Thursday 31 January 2013

Physics News

An atom sheds light on neutron stars

Measurements of heavy form of zinc allow astronomers to model the crust of dead stars
Neutron star recipe
A newly formed neutron star (small white dot) sits in the center of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, about 11,000 light-years away, in this image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Measurements of a form of zinc on Earth have given researchers new clues to the composition of neutron stars.

IITM-Summer Fellowship Programme 2013

Applications are invited through online for IITM Summer Fellowship Programme for two months with fixed stipend of Rs 6,500/- in different departments of this Institute

Engineering: Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mechanics, Bio-Technology, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ocean Engineering

Science: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics

Warmer is not always wetter

Compared to global warming caused by solar radiation, global warming caused by greenhouse gases results in less rainfall, simulations suggest

By Erin Wayman

BIOLOGY NEWS

Specialized nerve fibers send touchy-feely messages to brain

Neurons found in mice that may underlie pleasurable feeling from massage

By Laura Sanders

Scholarship

The Cargill Global Scholarships Program for Undergraduate Students, 2013

www.cargillglobalscholars.com

Cargill funded the Cargill Global Scholarships Program for Brazil, China, India, Russia and the USA countries

The scholarship is available in Food, Agriculture and Risk Management

Scholarship Description: The Cargill Global Scholars Program is a distinctive scholarship opportunity that not only provides financial support, but offers leadership development opportunities through seminars, networking events, and a one-on-one mentoring program

These enrichment activities have been designed to help foster and enhance the Cargill Global Scholar’s leadership potential and critical thinking skills, and equip them with the tools necessary for becoming global leaders and decisions makers

PhD Admission

Indira Gandhi Institute Mumbai MSc MPhil PhD Admission 2013

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) invites applications for admission to the M.Sc/M.Phil/Ph.D programmes

M.Sc (Economics): Two year programme commencing in August, 2013

Eligibility: Minimum qualification for admission to M.Sc programme include one of the following degrees or their equivalents

B.A./B.Sc in Economics/B.Com/B.Stat/B.Sc (Physics or Mathematics)/B.Tech/B.E. with at least a 2nd division for Economics discipline and 1st division for other disciplines

The applicant must have studied Mathematics at the higher secondary or higher level

Need based scholarships are available to masters students as per institute’s norms

PRL Junior Research Fellowship Programme 2013

Applications are invited from highly motivated students for Junior Research Fellowships programme starting in August, 2013 in the broad areas of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Solar Physics, Planetary Sciences, Geosciences, Space and Atmospheric Sciences, Experimental Laser and Atomic Physics and Theoretical Physics

Physics News

Optical Fibers Illuminate Single Ion

A tiny cavity made from two optical fibers—previously used only with neutral atoms—strengthens the interaction between an ion and a photon, an important step toward quantum computers and networks.

Single Ion Coupled to an Optical Fiber Cavity

Matthias Steiner, Hendrik M. Meyer, Christian Deutsch, Jakob Reichel, and Michael Köhl

Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 043003 (2013)

Published January 25, 2013

**Trapped with a photon.** A single ion (fluorescence image in blue square) is trapped by electric fields generated by ten electrodes (only two pointy ones shown) in an optical cavity formed by the ends of two optical fibers encased in metal sleeves (squarish items at right and left). The ion continuously absorbs and emits a single photon of a wavelength determined by the length of the cavity.

X Rays with a Berry Twist

Controlling the Propagation of X-Ray Waves inside a Heteroepitaxial Crystal Containing Quantum Dots Using Berry’s Phase

Yoshiki Kohmura, Kei Sawada, Susumu Fukatsu, and Tetsuya Ishikawa

Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 057402 (2013)

Published January 28, 2013

X rays pass easily through many materials, which makes these photons useful for imaging but also hard to control, limiting the development of x-ray optics. Inspired by how visible light can be manipulated in photonic crystals, researchers are studying ways to engineer materials at the atomic scale to achieve better control on x-ray photons. In a paper in Physical Review Letters, Yoshiki Kohmura at the RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Japan, and colleagues, report on the use of a lattice deformation method that allows controlling the translation of an x-ray beam.

Boosting the Force of Light

Enhancing Optical Gradient Forces with Metamaterials

Vincent Ginis, Philippe Tassin, Costas M. Soukoulis, and Irina Veretennicoff

Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 057401 (2013)

Published January 28, 2013

The force exerted by light can be sufficient to manipulate nano- and micron-sized objects. These effects can be exploited to trap and move atoms and particles in devices such as optical tweezers, or to generate displacements in nanoscale optomechanical systems. Writing in Physical Review Letters, Vincent Ginis at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, and colleagues demonstrate theoretically that metamaterials can be used to dramatically enhance the optically induced mechanical forces between two coupled waveguides.

Compact Neutron Source Takes First Picture

Courtesy M. Roth/Technical University of Darmstadt BrightLaser-Driven Neutron Source Based on the Relativistic Transparency of Solids

Probing Kondo Physics with a Light Touch

In the Kondo effect, itinerant electrons with a degenerate degree of freedom usually a spin degree of freedomscreen a localized charge that shares the same degeneracy. At low temperatures, the Kondo effect is seen as a conductance peak at zero voltage bias. The usual way to make spin-resolved transport measurements to study the Kondo physics involves splitting the peak with a magnetic field into positive- and negative-bias peaks. This approach, however, has the drawback of affecting the physics that one wishes to study because it breaks the spin degeneracy essential for the Kondo effect. Now, writing in Physical Review Letters, Sami Amasha of Stanford University, California, and collaborators, present a new way of studying Kondo physics without disturbing it.

JEST-Exam

JEST-Exam Previous Year Question Papers

JEST - Exam

JEST - Exam Participating institutes

Visit the individual institute pages to view the programmes and subject areas being offered.
ARIES
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital: Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics.