Self-focusing, Raman, and modulation instability of shaped relativistic laser pulse in plasmas

The interaction of shaped laser pulses with plasmas is studied in a strict theoretical framework without adopting the slow-varying envelope approximation (SVEA). Any physical quantities involved in the interaction are denoted as a summation of different real quantities of respective phases. The relationships among the phases of those real quantities and their moduli are strictly analyzed. Such strict analyses lead to a more exact equation set for the three-dimensional envelope of the laser pulse, which is not based on SVEA. Based on this equation set, self-focusing, Raman, and modulation instabilities could be discussed in a unified framework. The solutions of this equation set for the laser envelope reveal many possible multicolor laser modes in plasmas. The energy and the shape of a pulse determine its propagation through plasmas in a multicolor mode or in a monochromic mode. A global growth rate is introduced to measure the speed of the transition from the monochromic mode in vacuum to a possible mode in plasmas. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Phase control of cross-phase modulation with electromagnetically induced transparency

We investigate a four-level double-Lambda atomic scheme interacting with four laser fields, a weak probe field, a weak signal field and two driven fields, in a closed-loop configuration. We study the Kerr nonlinearity associated with cross-phase modulation based on electromagnetically induced transparency. Our results show, in this closed-loop system, that the strength of cross-phase modulation and two-photon absorption are dependent critically on the relative phase between the excitation paths. By choosing the parameters appropriately, large cross-phase modulation can be achieved within a wide transparency window, while two-photon absorption is cancelled completely. The strength of cross-phase modulation can be enhanced much more by decreasing the intensities of two driven fields.

Tunneling-induced large cross-phase modulation in an asymmetric quantum well

We propose an asymmetric double AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well structure with a common continuum to generate a large cross-phase modulation (XPM). It is found, owing to resonant tunneling, that a large XPM can be achieved with vanishing linear and two-photon absorptions. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Characterization of detectors and instrument systematics for the SPIDER CMB polarimeter

We know from the CMB and observations of large-scale structure that the universe is extremely flat, homogenous, and isotropic. The current favored mechanism for generating these characteristics is inflation, a theorized period of exponential expansion of the universe that occurred shortly after the Big Bang. Most theories of inflation generically predict a background of stochastic gravitational waves. These gravitational waves should leave their unique imprint on the polarization of the CMB via Thompson scattering. Scalar perturbations of the metric will cause a pattern of polarization with no curl (E-mode). Tensor perturbations (gravitational waves) will cause a unique pattern of polarization on the CMB that includes a curl component (B-mode). A measurement of the ratio of the tensor to scalar perturbations (r) tells us the energy scale of inflation. Recent measurements by the BICEP2 team detect the B-mode spectrum with a tensor-to-scalar ratio of r = 0.2 (+0.05, −0.07). An independent confirmation of this result is the next step towards understanding the inflationary universe.

This thesis describes my work on a balloon-borne polarimeter called SPIDER, which is designed to illuminate the physics of the early universe through measurements of the cosmic microwave background polarization. SPIDER consists of six single-frequency, on-axis refracting telescopes contained in a shared-vacuum liquid-helium cryostat. Its large format arrays of millimeter-wave detectors and tight control of systematics will give it unprecedented sensitivity. This thesis describes how the SPIDER detectors are characterized and calibrated for flight, as well as how the systematics requirements for the SPIDER system are simulated and measured.

The search for gravitational waves from the coalescence of black hole binary systems in data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Or: A dark walk through a random forest

The LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave observatories are complex and extremely sensitive strain detectors that can be used to search for a wide variety of gravitational waves from astrophysical and cosmological sources. In this thesis, I motivate the search for the gravitational wave signals from coalescing black hole binary systems with total mass between 25 and 100 solar masses. The mechanisms for formation of such systems are not well-understood, and we do not have many observational constraints on the parameters that guide the formation scenarios. Detection of gravitational waves from such systems — or, in the absence of detection, the tightening of upper limits on the rate of such coalescences — will provide valuable information that can inform the astrophysics of the formation of these systems. I review the search for these systems and place upper limits on the rate of black hole binary coalescences with total mass between 25 and 100 solar masses. I then show how the sensitivity of this search can be improved by up to 40% by the the application of the multivariate statistical classifier known as a random forest of bagged decision trees to more effectively discriminate between signal and non-Gaussian instrumental noise. I also discuss the use of this classifier in the search for the ringdown signal from the merger of two black holes with total mass between 50 and 450 solar masses and present upper limits. I also apply multivariate statistical classifiers to the problem of quantifying the non-Gaussianity of LIGO data. Despite these improvements, no gravitational-wave signals have been detected in LIGO data so far. However, the use of multivariate statistical classification can significantly improve the sensitivity of the Advanced LIGO detectors to such signals.

Lynx1 Modulation of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Nicotinic receptors are the target of nicotine in the brain. They are pentameric ion channels. The pentamer structure allows many combinations of receptors to be formed. These various subtypes exhibit specific properties determined by their subunit composition. Each brain region contains a fixed complement of nicotinic receptor subunits. The midbrain region is of particular interest because the dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain express several subtypes of nicotinic receptors, and these dopaminergic neurons are important for the rewarding effects of nicotine. The α6 nicotinic receptor subunit has garnered intense interest because it is present in dopaminergic neurons but very few other brain regions. With its specific and limited presence in the brain, targeting this subtype of nicotinic receptor may prove advantageous as a method for smoking cessation. However, we do not fully understand the trafficking and membrane localization of this receptor or its effects on dopamine release in the striatum. We hypothesized that lynx1, a known modulator of other nicotinic receptor subtypes, is important for the proper function of α6 nicotinic receptors. lynx1 has been found to act upon several classes of nicotinic receptors, such as α4β2 and α7, the two most common subtypes in the brain. To determine whether lynx1 affects α6 containing nicotinic receptors we used biochemistry, patch clamp electrophysiology, fast scan cyclic voltammetry, and mouse behavior. We found that lynx1 has effects on α6 containing nicotinic receptors, but the effects were subtle. This thesis will detail the observed effects of lynx1 on α6 nicotinic receptors.

The modulated grating hologram

A phase and amplitude, off-axis hologram has been synthesized from three computer-generated transmission masks, using a multiple-exposure holographic recording method. Each of the masks controls one fixed-phase component of the complex hologram transmittance. The basic grating is generated optically, relieving the computer of the burden of drawing details the size of each fringe. The maximum information capacity of the computer plotting device can then be applied to the generation of the grating modulation function. By this method large digital holograms (25 mm by 25 mm) have been synthesized in dichromated gelatin. The recording method is applicable to virtually any holographic medium.

The modulated grating hologram was designed primarily for the application of spatial filtering, in which the requirement is a hologram with large dynamic range and large free spectral range. Choice of a low-noise, high-efficiency medium such as dichromated gelatin will allow exceptionally large dynamic range. Independence of the optically-generated carrier grating from the computer-generated modulation functions allows arbitrarily large free spectral range.

The performance of a holographic spatial filter will be limited ultimately by noise originating from imperfections in the holographic medium. The characteristics of this noise are analyzed, and in the case of a high diffraction efficiency hologram are shown to differ significantly from previous analyses. The dominant noise source in holograms of high diffraction efficiency will be scattering of the first order or imaging wave by deformations in the hologram surface or other effects of low spatial frequency. Experimental measurements in various low-noise holographic media verify these predictions.

A balloon measurement of the isotopic composition of galactic cosmic ray boron, carbon, and nitrogen

The isotopic compositions of galactic cosmic ray boron, carbon, and nitrogen have been measured at energies near 300 MeV amu^-1, using a balloon-borne instrument at an atmospheric depth of ~5 g cm^-2. The calibrations of the detectors comprising the instrument are described. The saturation properties of the cesium iodide scintilla tors used for measurement of particle energy are studied in the context of analyzing the data for mass. The achieved rms mass resolution varies from ~ 0.3 amu at boron to ~ 0.5 amu at nitrogen, consistent with a theoretical analysis of the contributing factors. Corrected for detector interactions and the effects of the residual atmosphere, the results are ^(10)B/B = 0.33^(+0.17)_(-0.11), ^(13)C/C = 0.06^(+0.13)_(-0.01), and ^(15)N/N = 0.42 (+0.19)_(-0.17). A model of galactic propagation and solar modulation is described. Assuming a cosmic ray source composition of solar-like isotopic abundances, the model predicts abundances near earth consistent with the measurements.

A quantitative investigation of the solar modulation of cosmic-ray protons and helium nuclei

The differential energy spectra of cosmic-ray protons and He nuclei have been measured at energies up to 315 MeV/nucleon using balloon- and satellite-borne instruments. These spectra are presented for solar quiet times for the years 1966 through 1970. The data analysis is verified by extensive accelerator calibrations of the detector systems and by calculations and measurements of the production of secondary protons in the atmosphere.

The spectra of protons and He nuclei in this energy range are dominated by the solar modulation of the local interstellar spectra. The transport equation governing this process includes as parameters the solar-wind velocity, V, and a diffusion coefficient, K(r,R), which is assumed to be a scalar function of heliocentric radius, r, and magnetic rigidity, R. The interstellar spectra, j_D, enter as boundary conditions on the solutions to the transport equation. Solutions to the transport equation have been calculated for a broad range of assumed values for K(r,R) and j_D and have been compared with the measured spectra.

It is found that the solutions may be characterized in terms of a dimensionless parameter, ψ(r,R) = ^∞∫_r V dr'/(K(r',R). The amount of modulation is roughly proportional to ψ. At high energies or far from the Sun, where the modulation is weak, the solution is determined primarily by the value of ψ (and the interstellar spectrum) and is not sensitive to the radial dependence of the diffusion coefficient. At low energies and for small r, where the effects of adiabatic deceleration are found to be large, the spectra are largely determined by the radial dependence of the diffusion coefficient and are not very sensitive to the magnitude of ψ or to the interstellar spectra. This lack of sensitivity to j_D implies that the shape of the spectra at Earth cannot be used to determine the interstellar intensities at low energies.

Values of ψ determined from electron data were used to calculate the spectra of protons and He nuclei near Earth. Interstellar spectra of the form j_D α (W - 0.25m)^-2.65 for both protons and He nuclei were found to yield the best fits to the measured spectra for these values of ψ, where W is the total energy and m is the rest energy. A simple model for the diffusion coefficient was used in which the radial and rigidity dependence are separable and K is independent of radius inside a modulation region which has a boundary at a distance D. Good agreement was found between the measured and calculated spectra for the years 1965 through 1968, using typical boundary distances of 2.7 and 6.1 A.U. The proton spectra observed in 1969 and 1970 were flatter than in previous years. This flattening could be explained in part by an increase in D, but also seemed to require that a noticeable fraction of the observed protons at energies as high at 50 to 100 MeV be attributed to quiet-time solar emission. The turnup in the spectra at low energies observed in all years was also attributed to solar emission. The diffusion coefficient used to fit the 1965 spectra is in reasonable agreement with that determined from the power spectra of the interplanetary magnetic field (Jokipii and Coleman, 1968). We find a factor of roughly 3 increase in ψ from 1965 to 1970, corresponding to the roughly order of magnitude decrease in the proton intensity at 250 MeV. The change in ψ might be attributed to a decrease in the diffusion coefficient, or, if the diffusion coefficient is essentially unchanged over that period (Mathews et al., 1971), might be attributed to an increase in the boundary distance, D.

基于统计光学的无透镜鬼成像数值模拟与实验验证

作为量子信息领域分支的鬼成像,由于物体的像将出现在不包含物体的光路上的特点,使得这一领域的研究引人入胜。一度认为,只有基于纠缠态双光子的纠缠光源,才能实现鬼成像;但近年来的研究表明,经典热光场也能实现这一过程。从经典统计光学入手,建立了热光场的数值模型,模拟符合热光特性的光场变化、光场传播、以及物体透射函数对热光场的调制,进而从光强度起伏的关联函数中,分别重现振幅型物体和纯相位型物体的傅里叶变换图像;通过与真实实验结果的对比,表明基于统计光学原理的该数值模型所预测的实验结果,与真实的实验结果完全一致。

Monte Carlo simulation of cooling induced by parametric resonance

We demonstrate that the parametric resonance in a magnetic quadrupole trap can be exploited to cool atoms by using Bird's method. In our programme the parametric resonance was realized by anisotropically modulating the trap potential. The modulation frequency dependences of temperature and fraction of the trapped atoms are explored. Furthermore, the temperature after the modulation as functions of the modulation amplitude and the mean elastic collision time are also studied. These results are valuable for the experiment of parametric resonance in a quadrupole trap.

Noise Cancellation for Gravitational Wave Detectors

The LIGO gravitational wave detectors are on the brink of making the first direct detections of gravi- tational waves. Noise cancellation techniques are described, in order to simplify the commissioning of these detectors as well as significantly improve their sensitivity to astrophysical sources. Future upgrades to the ground based detectors will require further cancellation of Newtonian gravitational noise in order to make the transition from detectors striving to make the first direct detection of gravitational waves, to observatories extracting physics from many, many detections. Techniques for this noise cancellation are described, as well as the work remaining in this realm.

Optimization of the multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser in a unidirectional cavity without an isolator

A highly uniform multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser with an intracavity sine phase modulator is demonstrated. The flat output spectrum is achieved by optimizing the cavity structure, modulation amplitude, and frequency of the sine phase modulator. Fifteen lasing lines with wavelength spacing of 0.9 nm appear simultaneously and stably with power differences less than 2 dB and side-mode suppression ratio higher than 32 dB. In addition, the proposed cavity can support unidirectional operation without optical isolators. An output power difference of about 20 dB is realized between the counterclockwise and clockwise directions, which is almost independent of the pump power and lasing wavelengths. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Novel method to construct a quality map for phase unwrapping based on modulation and the phase gradient

A novel method to construct a quality map, called modulation-phase-gradient variance (MPGV), is proposed, based on modulation and the phase gradient. The MPGV map is successfully applied to two phase-unwrapping algorithms - the improved weighted least square and the quality-guided unwrapping algorithm. Both simulated and experimental data testify to the validity of our proposed quality map. Moreover, the unwrapped-phase results show that the new quality map can have higher reliability than the conventional phase-derivative variance quality map in helping to unwrap noisy, low-modulation, and/or discontinuous phase maps. (c) 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.