Optical polarization

About: Optical polarization is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 13992 publications have been published within this topic receiving 244284 citations.

Discovery of VHE gamma-rays from the blazar 1ES 1215+303 with the MAGIC telescopes and simultaneous multi-wavelength observations

Abstract: Context. We present the discovery of very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from the BL Lac object 1ES 1215+303 by the MAGIC telescopes and simultaneous multi-wavelength data in a broad energy range from radio to gamma-rays. Aims. We study the VHE gamma-ray emission from 1ES 1215+303 and its relation to the emissions in other wavelengths. Methods. Triggered by an optical outburst, MAGIC observed the source in 2011 January-February for 20.3 h. The target was monitored in the optical R-band by the KVA telescope that also performed optical polarization measurements. We triggered target of opportunity observations with the Swift satellite and obtained simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and from the Metsahovi radio telescope. We also present the analysis of older MAGIC data taken in 2010. Results. The MAGIC observations of 1ES 1215+303 carried out in 2011 January-February resulted in the first detection of the source at VHE with a statistical significance of 9.4 sigma. Simultaneously, the source was observed in a high optical and X-ray state. In 2010 the source was observed in a lower state in optical, X-ray, and VHE, while the GeV gamma-ray flux and the radio flux were comparable in 2010 and 2011. The spectral energy distribution obtained with the 2011 data can be modeled with a simple one zone SSC model, but it requires extreme values for the Doppler factor or the electron energy distribution.

Optical Clock Recovery Using a Polarization-Modulator-Based Frequency-Doubling Optoelectronic Oscillator

Abstract: We propose and demonstrate a flexible optical clock recovery scheme using a polarization-modulator-based frequency-doubling optoelectronic oscillator (OEO). The proposed system can extract both prescaled clock and line-rate clock from a degraded high-speed digital signal using only low-frequency devices. A simple theory is developed to study the physical basis of the optical clock recovery. The OEO operation from a free-running mode to an injection-locking mode is investigated. The locking range is quantitatively predicted. An experiment is then implemented to verify the proposed scheme. A prescaled clock at 10 GHz and a line-rate clock at 20 GHz are successfully extracted from a degraded 20 Gb/s optical time-division-multiplexed (OTDM) signal. The locking range and the phase noise performance are also experimentally investigated. Clock recovery from data signals that have no explicit subharmonic tone is also achieved. The proposed system can be modified to extract prescaled clock and line-rate clock from 160 Gb/s data signal using all 40-GHz devices.

Absence of magnetic domain wall motion during magnetic field induced twin boundary motion in bulk magnetic shape memory alloys

Abstract: A detailed study of twin boundary motion in NiMnGa single crystals together with in situ magnetic domain observation is presented. Optical polarization microscopy in connection with a magneto-optical indicator film technique was used to investigate the reorganization of the magnetic domains during twin boundary motion over a wide magnetic field range. Images at different field strengths demonstrate that no magnetic domain wall motion within the twins takes place, even during the structural reorientation by twin boundary movement. This absence of interaction of magnetic and structural domains is different from currently proposed models, which assume domain wall movement under an external field.

Trapping of light by metal arrays

Abstract: The problem of the near-IR light reflection from and transmittance through a planar 2D periodic metal–dielectric structure with a square periodic cell of two complex-shaped asymmetric metal elements has been solved. Conditions of the light confinement by excitation of the trapped mode resonances in certain structures, both polarization-sensitive and polarization-insensitive, were studied. For the first time, the existence of a high-order trapped mode resonance with the greater quality factor than that of the lowest one has been shown. It was ascertained that the Babinet principle provides a good prediction of the resonance properties of the complementary structures, despite the very high Joule losses in the metal strips in near-IR, a finite thickness of the metal elements and the presence of a dielectric substrate.