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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Extension of the input–output relation for a Michelson interferometer to arbitrary coherent-state light sources: Gravitational-wave detector and weak-value amplification

An extension of the input–output relation for a conventional Michelson interferometric gravitational-wave detector is carried out to treat an arbitrary coherent state for the injected optical beam. This extension is one of necessary researches toward the clarification of the relation between conventional gravitational-wave detectors and a simple model of a gravitational-wave detector inspired by weak-measurements in Nishizawa (2015). The derived input–output relation describes not only a conventional Michelson-interferometric gravitational-wave detector but also the situation of weak measurements. As a result, we may say that a conventional Michelson gravitational-wave detector already includes the essence of the weak-value amplification as the reduction of the quantum noise from the light source through the measurement at the dark port.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

A new fast two-color interferometer at Alcator C-Mod for turbulence measurements and comparison with phase contrast imaging

Accurately predicting the turbulent transport properties of magnetically confined plasmas is a major challenge of fusion energy research. Validation of transport models is typically done by applying so-called “synthetic diagnostics” to the output of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations, and the results are compared to experimental data. As part of the validation process, comparing two independent turbulence measurements to each other provides the opportunity to test the synthetic diagnostics themselves; a step which is rarely possible due to limited availability of redundant fluctuation measurements on magnetic confinement experiments. At Alcator C-Mod, phase-contrast imaging (PCI) is a commonly used turbulence diagnostic. PCI measures line-integrated electron density fluctuations with high sensitivity and wavenumber resolution (1.6 cm{sup −1}≲|k{sub R}|≲11 cm{sup −1}). A new fast two-color interferometry (FTCI) diagnostic on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak measures long-wavelength (|k{sub R}|≲3.0 cm{sup −1}) line-integrated electron density fluctuations. Measurements of coherent and broadband fluctuations made by PCI and FTCI are compared here for the first time. Good quantitative agreement is found between the two measurements. This provides experimental validation of the low-wavenumber region of the PCI calibration, and also helps validate the low-wavenumber portions of the synthetic PCI diagnostic that has been used in gyrokinetic model validation work in the past. We discuss possibilities to upgrade FTCI, so that a similar comparison could be done at higher wavenumbers in the future.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Source localization of brain activity using helium-free interferometer

To detect extremely small magnetic fields generated by the human brain, currently all commercial magnetoencephalography (MEG) systems are equipped with low-temperature (low-T{sub c}) superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors that use liquid helium for cooling. The limited and increasingly expensive supply of helium, which has seen dramatic price increases recently, has become a real problem for such systems and the situation shows no signs of abating. MEG research in the long run is now endangered. In this study, we report a MEG source localization utilizing a single, highly sensitive SQUID cooled with liquid nitrogen only. Our findings confirm that localization of neuromagnetic activity is indeed possible using high-T{sub c} SQUIDs. We believe that our findings secure the future of this exquisitely sensitive technique and have major implications for brain research and the developments of cost-effective multi-channel, high-T{sub c} SQUID-based MEG systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Comparison of infinite and wedge fringe settings in Mach Zehnder interferometer for temperature field measurement

Interferometric method, which utilizes the interference of coherent light beams, is used to determine the temperature distribution in the vicinity of a vertical heater plate. The optical components are arranged so as to obtain wedge fringe and infinite fringe patterns and isotherms obtained in each case were compared. In wedge fringe setting, image processing techniques has been used for obtaining isotherms by digital subtraction of initial parallel fringe pattern from deformed fringe pattern. The experimental results obtained are compared with theoretical correlations. The merits and demerits of the fringe analysis techniques are discussed on the basis of the experimental results.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Bilocal current densities and mean trajectories in a Young interferometer with two Gaussian slits and two detectors

The recent single-photon double-slit experiment of Steinberg et al., based on a weak measurement method proposed by Wiseman, showed that, by encoding the photon’s transverse momentum behind the slits into its polarization state, the momentum profile can subsequently be measured on average, from a difference of the separated fringe intensities for the two circular polarization components. They then integrated the measured average velocity field, to obtain the average trajectories of the photons enroute to the detector array. In this paper, we propose a modification of their experiment, to demonstrate that the average particle velocities and trajectories change when the mode of detection changes. The proposed experiment replaces a single detector by a pair of detectors with a given spacing between them. The pair of detectors is configured so that it is impossible to distinguish which detector received the particle. The pair of detectors is then analogous to the simple pair of slits, in that it is impossible to distinguish which slit the particle passed through. To establish the paradoxical outcome of the modified experiment, the theory and explicit three-dimensional formulas are developed for the bilocal probability and current densities, and for the average velocity field and trajectories as the particle wavefunction propagates in the volume of space behind the Gaussian slits. Examples of these predicted results are plotted. Implementation details of the proposed experiment are discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Note: Directly measuring the direct digital synthesizer frequency chirp-rate for an atom interferometer

During gravity measurements with Raman type atom interferometry, the frequency of the laser used to drive Raman transition is scanned by chirping the frequency of a direct digital synthesizer (DDS), and the local gravity is determined by precisely measuring the chip rate α of DDS. We present an effective method that can directly evaluate the frequency chirp rate stability of our DDS. By mixing a pair of synchronous linear sweeping signals, the chirp rate fluctuation is precisely measured with a frequency counter. The measurement result shows that the relative α instability can reach 5.7 × 10{sup −11} in 1 s, which is neglectable in a 10{sup −9} g level atom interferometry gravimeter.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Towards the development of a hybrid-integrated chip interferometer for online surface profile measurements

Non-destructive testing and online measurement of surface features are pressing demands in manufacturing. Thus optical techniques are gaining importance for characterization of complex engineering surfaces. Harnessing integrated optics for miniaturization of interferometry systems onto a silicon wafer and incorporating a compact optical probe would enable the development of a handheld sensor for embedded metrology applications. In this work, we present the progress in the development of a hybrid photonics based metrology sensor device for online surface profile measurements. The measurement principle along with test and measurement results of individual components has been presented. For non-contact measurement, a spectrally encoded lateral scanning probe based on the laser scanning microscopy has been developed to provide fast measurement with lateral resolution limited to the diffraction limit. The probe demonstrates a lateral resolution of ∼3.6 μm while high axial resolution (sub-nanometre) is inherently achieved by interferometry. Further the performance of the hybrid tuneable laser and the scanning probe was evaluated by measuring a standard step height sample of 100 nm.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Radioastron studies of the nearby, turbulent interstellar plasma with the longest space-ground interferometer baseline

RadioAstron space-ground very long baseline interferometry observations of the pulsar B0950+08, conducted with the 10 m Space Radio Telescope in conjunction with the Arecibo 300 m telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope at a frequency of 324 MHz were analyzed in order to investigate plasma inhomogeneities in the direction of this nearby pulsar. The observations were conducted at a spacecraft distance of 330,000 km, resulting in a projected baseline of 220,000 km, providing the greatest angular resolution ever achieved at meter wavelengths. Our analysis is based on fundamental behavior of structure and coherence functions. We find that the pulsar shows scintillation on two frequency scales, both much less than the observing frequency, but modulation is less than 100%. We infer that the scattering is weak, but a refracting wedge disperses the scintillation pattern. The refraction angle of this 'cosmic prism' is measured as θ{sub 0} = 1.1-4.4 mas, with the refraction direction being approximately perpendicular to the observer velocity. We show that the observed parameters of scintillation effects indicate that two plasma layers lie along the line of sight to the pulsar, at distances of 4.4-16.4 pc and 26-170 pc, and traveling in different directions relative to the line of sight. Spectra of turbulence for the two layers are found to follow a power law with the indices γ{sub 1} = γ{sub 2} = 3.00 ± 0.08, significantly different from the index expected for a Kolmogorov spectrum of turbulence, γ = 11/3.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparison of theory with the experimental characterization of the spatial frequency response of interferometers using a binary pseudo-random array sample

Experimental evaluations of the surface height response of an interference microscope using a binary pseudo-random array test sample are compared with a theory based on a Fourier optics model. Measurements of key instrument characteristics, including the illumination, imaging, and obscuring apertures of three different Mirau objectives, support the theoretical calculations. Agreement between experimental and theoretical modeling confirms the predictability of the spatial frequency response for the purpose of specification and optimization of instrument configuration for specific metrology tasks. The results also provide confidence in methods of compensating for the decrease in instrument response with spatial frequency.

Calibration↗
DOE OSTI2016

POLARIMETRIC STUDIES OF MAGNETIC TURBULENCE WITH AN INTERFEROMETER

We study statistical properties of synchrotron polarization emitted from media with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We use both synthetic and MHD turbulence simulation data for our studies. We obtain the spatial spectrum and its derivative with respect to the wavelength of synchrotron polarization arising from both synchrotron radiation and Faraday rotation fluctuations. In particular, we investigate how the spectrum changes with frequency. We find that our simulations agree with the theoretical predication in Lazarian and Pogosyan. We conclude that the spectrum of synchrotron polarization and its derivative can be very informative tools to obtain detailed information about the statistical properties of MHD turbulence from radio observations of diffuse synchrotron polarization. They are especially useful for recovering the statistics of a turbulent magnetic field as well as the turbulent density of electrons. We also simulate interferometric observations that incorporate the effects of noise and finite telescope beam size, and demonstrate how we recover statistics of underlying MHD turbulence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Accurate Recovery of H i Velocity Dispersion from Radio Interferometers

Gas velocity dispersion measures the amount of disordered motion of a rotating disk. Accurate estimates of this parameter are of the utmost importance because the parameter is directly linked to disk stability and star formation. A global measure of the gas velocity dispersion can be inferred from the width of the atomic hydrogen (H i) 21 cm line. We explore how several systematic effects involved in the production of H i cubes affect the estimate of H i velocity dispersion. We do so by comparing the H i velocity dispersion derived from different types of data cubes provided by The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey. We find that residual-scaled cubes best recover the H i velocity dispersion, independent of the weighting scheme used and for a large range of signal-to-noise ratio. For H i observations, where the dirty beam is substantially different from a Gaussian, the velocity dispersion values are overestimated unless the cubes are cleaned close to (e.g., ∼1.5 times) the noise level.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exoplanet Sciences with Nulling Interferometers and a Single-mode Fiber-fed Spectrograph

Understanding the atmospheres of exoplanets is a milestone to decipher their formation history and potential habitability. High-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets is the major pathway toward the goal. Direct imaging of an exoplanet requires high spatial resolution. Interferometry has proven to be an effective way of improving spatial resolution. However, means of combining interferometry, high-contrast imaging, and high-resolution spectroscopy have been rarely explored. To fill in the gap, we present the dual-aperture fiber nuller (FN) for current-generation 8–10 m telescopes, which provides the necessary spatial and spectral resolution to (1) conduct follow-up spectroscopy of known exoplanets and (2) detect planets in debris-disk systems. The concept of feeding an FN to a high-resolution spectrograph can also be used for future space and ground-based missions. We present a case study of using the dual-aperture FN to search for biosignatures in rocky planets around M stars for a future space interferometry mission. Moreover, we discuss how an FN can be equipped on future extremely large telescopes by using the Giant Magellan Telescope as an example.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗