We present a new algorithm for detecting filamentary structure FilFinder. The algorithm uses the techniques of mathematical morphology for filament identification, presenting a complementary approach ...to current algorithms which use matched filtering or critical manifolds. Unlike other methods, FilFinder identifies filaments over a wide dynamic range in brightness. We apply the new algorithm to far-infrared imaging data of dust emission released by the Herschel Gould Belt Survey team. Our preliminary analysis characterizes both filaments and fainter striations. We find a typical filament width of 0.09 pc across the sample, but the brightness varies from cloud to cloud. Several regions show a bimodal filament brightness distribution, with the bright mode (filaments) being an order of magnitude brighter than the faint mode (striations). Using the Rolling Hough Transform, we characterize the orientations of the striations in the data, finding preferred directions that agree with magnetic field direction where data are available. There is a suggestive but noisy correlation between typical filament brightness and literature values of the star formation rates for clouds in the Gould Belt.
Acceleration and collision of particles has been a key strategy for exploring the texture of matter. Strong light waves can control and recollide electronic wavepackets, generating high-harmonic ...radiation that encodes the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules and lays the foundations of attosecond science. The recent discovery of high-harmonic generation in bulk solids combines the idea of ultrafast acceleration with complex condensed matter systems, and provides hope for compact solid-state attosecond sources and electronics at optical frequencies. Yet the underlying quantum motion has not so far been observable in real time. Here we study high-harmonic generation in a bulk solid directly in the time domain, and reveal a new kind of strong-field excitation in the crystal. Unlike established atomic sources, our solid emits high-harmonic radiation as a sequence of subcycle bursts that coincide temporally with the field crests of one polarity of the driving terahertz waveform. We show that these features are characteristic of a non-perturbative quantum interference process that involves electrons from multiple valence bands. These results identify key mechanisms for future solid-state attosecond sources and next-generation light-wave electronics. The new quantum interference process justifies the hope for all-optical band-structure reconstruction and lays the foundation for possible quantum logic operations at optical clock rates.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The emerging field of semiconductor quantum optics combines semiconductor physics and quantum optics, with the aim of developing quantum devices with unprecedented performance. In this book ...researchers and graduate students alike will reach a new level of understanding to begin conducting state-of-the-art investigations. The book combines theoretical methods from quantum optics and solid-state physics to give a consistent microscopic description of light-matter- and many-body-interaction effects in low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures. It develops the systematic theory needed to treat semiconductor quantum-optical effects, such as strong light-matter coupling, light-matter entanglement, squeezing, as well as quantum-optical semiconductor spectroscopy. Detailed derivations of key equations help readers learn the techniques and nearly 300 exercises help test their understanding of the materials covered. The book is accompanied by a website hosted by the authors, containing further discussions on topical issues, latest trends and publications on the field. The link can be found at www.cambridge.org/9780521875097.
Global mean temperature is predicted to increase by 2-7 °C and precipitation to change across the globe by the end of this century. To quantify climate effects on ecosystem processes, a number of ...climate change experiments have been established around the world in various ecosystems. Despite these efforts, general responses of terrestrial ecosystems to changes in temperature and precipitation, and especially to their combined effects, remain unclear. We used meta-analysis to synthesize ecosystem-level responses to warming, altered precipitation, and their combination. We focused on plant growth and ecosystem carbon (C) balance, including biomass, net primary production (NPP), respiration, net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and ecosystem photosynthesis, synthesizing results from 85 studies. We found that experimental warming and increased precipitation generally stimulated plant growth and ecosystem C fluxes, whereas decreased precipitation had the opposite effects. For example, warming significantly stimulated total NPP, increased ecosystem photosynthesis, and ecosystem respiration. Experimentally reduced precipitation suppressed aboveground NPP (ANPP) and NEE, whereas supplemental precipitation enhanced ANPP and NEE. Plant productivity and ecosystem C fluxes generally showed higher sensitivities to increased precipitation than to decreased precipitation. Interactive effects of warming and altered precipitation tended to be smaller than expected from additive, single-factor effects, though low statistical power limits the strength of these conclusions. New experiments with combined temperature and precipitation manipulations are needed to conclusively determine the importance of temperature-precipitation interactions on the C balance of terrestrial ecosystems under future climate conditions.
High-harmonic (HH) generation in crystalline solids marks an exciting development, with potential applications in high-efficiency attosecond sources, all-optical bandstructure reconstruction and ...quasiparticle collisions. Although the spectral and temporal shape of the HH intensity has been described microscopically, the properties of the underlying HH carrier wave have remained elusive. Here, we analyse the train of HH waveforms generated in a crystalline solid by consecutive half cycles of the same driving pulse. Extending the concept of frequency combs to optical clock rates, we show how the polarization and carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of HH pulses can be controlled by the crystal symmetry. For certain crystal directions, we can separate two orthogonally polarized HH combs mutually offset by the driving frequency to form a comb of even and odd harmonic orders. The corresponding CEP of successive pulses is constant or offset by pi , depending on the polarization. In the context of a quantum description of solids, we identify novel capabilities for polarization- and phase-shaping of HH waveforms that cannot be accessed with gaseous sources.
Threats to and loss of seagrass ecosystems globally, impact not only natural resources but also the lives of people who directly or indirectly depend on these systems. Seagrass ecosystems play a ...multi-functional role in human well-being, e.g. food through fisheries, control of erosion and protection against floods. Quantifying these services reveals their contributions to human well-being and helps justify seagrass conservation. There has been no comprehensive assessment as to whether seagrass ecosystem services are perceived to vary over the globe or amongst genera. Our study compiles the most complete list of ecosystem services provided by seagrasses so far, including bioregional- and genus-specific information from expert opinion and published studies. Several seagrass ecosystem services vary considerably in their (known) provision across genera and over the globe. Seagrasses genera are clearly not all equal with regard to the ecosystem services they provide. As seagrass genera are not evenly distributed over all bioregions, the presence of an ecosystem service sometimes depends on the genera present. Larger sized seagrass genera (e.g. Posidonia, Enhalus) are perceived to provide more substantial and a wider variety of ecosystem services than smaller species (e.g. Halophila, Lepilaena). Nevertheless, smaller species provide important services. Our findings point out data gaps, provide new insight for more efficient management and recommend caution in economic valuation of seagrass services worldwide.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Ultrafast charge transport in strongly biased semiconductors is at the heart of high-speed electronics, electro-optics and fundamental solid-state physics. Intense light pulses in the terahertz ...spectral range have opened fascinating vistas. Because terahertz photon energies are far below typical electronic interband resonances, a stable electromagnetic waveform may serve as a precisely adjustable bias. Novel quantum phenomena have been anticipated for terahertz amplitudes, reaching atomic field strengths. We exploit controlled (multi-)terahertz waveforms with peak fields of 72 MV cm-1 to drive coherent interband polarization combined with dynamical Bloch oscillations in semiconducting gallium selenide. These dynamics entail the emission of phase-stable high-harmonic transients, covering the entire terahertz-to-visible spectral domain between 0.1 and 675 THz. Quantum interference of different ionization paths of accelerated charge carriers is controlled via the waveform of the driving field and explained by a quantum theory of inter- and intraband dynamics. Our results pave the way towards all-coherent terahertz-rate electronics.
In recent years, optical fiber sensors based on multimode interference (MMI) have attracted increasing interest and developed into various sensors used in many practical applications. This review ...presents MMI-based fiber sensors with a specific focus on the probe structures, measurement methods, and sensing properties of different structures. The fundamentals of MMI-based fiber sensors are briefly described. Further, five main categories of SMS structure-based fiber sensors are reviewed, including conventional SMS fiber sensors, MMI-based sensors with no-core fiber (NCF), MMI-based sensors with etched/polished fiber, MMI-based sensors with tapered fiber, and cascades of MMI-based fiber sensors. Besides, their probe structures, sensing properties, practical fields, and measurement sensitivities are summarized. Finally, the current challenges and technique outlook of the MMI-based fiber sensors are pointed out, which gives the potential solutions for the existing problems and future development. This work indicates that the MMI-based fiber sensors bring the possibilities of applying multi-mode fiber (MMF) in different measurement fields with high sensitivities, easy fabrication, and low cost. With the appearance and development of new SMS fiber sensors, it will contribute significant value to scientific research and industrial applications.
The excitation of semiconductors with short, off‐resonant, high‐power terahertz pulses yields extremely nonlinear, ultrafast, dynamical processes including very‐high harmonic generation, the ...occurence of high‐order sidebands, dynamical Bloch oscillations, as well as quasi‐particle collisions. This review overviews the experimental findings and the microscopic theory used for the consistent quantitative analysis of the observations.
Ultrafast, off‐resonant strong field excitations of semiconductors result in extremely nonlinear, ultrafast, dynamical processes. Those include high‐harmonic and high–order sideband generation, as well as dynamical Bloch oscillations and quasi–particle interferences and collisions. Recently, high–powered light sources have also allowed the study of these phenomena in experiments. This review, presents an overview of the experimental findings, as well as the theory approaches used for their description.
As conventional electronics approaches its limits
, nanoscience has urgently sought methods of fast control of electrons at the fundamental quantum level
. Lightwave electronics
-the foundation of ...attosecond science
-uses the oscillating carrier wave of intense light pulses to control the translational motion of the electron's charge faster than a single cycle of light
. Despite being particularly promising information carriers, the internal quantum attributes of spin
and valley pseudospin
have not been switchable on the subcycle scale. Here we demonstrate lightwave-driven changes of the valley pseudospin and introduce distinct signatures in the optical readout. Photogenerated electron-hole pairs in a monolayer of tungsten diselenide are accelerated and collided by a strong lightwave. The emergence of high-odd-order sidebands and anomalous changes in their polarization direction directly attest to the ultrafast pseudospin dynamics. Quantitative computations combining density functional theory with a non-perturbative quantum many-body approach assign the polarization of the sidebands to a lightwave-induced change of the valley pseudospin and confirm that the process is coherent and adiabatic. Our work opens the door to systematic valleytronic logic at optical clock rates.
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