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E. Walker

Publications and source records attributed to E. Walker.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2019

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Spectrographs

We describe the design and performance of the near-infrared (1.51--1.70 micron), fiber-fed, multi-object (300 fibers), high resolution (R = lambda/delta lambda ~ 22,500) spectrograph built for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). APOGEE is a survey of ~ 10^5 red giant stars that systematically sampled all Milky Way populations (bulge, disk, and halo) to study the Galaxy's chemical and kinematical history. It was part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) from 2011 -- 2014 using the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico. The APOGEE-2 survey is now using the spectrograph as part of SDSS-IV, as well as a second spectrograph, a close copy of the first, operating at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Although several fiber-fed, multi-object, high resolution spectrographs have been built for visual wavelength spectroscopy, the APOGEE spectrograph is one of the first such instruments built for observations in the near-infrared. The instrument's successful development was enabled by several key innovations, including a "gang connector" to allow simultaneous connections of 300 fibers; hermetically sealed feedthroughs to allow fibers to pass through the cryostat wall continuously; the first cryogenically deployed mosaic volume phase holographic grating; and a large refractive camera that includes mono-crystalline silicon and fused silica elements with diameters as large as ~ 400 mm. This paper contains a comprehensive description of all aspects of the instrument including the fiber system, optics and opto-mechanics, detector arrays, mechanics and cryogenics, instrument control, calibration system, optical performance and stability, lessons learned, and design changes for the second instrument.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2017

Nonreciprocal transmission of sound in viscous fluid with asymmetric scatterers

Two common concepts of nonreciprocity in sound propagation are based on nonlinear effects [1, 2] and on local circulation of fluid [3, 4]. They originate from two known methods of breaking a time reversal symmetry, that is necessary for observation of nonreciprocal effects. Both concepts require additional devices to be installed with their own power sources. Recently it was demonstrated that acoustical losses may serve as a source of T-symmetry violation, thus leading to nonreciprocity in reflection of sound from gradient-index metasurface [5]. Here, we explore viscosity of fluid as a natural factor of T-symmetry breaking. We report experimental observation of the nonreciprocal transmission of ultrasound through a water-submerged phononic crystal consisting of asymmetric rods. Asymmetry, or broken P-symmetry, is the second necessary factor for nonreciprocity. Experimental results are in agreement with numerical simulations based on the Navier-Stokes equation. This passive nonreciprocal linear device is cheap, robust and does not require an energy source.

physics.flu-dyn↗
arXiv2015

Using genetic data to estimate diffusion rates in heterogeneous landscapes

Having a precise knowledge of the dispersal ability of a population in a heterogeneous environment is of critical importance in agroecology and conservation biology as it can provide management tools to limit the effects of pests or to increase the survival of endangered species. In this paper, we propose a mechanistic-statistical method to estimate space-dependent diffusion parameters of spatially-explicit models based on stochastic differential equations, using genetic data. Dividing the total population into subpopulations corresponding to different habitat patches with known allele frequencies, the expected proportions of individuals from each subpopulation at each position is computed by solving a system of reaction-diffusion equations. Modelling the capture and genotyping of the individuals with a statistical approach, we derive a numerically tractable formula for the likelihood function associated with the diffusion parameters. In a simulated environment made of three types of regions, each associated with a different diffusion coefficient, we successfully estimate the diffusion parameters with a maximum-likelihood approach. Although higher genetic differentiation among subpopulations leads to more accurate estimations, once a certain level of differentiation has been reached, the finite size of the genotyped population becomes the limiting factor for accurate estimation.

q-bio.PE↗
arXiv2014

PESSTO : survey description and products from the first data release by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects

The Public European Southern Observatory Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO) began as a public spectroscopic survey in April 2012. We describe the data reduction strategy and data products which are publicly available through the ESO archive as the Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 1 (SSDR1). PESSTO uses the New Technology Telescope with EFOSC2 and SOFI to provide optical and NIR spectroscopy and imaging. We target supernovae and optical transients brighter than 20.5mag for classification. Science targets are then selected for follow-up based on the PESSTO science goal of extending knowledge of the extremes of the supernova population. The EFOSC2 spectra cover 3345-9995A (at resolutions of 13-18 Angs) and SOFI spectra cover 0.935-2.53 micron (resolutions 23-33 Angs) along with JHK imaging. This data release contains spectra from the first year (April 2012 - 2013), consisting of all 814 EFOSC2 spectra and 95 SOFI spectra (covering 298 distinct objects), in standard ESO Phase 3 format. We estimate the accuracy of the absolute flux calibrations for EFOSC2 to be typically 15%, and the relative flux calibration accuracy to be about 5%. The PESSTO standard NIR reduction process does not yet produce high accuracy absolute spectrophotometry but the SOFI JHK imaging will improve this. Future data releases will focus on improving the automated flux calibration of the data products.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2007

Cost Effective Electronics for Proportional and Drift Chambers of 'EPECUR' Experiment

'EPECUR' experiment setup is under construction at the beam line 322 of the ITEP proton synchrotron. The experiment requires several large area drift chambers to provide reasonable acceptance and fine pitch proportional chambers for beam particle tracking with total number of electronic channels of about 7000. New compact and cost effective readout system for these gaseous detectors was designed, prototyped and tested in the latest two years based on the modern technologies in analog and digital electronics, as well as in data transfer protocols. Mass production of the proportional chamber electronics is close to the end, while the boards for the drift chambers are manufactured in the amount to equip one 8-plane module. The paper presents the functional description of the whole DAQ system and its main parts together with some of the test results as an illustration of the excellent performance of the system. The appendix contains specific information which may be useful for the system users or code developers.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2002

Observation of an unconventional metal-insulator transition in overdoped CuO_2 compounds

The electron dynamics in the normal state of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ is studied by inelastic light scattering over a wide range of doping. A strong anisotropy of the electron relaxation is found which cannot be explained by single-particle properties alone. The results strongly indicate the presence of an unconventional quantum-critical metal-insulator transition where "hot" (antinodal) quasiparticles become insulating while "cold" (nodal) quasiparticles remain metallic. A phenomenology is developed which allows a quantitative understanding of the Raman results and provides a scenario which links single- and many-particle properties.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1999

Carrier relaxation, pseudogap, and superconducting gap in high-Tc cuprates: A Raman scattering study

We describe results of electronic Raman-scattering experiments in differently doped single crystals of Y-123 and Bi-2212. The comparison of AF insulating and metallic samples suggests that at least the low-energy part of the spectra originates predominantly from excitations of free carriers. We therefore propose an analysis of the data in terms of a memory function approach. Dynamical scattering rates and mass-enhancement factors for the carriers are obtained. In B2g symmetry the Raman data compare well to the results obtained from ordinary and optical transport. For underdoped materials the dc scattering rates in B1g symmetry become temperature independent and considerably larger than in B2g symmetry. This increasing anisotropy is accompanied by a loss of spectral weight in B2g symmetry in the range between the superconducting transition at Tc and a characteristic temperature T* of order room temperature which compares well with the pseudogap temperature found in other experiments. The energy range affected by the pseudogap is doping and temperature independent. The integrated spectral loss is approximately 25% in underdoped samples and becomes much weaker towards higher carrier concentration. In underdoped samples, superconductivity related features in the spectra can be observed only in B2g symmetry. The peak frequencies scale with Tc. We do not find a direct relation between the pseudogap and the superconducting gap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1999

Scaling of the Hall Resistivity in the Solid and Liquid Vortex Phases in Twinned Single Crystal YBCO

Longitudinal and Hall voltages are measured in a clean twinned YBCO single crystal in the liquid and solid vortex phases. For magnetic fields tilted away from the c-axis more than about 2 deg, a scaling law |rho_xy|=A (rho_xx)^beta with beta approx.=1.4 is observed, which is unaffected by the vortex-lattice melting transition. The vortex-solid Hall conductivity is non-linear and diverges to negative values at low temperature. When the magnetic field is aligned to the c-axis, the twin-boundary correlated disorder modifies the scaling law, and beta approx.=2. The scaling law is unaffected by the Bose-glass transition. We discuss the scaling behaviour in terms of the dimension-dependent theory for percolation in metallic conductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1998

Physical origin of the buckling in CuO$_2$: Electron-phonon coupling and Raman spectra

It is shown theoretically that the buckling of the CuO$_{2}$ planes in certain cuprate systems can be explained in terms of an electric field across the planes which originates from different valences of atoms above and below the plane. This field results also in a strong coupling of the Raman-active out-of-phase vibration of the oxygen atoms ($B_{1g}$ mode) to the electronic charge transfer between the two oxygens in the CuO$_{2}$ plane. Consequently, the electric field can be deduced from the Fano-type line shape of the $B_{1g}$ phonon. Using the electric field estimated from the electron-phonon coupling the amplitude of the buckling is calculated and found to be in good agreement with the structural data. Direct experimental support for the idea proposed is obtained in studies of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ and Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$(Ca$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$)Cu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ with different oxygen and yttrium doping, respectively, including antiferromagnetic samples. In the latter compound, symmetry breaking by replacing Ca partially by Y leads to an enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling by an order of magnitude.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1998

Hall Anomaly and Vortex-Lattice Melting in Superconducting Single Crystal YBa2Cu3O7-d

Sub-nanovolt resolution longitudinal and Hall voltages are measured in an ultra pure YBa2Cu3O7-d single crystal. The Hall anomaly and the first-order vortex-lattice melting transition are observed simultaneously. Changes in the dynamic behavior of the vortex solid and liquid are correlated with features of the Hall conductivity sxy. With the magnetic field oriented at an angle from the twin-boundaries, the Hall conductivity sharply decreases toward large negative values at the vortex-lattice melting transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1998

Enhanced Electron-Phonon Coupling and its Irrelevance to High T$_{c}$ Superconductivity

It is argued that the origin of the buckling of the CuO$_{2}$ planes in certain cuprates as well as the strong electron-phonon coupling of the $B_{1g}$ phonon is due to the electric field across the planes induced by atoms with different valence above and below. The magnitude of the electric field is deduced from new Raman results on YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$ and Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$(Ca$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$)Cu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ with different O and Y doping, respectively. In the latter case it is shown that the symmetry breaking by replacing Ca partially by Y enhances the coupling by an order of magnitude, while the superconducting $T_c$ drops to about two third of its original value.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1997

Observation of d-wave scaling relations in the mixed-state specific heat of YBa2Cu3O7

The low temperature specific heat C(B,T) of an YBa2Cu3O7.00 single crystal is measured from 1.2 to 10 K in magnetic fields up to 14 T. The anisotropic component Caniso(T,B)=C(T,B//c)-C(T,B//ab) is a pure vortex quantity obtained directly from experiment. It follows a scaling relation predicted recently for line nodes characteristic of d-wave vortices. Our experimental field and temperature range corresponds to a crossover region where the limit Caniso(T,B)is proportional to T*sqrt(B) does not strictly apply. The variation of the entropy caused by the magnetic field at low T is thermodynamically compatible with measurements near Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1997

Systematics of two-component superconductivity in $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$ from microwave measurements of high quality single crystals

Systematic microwave surface impedance measurements of YBCO single crystals grown in $BaZrO_3$ crucibles reveal new properties that are not directly seen in similar measurements of other YBCO samples. Two key observations obtained from complex conductivity are: a new normal conductivity peak at around 80K and additional pairing below 65K. High pressure oxygenation of one of the crystals still yields the same results ruling out any effect of macroscopic segregation of O-deficient regions. A single complex order parameter cannot describe these data, and the results suggest at least two superconducting components. Comparisons with model calculations done for various decoupled two-component scenarios (i.e. s+d, d+d) are presented. Systematics of three single crystals show that the 80K quasiparticle peak is correlated with the normal state inelastic scattering rate. Close to Tc, the data follow a mean-field behavior. Overall, our results strongly suggest the presence of multiple pairing temperature and energy scales in $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1997

Observation of coherent Josephson response in the non-linear ab-plane microwave impedance of $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$ single crystals

We report novel non-linear phenomena in the $ab$-plane microwave impedance of $YBaCu_{2}O_{7-δ}$ single crystals. The $R_s$ vs. $H_{rf}$ data are well described by the non-linear RSJ model : $\dotϕ+\sin ϕ=i_{rf}\cos ωt$. The entire crystal behaves like a single Josephson junction. The extraordinary coherence of the data suggests an intrinsic mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv1996

New features in the microwave response of YBCO crystals: Evidence for a multi-component order parameter

New features are reported in precision measurements of the complex microwave conductivity of high quality $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$ crystals grown in $BaZrO_{3}$ crucibles. A third peak in the normal conductivity, $\sigma_{1}(T)$, at around $80K$, and enhanced pair conductivity $\sigma_{2}(T)$ below $\sim 65K$ are observed. The data are inconsistent with a single order parameter, and instead are indicative of multi-component superconductivity. Overall, these results point to the presence of multiple pairing interactions in $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$ and also provide a natural explanation to account for the low temperature $35K$ conductivity peak observed in all $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.95}$ crystals.

cond-mat.supr-con↗