Search results for "methods"
showing 10 items of 4526 documents
High-visibility interference fringes with femtosecond laser radiation.
2009
We propose and experimentally demonstrate an interferometer for femtosecond pulses with spectral bandwidth about 100 nm. The scheme is based on a Michelson interferometer with a dispersion compensating module. A diffractive lens serves the purpose of equalizing the optical-path-length difference for a wide range of frequencies. In this way, it is possible to register high-contrast interference fringes with micrometric resolution over the whole area of a commercial CCD sensor for broadband femtosecond pulses.
Novel signatures of dark matter in laser-interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
2019
Dark matter may induce apparent temporal variations in the physical "constants", including the electromagnetic fine-structure constant and fermion masses. In particular, a coherently oscillating classical dark-matter field may induce apparent oscillations of physical constants in time, while the passage of macroscopic dark-matter objects (such as topological defects) may induce apparent transient variations in the physical constants. In this paper, we point out several new signatures of the aforementioned types of dark matter that can arise due to the geometric asymmetry created by the beam-splitter in a two-arm laser interferometer. These new signatures include dark-matter-induced time-var…
Second generation Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics
2014
Computer simulation methods, such as Monte Carlo or molecular dynamics, are very powerful theoretical techniques to provide detailed and essentially exact informations on rather complex classical many-body problems. With the advent of ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD), where finite-temperature dynamical trajectories are generated using interatomic forces which are calculated on the fly using accurate electronic structure calculations, the scope of computational research has been greatly extended. This review is intended to outline the basic principles as well as being a survey of the field. Beginning with the derivation of Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, the Car–Parrinello method and…
Magnetic shielding of soft protons in future X-ray telescopes: the case of the ATHENA Wide Field Imager
2018
Both the interplanetary space and the Earth magnetosphere are populated by low energy ($\leq300$ keV) protons that are potentially able to scatter on the reflecting surface of Wolter-I optics of X-ray focusing telescopes and reach the focal plane. This phenomenon, depending on the X-ray instrumentation, can dramatically increase the background level, reducing the sensitivity or, in the most extreme cases, compromising the observation itself. The use of a magnetic diverter, deflecting protons away from the field of view, requires a detailed characterization of their angular and energy distribution when exiting the mirror. We present the first end-to-end Geant4 simulation of proton scattering…
Amplitude modulation technique for designing metalenses with apodized and enhanced resolution focal spots
2017
Abstract In this paper we show that engineering both phase and amplitude of the scattered light can be employed in designing metalenses with either higher resolution or apodized focal spots. C-shaped split-ring micro-resonators (CSRRs) with different geometrical parameters are selected to have a full control of amplitude and phase. While phase engineering is necessary for light focusing, amplitude modulation of the scattered wave can be applied to characterize the focal point properties such as resolution gain and sidelobe level. We show that both axial and transverse resolution improvement or apodization is possible in the far-field region by applying proper amplitude function. Amplitude m…
On-axis diffractional behavior of two-dimensional pupils
2010
We show that, at any Fresnel number, a suitable one-dimensional Fourier transform relates the complex-amplitude distribution along the optical axis with the zero-order circular harmonic of the amplitude transmittance of a two-dimensional diffracting screen. First, our general result is applied to recognize that any rationally nonsymmetric screen generates an axial-irradiance distribution that exhibits focal shift. In this way we identify a wide set of two-dimensional screens that produce the same focal shift as that produced by the clear circular aperture. Second, we identify several apodizers for shaping the axial-amplitude distribution. We discuss some examples for achieving high-precisio…
Strehl ratio versus defocus for noncentrally obscured pupils.
1994
We discuss from the viewpoint of the Strehl ratio versus defocus, or the normalized axial-irradiance distribution, the influence of decentering the dark mask of an annular pupil. Our treatment, which is valid for pupil apertures with any Fresnel number, permits us to infer that the axial behavior of a noncentrally obscured pupil is equivalent to that of an apodizer with continuous amplitude variations. Hence the Strehl ratio versus defocus of an optical system can be shaped by use of noncentered dark masks that act as continuous gray apodizers. Several numerically evaluated examples are presented.
Focal-shift formula in apodized nontelecentric focusing systems
2007
A single analytical formulation for evaluating the focal shift in any apodized nontelecentric focusing setup is reported. The formulation is also useful in the case of imaged paraxial beams. We show explicitly that the magnitude of the focal shift is determined by only one parameter that depends on the effective width of the pupil filter and its axial position. To illustrate our approach we examine different focusing setups.
OCTOCAM: A fast multichannel imager and spectrograph for the 10.4m GTC
2010
OCTOCAM is a multi-channel imager and spectrograph that has been proposed for the 10.4m GTC telescope. It will use dichroics to split the incoming light to produce simultaneous observations in 8 different bands, ranging from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The imaging mode will have a field of view of 2' x 2' in u, g, r, i, z, J, H and Ks bands, whereas the long-slit spectroscopic mode will cover the complete range from 4,000 to 23,000 {\AA} with a resolution of 700 - 1,700 (depending on the arm and slit width). An additional mode, using an image slicer, will deliver a spectral resolution of over 3,000. As a further feature, it will use state of the art detectors to reach high readout…
Denoising of gravitational wave signals via dictionary learning algorithms
2016
Gravitational wave astronomy has become a reality after the historical detections accomplished during the first observing run of the two advanced LIGO detectors. In the following years, the number of detections is expected to increase significantly with the full commissioning of the advanced LIGO, advanced Virgo and KAGRA detectors. The development of sophisticated data analysis techniques to improve the opportunities of detection for low signal-to-noise-ratio events is, hence, a most crucial effort. In this paper, we present one such technique, dictionary-learning algorithms, which have been extensively developed in the last few years and successfully applied mostly in the context of image…