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Charles H. Townes

Bio: Charles H. Townes is an academic researcher from University of California, Berkeley. The author has contributed to research in topics: Infrared Spatial Interferometer & Interferometry. The author has an hindex of 62, co-authored 345 publications receiving 19318 citations. Previous affiliations of Charles H. Townes include University of California & University of California, Santa Cruz.


Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the frequencies, assignment of qua nt um numbers, and intensities of over 700 microwave absorption lines were given, and a short discuss ion of mi crowave spcctra an d impor tan t formulas is given.
Abstract: This paper presents a group of t ables t hat give the frequencies, assignment of qua nt um numbers, and intensities of over 700 microwave absorption lines. The best availabl e valu es of other per t inen t m olecul ar data, s uch a s moment s of in ert ia, dipole moments, quadrupole coupling constant s, a nd rotation-vibration constants are also in cluded. The freq uencies are listed once for' each molecule and again in consecut ive ascending order of frequency . References are given for all data included. Frequencies listed to t he neares t megacycle were generally measured with a cavi ty wave meter a nd may be in error by as much as 10 mega cycles, whereas t hose given to' a fraction of a megacycle are genera lly known to a n accuracy of about 0.1 megacycle. A short discuss ion of mi crowave spcctra an d impor tan t formulas is given. For easy calculation of hyperfine st ructure Cas imir's fun ction is tab ulated up to J = 10 a nd 1 = 9/2.

41 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the inner 360'' regions of M51 in the 158 μm [C II] line at 55'' spatial resolution using the far-infrared imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer (FIFI) on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO).
Abstract: We have mapped the inner 360'' regions of M51 in the 158 μm [C II] line at 55'' spatial resolution using the far-infrared imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer (FIFI) on the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO). The emission is peaked at the nucleus but is detectable over the entire region mapped, which covers much of the optical disk of the galaxy. There are also two strong secondary peaks at ~43%-70% of the nuclear value located roughly 120'' to the northeast and southwest of the nucleus. These secondary peaks are at the same distance from the nucleus as the corotation radius of the density wave pattern. The density wave also terminates at this location, and the outlying spiral structure is attributed to material clumping due to the interaction between M51 and NGC 5195. This orbit crowding results in cloud-cloud collisions, stimulating star formation, that we see as enhanced [C II] line emission. The [C II] emission at the peaks originates mainly from photodissociation regions (PDRs) formed on the surfaces of molecular clouds that are exposed to OB starlight, so that these [C II] peaks trace star formation peaks in M51. The total mass of [C II]-emitting photodissociated gas is ~2.6 × 108 M☉, or about 2% of the molecular gas as estimated from its CO (1-0) line emission. At the peak [C II] positions, the PDR gas mass to total gas mass fraction is somewhat higher, 3%-17%, and at the secondary peaks the mass fraction of the [C II]-emitting photodissociated gas can be as high as 72% of the molecular mass. Using PDR models, we estimate that the far-UV field intensities are a few hundred times the local Galactic interstellar radiation field, similar to that found near OB star-forming giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way. The density solution is degenerate, with both a low- (n ~ 102-103 cm-3) and a high-density (n ~ 103-106 cm-3) solution. Our analysis shows that a substantial amount of the observed [C II] emission from the galaxy as a whole can arise from the ionized medium and that the contribution from the cold neutral medium (CNM) is not negligible. At the [C II] peaks, probably ~7%-36% of the [C II] emission arises from the CNM, while northwest of the nucleus, most of the observed emission may arise from the CNM.

39 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The J = 27-26 and J = 30-29 transitions of CO have been detected in the Orion molecular cloud and an improved measurement of the J = 21-20 transition, together with an estimation of the temperature and density of the shocked material and the fractional abundance of CO has been obtained in this article.
Abstract: The J = 27-26 and J = 30-29 transitions of CO have been detected in the Orion molecular cloud. These detections, together with an improved measurement of the J = 21-20 transition, allow estimation of the temperature and density of the shocked material and the fractional abundance of CO. By solving the equations of detailed balance for J less than or equal to 50 and fitting the data to a two-component model consistent with earlier 2-micron and 12-micron H2 observations, it is shown that the hot (2000 K) component has a density of approximately 1.0 x 10 to the 6th/cu cm, while the cooler component lies in the range of 400-1000 K and is 2-5 times more dense. Approximately 25% of the carbon is in the form of CO. The spatial extent of the hot CO has also been examined by observing the J = 21-20 transition at a number of positions, and it is found to be distributed similarly to the H2 lines. In addition, a search for J = 21-20 and J = 22-21 CO emission from six other sources has resulted in 3-standard-deviation upper limits of a factor of 10 below the intensity of the Orion lines.

37 citations

Book
08 Apr 1999

37 citations


Cited by
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[...]

08 Dec 2001-BMJ
TL;DR: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one, which seems an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.
Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

33,785 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments.
Abstract: Coherent preparation by laser light of quantum states of atoms and molecules can lead to quantum interference in the amplitudes of optical transitions. In this way the optical properties of a medium can be dramatically modified, leading to electromagnetically induced transparency and related effects, which have placed gas-phase systems at the center of recent advances in the development of media with radically new optical properties. This article reviews these advances and the new possibilities they offer for nonlinear optics and quantum information science. As a basis for the theory of electromagnetically induced transparency the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser. They then discuss pulse propagation and the adiabatic evolution of field-coupled states and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments. The extension of these concepts to very weak optical fields in the few-photon limit is then examined. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects and potential new applications.

4,218 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1963
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the semiclassical theory, when extended to take into account both the effect of the field on the molecules and the effects of the molecules on the field, reproduces the same laws of energy exchange and coherence properties as the quantized field theory, even in the limit of one or a few quanta in the field mode.
Abstract: This paper has two purposes: 1) to clarify the relationship between the quantum theory of radiation, where the electromagnetic field-expansion coefficients satisfy commutation relations, and the semiclassical theory, where the electromagnetic field is considered as a definite function of time rather than as an operator; and 2) to apply some of the results in a study of amplitude and frequency stability in a molecular beam maser. In 1), it is shown that the semiclassical theory, when extended te take into account both the effect of the field on the molecules and the effect of the molecules on the field, reproduces almost quantitatively the same laws of energy exchange and coherence properties as the quantized field theory, even in the limit of one or a few quanta in the field mode. In particular, the semiclassical theory is shown to lead to a prediction of spontaneous emission, with the same decay rate as given by quantum electrodynamics, described by the Einstein A coefficients. In 2), the semiclassical theory is applied to the molecular beam maser. Equilibrium amplitude and frequency of oscillation are obtained for an arbitrary velocity distribution of focused molecules, generalizing the results obtained previously by Gordon, Zeiger, and Townes for a singel-velocity beam, and by Lamb and Helmer for a Maxwellian beam. A somewhat surprising result is obtained; which is that the measurable properties of the maser, such as starting current, effective molecular Q, etc., depend mostly on the slowest 5 to 10 per cent of the molecules. Next we calculate the effect of amplitude and frequency of oscillation, of small systematic perturbations. We obtain a prediction that stability can be improved by adjusting the system so that the molecules emit all their energy h Ω to the field, then reabsorb part of it, before leaving the cavity. In general, the most stable operation is obtained when the molecules are in the process of absorbing energy from the radiation as they leave the cavity, most unstable when they are still emitting energy at that time. Finally, we consider the response of an oscillating maser to randomly time-varying perturbations. Graphs are given showing predicted response to a small superimposed signal of a frequency near the oscillation frequency. The existence of "noise enhancing" and "noise quieting" modes of operation found here is a general property of any oscillating system in which amplitude is limited by nonlinearity.

3,928 citations

01 Oct 1966
TL;DR: In this method, non-linear susceptibility tensors are introduced which relate the induced dipole moment to a power series expansion in field strengths and the various experimental observations are described and interpreted in terms of this formalism.
Abstract: Recent advances in the field of nonlinear optical phenomena are reviewed with particular empphasis placed on such topics as parametric oscillation self-focusing and trapping of laser beams, and stimulated Raman, Rayleigh, and Brillouin scattering. The optical frequency radiation is treated classically in terms of the amplitudes and phases of the electromagnetic fields. The interactions of light waves in a mterial are then formulated in terms of Maxwell's equations and the electric dipole approximation. In this method, non-linear susceptibility tensors are introdueed which relate the induced dipole moment to a power series expansion in field strengths. The tensor nature and the frequency dependence of the nonlinearity coefficients are considered. The various experimental, observations are described and interpreted in terms of this formalism.

3,893 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Tests of general relativity at the post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion, and frame-dragging.
Abstract: The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analyzing them is reviewed and updated. Einstein’s equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the Eotvos experiment, tests of local Lorentz invariance and clock experiments. Ongoing tests of EEP and of the inverse square law are searching for new interactions arising from unification or quantum gravity. Tests of general relativity at the post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion, and frame-dragging. Gravitational wave damping has been detected in an amount that agrees with general relativity to better than half a percent using the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, and a growing family of other binary pulsar systems is yielding new tests, especially of strong-field effects. Current and future tests of relativity will center on strong gravity and gravitational waves.

3,394 citations