced water are generated in offshore oil production. The Compact Flotation Unit (CFU) is an excellent pretreatment technology of produced water with high separation efficiency, low residence, and small split ratio. The Computational Fluid Dynamics-population balance model (CFD-PBM) method is used in the present work to study the oil–water separation characteristics in the self-developed Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology Compact Flotation Unit (BIPTCFU) at both micro-scale and macro-scale, which would help us gain more insights into the mechanism and the influence of flow field on the oil–water separation process such as the oil droplets’ diameter distribution and separation efficiency. The effects of the inlet diameter, the height of the preliminary separation zone, and the width of the annular space on the oil–water separation characteristics of CFU were discussed systematically. It is illustrated that the appropriate increase of inlet velocity, decrease of annular gap width, and increase of the height in the preliminary separation zone can effectively promote the collision and coalescence process of oil droplets. However, the overlarge height of the preliminary separation zone and the too narrow width of the annular space will both have a significant negative effect on the migration and separation of oil and water and lead to the decrease of separation efficiency.     

Rotation rate of a three-wing rotor illuminated by upward-directed focused beam in optical tweezers

The optical torque and the trapping position (focal point) in optical tweezers are analyzed for upward-directed focused laser illumination using a ray optics model, considering that laser light is incident at not only the lower surface but also the side surface of a 3-wing rotor. The viscous drag force due to the pressure and the shearing stress on all surfaces of the rotor is evaluated using computational fluid dynamics. The rotation rate is simulated in water by balancing the optical torque with the drag force, resulting in 500 rpm for an SU-8 rotor with 20 μm diameter at a laser power of 200 mW. The trapping position is estimated to be 7.6 μm in the rotor with an upward-directed laser at 200 mW via an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 1.4. Both the rotation rate and the trapping position agree well with the values obtained in the experiment.     

Wigner function for the generalized excited pair coherent state

This paper introduces the generalized excited pair coherent state （GEPCS）. Using the entangled state 〈η〉 representation of Wigner operator, it obtains the Wigner function for the GEPCS. In the ρ-γ phase space, the variations of the Wigner function distributions with the parameters q, α, k and l are discussed. The tomogram of the GEPCS is calculated with the help of the Radon transform between the Wigner operator and the projection operator of the entangled state ｜η1, η2, τ1, τ2｜. The entangled states ｜η〉 and ｜η1, η2, τ1, τ2〉 provide two good representative space for studying the Wigner functions and tomograms of various two-mode correlated quantum states.     

Design of phase plates for shaping partially coherent beams by simulated annealing

Taking the Gaussian Schell-model beam as a typical example of partially coherent beams, this paper applies the simulated annealing （SA） algorithm to the design of phase plates for shaping partially coherent beams. A flow diagram is presented to illustrate the procedure of phase optimization by the SA algorithm. Numerical examples demonstrate the advantages of the SA algorithm in shaping partially coherent beams. An uniform flat-topped beam profile with maximum reconstruction error RE 〈 1.74% is achieved. A further extension of the approach is discussed.