Amazing Light: A Volume Dedicated to Charles Hard Townes on His 80th Birthday

ISBN-13: 9781461275213 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 682 str.

Raymond Y. Chiao

Opis

This Festschrift is a collection of essays contributed by students, colleagues, and ad- mirers to honor an eminent scholar on a special anniversary: Charles Hard Townes on the occasion of his 80th birthday, July 28, 1995. In 1964, Townes shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov and Nikolai Gen- nadyevich Basov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle. " His contributions have covered a much wider area, however. His fruitful interests spanning several decades have included many scientific subjects, includ- ing, microwave spectroscopy and astrophysics (other articles in this volume will expand further on this point). He has also contributed to public service, having served as the chairman of the Science and Technology Advisory Committee for NASA's Apollo program, and as a member and vice chairman of the President's Science Advisory Committee. As the enormous breadth of contributions from his students shows, he has educated scholars who are now in a wide range of fields. The contributions from his many admirers, among whom are nine fellow Nobel laureates, attest to his impact on many disciplines ranging from electrical engi- neering to medicine. His influence extends even to theology, as is indicated by one essay. The broadly international character of this Festschrift reflects his deep belief in the international, universal nature of science.

Spis treści

1 Introduction: Charles Townes as I Have Known Him.- 2 Methane Optical Frequency Standard.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Two-mode He-Ne Laser with a Methane Absorption Cell.- 2.3 Absolute Frequency Measurements.- 2.4 Determination of the Unperturbed Transition Frequency(? = 3.39 ?m).- 2.5 Theoretical Estimates of Methane Standard Accuracy.- 2.5.1 Second-order Doppler Effect.- 2.5.2 Detuning of the Active and Absorption Line Centers.- 2.5.3 Transverse Inhomogeneity of the Gain.- 2.6 Future Possibilities.- 3 Mid-infrared Lines as Astrophysical Diagnostics: Two Decades of Problems and Promise.- 3.1 Youthful Enthusiasm.- 3.2 General Confusion.- 3.3 Maybe We Know What We’re Doing After All.- 3.4 Conclusion.- 4 The Laser Stabilitron.- 4.1 Background.- 4.2 Method of Intensity Stabilization.- 4.3 Coupled Field Equations and Photon Noise.- 4.4 Possible Systems for Realizing a Stabilitron.- 5 Self-Regulated Star Formation in Molecular Clouds.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Structure and Stability of Molecular Clouds.- 5.2.1 Gravitational Stability.- 5.2.2 The Dissipation Problem.- 5.3 Self-Regulated Star Formation.- 5.3.1 Energy Gain: Low-Mass Star Formation.- 5.3.2 Equilibrium Star Formation Rate.- 5.3.3 Photoionization-regulated Star Formation.- 5.3.4 Self-regulated Equilibrium States.- 5.4 Discussion.- 5.5 Summary.- 5.6 Acknowledgments.- 6 Long-baseline Interferometric Imaging at 11 Microns with 30 Milliarcsecond Resolution.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 The Infrared Spatial Interferometer.- 6.3 Highlights of Recent Results from the ISI.- 6.3.1 Broad Conclusions on Dust Shell Characteristics.- 6.3.2 Masers.- 6.4 Direct Inversion of Visibility Data.- 6.4.1 Methodology.- 6.4.2 Results.- 6.5 Conclusions.- 6.6 Acknowledgments.- 7 Ammonia in the Giant Planets.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 The Upper Atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.- 7.3 The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter.- 7.4 Acknowledgments.- 8 Collision Broadening and Radio-frequency Spectroscopy.- 8.1 Prehistory.- 8.2 Emission Spectroscopy.- 8.3 Laboratory Measurements of Microwave Absorption.- 8.4 The Inversion Spectrum of Ammonia.- 8.5 Further Studies of Collision Broadening at Oxford.- 8.6 High Resolution Microwave Spectroscopy.- 8.7 The Switch to Electron Paramagnetic Resonance.- 8.8 Atomic and Molecular Beams.- 8.9 Conclusion.- 8.10 Postscript.- 9 Meeting Charles H. Townes.- 10 Population Inversion and Superluminality.- 10.1 Introduction: The Ammonia Maser Revisited.- 10.2 Historical Review of Some Faster-than-Light Phenomena.- 10.3 Theory of Wave Packet Propagation in Transparent, Population-inverted Media.- 10.4 The Kramers-Kronig Relations Necessitate Superluminality.- 10.5 Considerations of Energy and of Superposition.- 10.6 Einstein Causality, and Sommerfeld and Brillouin’s Wave Velocities.- 10.7 An Experiment in an Optically Pumped Rubidium Vapor Cell.- 10.8 Concluding Personal Remarks.- 10.9 Acknowledgments.- 11 The Autler-Townes Effect Revisited.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Dressed-atom Approach to the Autler-Townes Effect.- 11.3 The Autler-Townes Effect in the Optical Domain.- 11.3.1 Case of Two Optical Transitions Sharing a Common Level.- 11.3.2 Single Optical Transition—The Mollow Triplet.- 11.4 The Autler-Townes Effect in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics.- 11.5 Doublets of Dressed States with a Position-dependent Rabi Frequency.- 11.5.1 Gradient (or Dipole) Forces.- 11.5.2 High Intensity Sisyphus Effect.- 12 Parity Nonconservation in Atoms and Searches for Permanent Electric Dipole Moments.- 12.1 Introduction.- 12.2 Parity Nonconservation in Atoms.- 12.2.1 General Background.- 12.2.2 PNC Experiments.- 12.3 Search for Electric Dipole Moments.- 12.4 A Brief Personal Note.- 13 Stark Dynamics and Saturation in Resonant Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy.- 13.1 Introduction.- 13.2 Weak Ground State Coupling Limit.- 13.3 Pure Raman Saturation.- 13.4 Full Resonance.- 14 A Raman Study of Fluorinated Ethanes Adsorbed on Zeolite NaX.- 14.1 Introduction.- 14.2 Experimental.- 14.3 Results and Discussion.- 14.3.1 Gas Phase.- 14.3.2 HFCs adsorbed on NaX.- 14.4 Conclusion.- 14.5 Acknowledgments.- 15 Laser Light-scattering Spectroscopy of Supercooled Liquids and the Glass Transition.- 15.1 Introduction.- 15.2 Experiments.- 15.3 Comparison with MCT.- 15.4 Acknowledgments.- 16 The Electronic Emission Spectra of Triatomic Hydrogen: The 6025? Bands of H2D and HD2.- 16.1 Introduction.- 16.2 Observed Spectra.- 16.3 Assignments.- 16.4 Predissociation and Line Widths.- 16.5 Discussion and Conclusion.- 17 Limitations for Frequency-based Absolute Length Measurements.- 17.1 Introduction.- 17.2 Basics.- 17.3 Accuracy Estimate.- 17.4 Conclusions.- 18 Microcavity Quantum Electrodynamics.- 18.1 Introduction.- 18.2 Mode Structure and Field Quantization in the Microcavity.- 18.3 Two Atom Dynamics: Correlated Spontaneous Emission and Relativistic Causality.- 18.4 Field Commutation Relations and Field Propagator.- 18.5 Electron Mass Renormalization.- 19 Testimonial for Celebration of Professor Charles Townes’ 80th Birthday.- 20 Marine Physical Laboratory: A Brief History.- 20.1 Introduction.- 20.2 World War II Research and the Creation of MPL.- 20.3 Research History.- 20.4 Research Platforms and Devices.- 20.4.1 Deep Tow Instrumentation System.- 20.4.2 Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP).- 20.4.3 Doppler Sonar Development.- 20.5 Acknowledgments.- 21 Searching for the Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease.- 21.1 Introduction.- 21.2 Important Facts about Alzheimer’s Disease.- 21.3 Current Hypotheses about Alzheimer’s Disease.- 21.4 Future Plans.- 22 Radio and Infrared Spectroscopy of Interstellar Molecules.- 22.1 History.- 22.2 Techniques.- 22.3 Application to Star Formation and Interstellar Chemistry.- 22.4 Observations and Interpretation in Orion IRc2 and GL2591.- 22.5 Future Prospects.- 22.6 Acknowledgments.- 23 Lessons Learned.- 23.1 Introduction.- 23.2 Lessons about Physics.- 23.3 Scientific Curiosity.- 23.4 Simplicity of Approach.- 23.5 Quality in All Endeavors.- 23.6 Lessons about Leadership.- 23.7 Lessons about Life.- 23.8 Conclusions.- 24 Infrared Spectroscopy of Jupiter in 1970 and in the 1990s.- 24.1 The Early 1970s.- 24.2 The Mid-1990s.- 24.2.1 H2 Dimers.- 24.2.2 Hot CO.- 24.3 Conclusion.- 25 The Galactic Center: Star Formation and Mass Distribution in the Central Parsec.- 25.1 Introducing the Phenomena.- 25.2 What Powers the Central Parsec?.- 25.3 Is SgrA* a Massive Black Hole?.- 25.4 Acknowledgments.- 26 Microwave Spectroscopy, the Maser, and Radio Astronomy: Charles Townes at Columbia.- 27 The Role of Radioactive 14C and 26Al in the Ionization of Circumstellar Envelopes.- 27.1 Introduction.- 27.2 Ionization.- 27.3 Radioactive Winds.- 27.4 Acknowledgments.- 28 The Clumpy Structure of Molecular Clouds.- 29 Spontaneous Emission Noise in Quantum Electronics.- 30 Possibility of Infrared Coronal Line Laser Emission in Seyfert Nuclei.- 30.1 Introduction.- 30.2 Stimulated Emission in Seyfert Nuclei.- 30.2.1 Population Inversions and Gain Lengths.- 30.2.2 Observational Tests.- 30.3 Conclusions.- 31 Concepts of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Quantum Optics.- 31.1 Introduction.- 31.2 The Resonance Equations.- 31.3 Optical Bloch-Maxwell Equations.- 31.4 Radiation Damping.- 31.5 NMR Maser and Optical Laser Threshold Condition.- 31.6 Optical Free-Induction Decay and the Photon Echo.- 31.7 Reaction Field Role During Linear Propagation.- 31.8 Two-pulse Photon Echo Phase-matching Condition.- 31.9 Principal Effects Common to NMR and Quantum Optics.- 31.10 Conclusion.- 31.11 Acknowledgment.- 32 Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Laser-polarized Noble Gases.- 33 Deterministic Order-Chaos Transition of Two Ions in a Paul Trap.- 33.1 Introduction.- 33.2 Equations of Motion.- 33.3 Experiments on Two Ions in a Paul Trap.- 33.4 Boundary Crisis.- 33.5 Numerical Studies of Transient Chaos.- 33.6 Conclusions.- 34 Infrared Emission and H2O Masers around Massive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei.- 34.1 Introduction.- 34.2 The Physical Model.- 34.3 Results: Infrared Emission from Clouds.- 34.4 Results: H2O Megamasers and the Massive Black Hole in NGC 4258.- 34.5 Conclusion.- 34.6 Acknowledgments.- 35 Knowing Charlie: In the 1950s and Since.- 36 The SH Radical: Laboratory Detection of its $$J = \frac \leftarrow \frac$$ Rotational Transition.- 36.1 Introduction.- 36.2 Experimental.- 36.3 Theory and Analysis.- 36.4 Interstellar Implications.- 36.5 Acknowledgments.- 37 Charlie Townes at Brookhaven.- 37.1 Fortunate Meeting.- 37.2 How to Find a Thesis.- 37.3 Searching for a Resonance.- 37.4 A Theory to Match the Experiment.- 37.5 The Nucleus as a Non-invasive Structural Probe.- 37.6 Pleasant Memories.- 38 Classical Theory of Measurement: A Big Step Towards the Quantum Theory of Measurement.- 38.1 Introduction.- 38.1.1 De Broglie.- 38.2 Outline of Method.- 38.3 Discussion of the Measurement Process.- 38.4 Computational Details.- 38.5 Results.- 38.6 Toward a Quantum Theory.- 39 The Physics of Nerve Excitation.- 40 The Future of Science Education.- 40.1 Preamble: The Influence of Science and Technology.- 40.2 Science Education.- 40.3 Scientific Literacy.- 40.4 Action Plan.- 41 Noncoherent Feedback in Space Masers and Stellar Lasers.- 41.1 From Quantum Physics to Quantum Electronics.- 41.2 Noncoherent and Nonresonant Scattering Feedback.- 41.3 Space Masers with Scattering Feedback.- 41.4 Stellar Lasers with a Resonance Scattering Feedback.- 41.5 Conclusions and Outlook.- 42 Application of Millisecond Pulsar Timing to the Long-term Stability of Clock Ensembles.- 42.1 Introduction.- 42.2 Terrestrial Clocks.- 42.3 Global Time Transfer.- 42.4 Terrestrial Timescales and the BIPM.- 42.5 The Techniques of Pulsar Timing.- 42.6 Stability of Pulsar Time Standards.- 42.7 Acknowledgments.- 43 Some Security Implications of Growing Electricity Demand for the Use of Nuclear Power in East Asia.- 43.1 The Global Context.- 43.2 Growth in Nuclear Power.- 43.3 Some Problems With International Implications.- 43.4 What Arrangements Will Be Needed?.- 43.5 Acknowledgments.- 44 Dynamic Control of the Photon Statistics in the Micromaser and Laser.- 44.1 Introduction.- 44.2 Master Equation for the Photon Distribution.- 44.2.1 Micromaser.- 44.2.2 Laser.- 44.3 Transient and Steady-State Photon Statistics.- 44.3.1 Micromaser.- 44.3.2 Laser.- 44.4 Acknowledgments.- 45 Sgr A* — A Starving Black Hole?.- 45.1 The Early Days.- 45.2 From the Nuclear Bulge to the Circumnuclear Disk.- 45.3 The Central Cavity, its Morphology and Luminosity.- 45.4 A Summary of Recent Observations of Sgr A*.- 45.4.1 The Radio through MIR Source Characteristics: Spectrum and Morphology.- 45.4.2 The NIR through X-ray Source Characteristics.- 45.5 The Nature of Sgr A*.- 45.5.1 The Radio Spectrum above 1 GHz.- 45.5.2 The Low-frequency Cut-off at ? < 1 GHz.- 45.5.3 The Accretion Disk around Sgr A*.- 45.6 Summary and Conclusions.- 46 Infrared Semiconductor Laser by Means of J x H Force Excitation of Electrons and Holes.- 46.1 Introduction.- 46.2 Principle of Lasing Action.- 46.3 Characteristics of the Emission.- 46.4 Conclusions.- 46.5 Acknowledgments.- 47 From Laser Beam Filamentation to Optical Solitons: The Influence of C. H. Townes on the Development of Modern Nonlinear Optics.- 48 Industrial Research in Today’s World.- 49 Far-infrared Imaging of the HII Region-Molecular Cloud Complex W51A with a Balloon-borne Telescope.- 49.1 Introduction.- 49.2 The HII Region—Molecular Cloud Complex W51.- 49.3 Instrumentation.- 49.4 Balloon Flight MIL 1.- 49.5 Calibration on Saturn.- 49.6 Imaging and Radiometry of W51A.- 49.6.1 Intensity Maps.- 46.6.2 Dust Emission Spectrum.- 49.6.3 Cloud Mass and Luminosity.- 49.6.4 Determination of Temperature and Optical Depth.- 49.7 Conclusion.- 49.8 Acknowledgments.- 50 Charles Townes: The Scientist and the Person.- 51 Neutron Spin Reorientation Experiments.- 51.1 Introduction.- 51.2 Neutron Sources.- 51.3 Reflection, Transport Polarization and Trapping of Neutrons.- 51.4 Neutron Magnetic Moment.- 51.5 Neutron Electric Dipole Moment.- 51.6 Dressed Neutrons.- 51.7 Berry Phase.- 51.8 Detection of Small Velocity Changes.- 51.9 Parity Non-conserving Spin Rotations.- 52 An Appreciative Response to Townes on Science and Religion.- 52.1 Introduction.- 52.2 Similarities Between Science and Religion.- 52.3 The Broader Context of Townes’s Claims.- 52.4 Looking Ahead.- 53 The Academic Ivory Tower Under Siege.- 53.1 The Crisis of Science and Society.- 53.2 The Responsibility of Scientists.- 53.3 Opportunities for Change.- 54 The Correlated Spontaneous Emission Maser Gyroscope.- 54.1 Acknowledgments.- 55 Astronomical, Atmospheric, and Wavefront Studies with a Submillimeter-wavelength Interferometer.- 55.1 Introduction.- 55.2 The Interferometer.- 55.3 Spectroscopy.- 55.3.1 The Orion Molecular Cloud Core.- 55.3.2 Planetary Spectroscopy.- 55.3.3 Atmospheric Spectroscopy.- 56 Theory of an Optical Subharmonic Generator.- 56.1 Introduction.- 56.2 Steady-State Operation.- 56.3 Build-up of Subharmonic Oscillation.- 56.4 Locking Condition.- 56.5 Conclusion.- 57 Hydrogen Masers and Lasers in Space.- 57.1 Introduction.- 57.2 Population Inversions and Masing in Atomic Hydrogen.- 57.3 Hydrogen Lasers.- 57.4 “Dasars”.- 57.5 Is MWC349 Unique?.- 57.6 Notes added in proof.- 57.7 Acknowledgments.- 58 Beyond the South Pole.- 58.1 Why Antarctica?.- 58.2 South Pole Station.- 58.3 Other High Plateau Sites.- 58.4 The Automated Geophysical Observatory.- 58.5 The AASTO.- 58.5.1 Near-infrared Sky Monitor.- 58.5.2 Mid-infrared Transmission and Sky Brightness Monitor.- 58.5.3 UV/Visible Sky Monitor.- 58.5.4 Future Plans.- 58.6 Acknowledgments.- 59 Townes and Nonlinear Optics.- 59.1 Note.- 60 Spectral Observations of the Molecular Cloud Orion S.- 60.1 Introduction.- 60.2 Observations.- 60.3 Analysis.- 60.4 Summary.- 60.5 Acknowledgments.- 60.6 Concluding Personal Remarks (by Ed Sutton).- 61 A Visit to America.- 62 Review of Some Photothermal Effects.- 62.1 Introduction.- 62.2 The Thin Thermal Lens.- 62.3 Uses for Absorption Measurement.- 62.4 Longer and Shorter Cells: Thermal Self-focusing.- 62.5 Higher Power Effects.- 62.6 Conclusion.- 63 Dark Matter and Faint Galactic Halo Light.- 63.1 Introduction.- 63.2 The Intensity of Scattered Light.- 63.3 Discussion.- 63.4 Summary.- 63.5 Acknowledgments.- 64 Optical Pump-Probe Experiments and the Higgs Field.- 64.1 Acknowledgments.