1. New achievements in orbital angular momentum beam characterization using a Hartmann wavefront sensor and the Kirkpatrick-Baez active optical system KAOSLuka Novinec, Matteo Pancaldi, Flavio Capotondi, Giovanni De Ninno, Francesco Guzzi, George Kourousias, Emanuele Pedersoli, Barbara Ressel, Benedikt Rösner, Alberto Simoncig, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Advances in physics have been significantly driven by state-of-the-art technology, and in photonics and X-ray science this calls for the ability to manipulate the characteristics of optical beams. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams hold substantial promise in various domains such as ultra-high-capacity optical communication, rotating body detection, optical tweezers, laser processing, super-resolution imaging etc. Hence, the advancement of OAM beam-generation technology and the enhancement of its technical proficiency and characterization capabilities are of paramount importance. These endeavours will not only facilitate the use of OAM beams in the aforementioned sectors but also extend the scope of applications in diverse fields related to OAM beams. At the FERMI Free-Electron Laser (Trieste, Italy), OAM beams are generated either by tailoring the emission process on the undulator side or, in most cases, by coupling a spiral zone plate (SZP) in tandem with the refocusing Kirkpatrick–Baez active optic system (KAOS). To provide a robust and reproducible workflow to users, a Hartmann wavefront sensor (WFS) is used for both optics tuning and beam characterization. KAOS is capable of delivering both tightly focused and broad spots, with independent control over vertical and horizontal magnification. This study explores a novel non-conventional `near collimation' operational mode aimed at generating beams with OAM that employs the use of a lithographically manufactured SZP to achieve this goal. The article evaluates the mirror's performance through Hartmann wavefront sensing, offers a discussion of data analysis methodologies, and provides a quantitative analysis of these results with ptychographic reconstructions.
Keywords: tailored photonics beams, orbital angular momentum of light, wavefront sensing, ptychography
Published in RUNG: 19.08.2024; Views: 495; Downloads: 3
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3. Optical properties of near-surface urban aerosols and their chemical tracing in a Mediterranean city (Athens)Dimitris Katsanos, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Eleni Liakakou, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Iasonas Stavroulas, D. Paraskevopoulou, Maria Lianou, Basil E. Psiloglou, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Christodoulos Pilinis, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: One-year measurements (October 2016–September 2017) of aerosol optical properties in the Athens urban environment were analyzed; for closure purposes, the results were supported by data of chemical composition of the non-refractory submicron aerosol fraction acquired with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). Both the spectral scattering (bsca) and absorption (babs) coefficients exhibit a pronounced annual variability with higher values (63.6 Mm–1 at 550 nm and 41.0 Mm–1 at 520 nm, respectively) in winter, due to domestic heating releasing increased carbonaceous emissions and the shallow mixing layer trapping aerosols near the surface. Much lower values (33.5 Mm–1 and 22.9 Mm–1 for bsca and babs, respectively) are found during summer, indicating rather aged aerosols from regional sources. The estimations of the dry spectral single scattering albedo (SSA), scattering (SAE) and absorption (AAE) Ångström exponents focus on the seasonality of the urban aerosols. The high SAE (~2.0) and low SSA (0.62 ± 0.11) values throughout the year indicate the dominance of fine-absorbing aerosols from fossil-fuel combustion, while the high AAE (~1.5) in winter suggests enhanced presence of biomass-burning aerosols. Pronounced morning and late evening/night peaks are found in both bsca and babs during winter, coinciding with the morning traffic rush hour and increased residential wood burning in the evening, while in the other seasons, the diurnal patterns flatten out. The wind speed strongly affects the aerosol loading and properties in winter, since for winds below 3 m s–1, a high increase in bsca and babs is observed, consistent with low dilution processes and hazy/smoggy conditions. Our closure experiments indicate a good agreement (R2 = 0.91, slope = 1.08) between the reconstructed and measured bsca values and reveal that organic matter contributes about half of the sub-micron mass in winter, followed by sulfate (~40%) and nitrate (10%, only in winter) aerosols.
Keywords: urban aerosols, light scattering, absorption, chemical species, wood burning, Athens
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 632; Downloads: 5
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4. Absorption enhancement of black carbon particles in a Mediterranean city and countryside : effect of particulate matter chemistry, ageing and trend analysisJesús Yus-Díez, Marta Via, Andrés Alastuey, Angeliki Karanasiou, Maria Cruz Minguillon, Noemí Perez, Xavier Querol, Cristina Reche, Matic Ivančič, Martin Rigler, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Abstract. Black carbon (BC) is recognized as the most important warming agent among atmospheric aerosol particles. The absorption efficiency of pure BC is rather well-known, nevertheless the mixing of BC with other aerosol particles can enhance the BC light absorption efficiency, thus directly affecting Earth's radiative balance. The effects on climate of the BC absorption enhancement due to the mixing with these aerosols are not yet well constrained because these effects depend on the availability of material for mixing with BC, thus creating regional variations. Here we present the mass absorption cross-section (MAC) and absorption enhancement of BC particles (Eabs), at different wavelengths (from 370 to 880 nm for online measurements and at 637 nm for offline measurements) measured at two sites in the western Mediterranean, namely Barcelona (BCN; urban background) and Montseny (MSY; regional background). The Eabs values ranged between 1.24 and 1.51 at the urban station, depending on the season and wavelength used as well as on the pure BC MAC used as a reference. The largest contribution to Eabs was due to the internal mixing of BC particles with other aerosol compounds, on average between a 91 % and a 100 % at 370 and 880 nm, respectively. Additionally, 14.5 % and 4.6 % of the total enhancement at the short ultraviolet (UV) wavelength (370 nm) was due to externally mixed brown carbon (BrC) particles during the cold and the warm period, respectively. On average, at the MSY station, a higher Eabs value was observed (1.83 at 637 nm) compared to BCN (1.37 at 637 nm), which was associated with the higher fraction of organic aerosols (OA) available for BC coating at the regional station, as denoted by the higher organic carbon to elemental carbon (OC:EC) ratio observed at MSY compared to BCN. At both BCN and MSY, Eabs showed an exponential increase with the amount of non-refractory (NR) material available for coating (RNR-PM). The Eabs at 637 nm at the MSY regional station reached values up to 3 during episodes with high RNR-PM, whereas in BCN, Eabs kept values lower than 2 due to the lower relative amount of coating materials measured at BCN compared to MSY. The main sources of OA influencing Eabs throughout the year were hydrocarbon OA (HOA) and cooking-related OA (COA), i.e. primary OA (POA) from traffic and cooking emissions, respectively, at both 370 and 880 nm. At the short UV wavelength (370 nm), a strong contribution to Eabs from biomass burning OA (BBOA) and less oxidized oxygenated OA (LO-OOA) sources was observed in the colder period. Moreover, we found an increase of Eabs with the ageing state of the particles, especially during the colder period. This increase of Eabs with particle ageing was associated with a larger relative amount of secondary OA (SOA) compared to POA. The availability of a long dataset at both stations from offline measurements enabled a decade-long trend analysis of Eabs at 637 nm, that showed statistically significant (s.s.) positive trends of Eabs during the warmer months at the MSY station. This s.s. positive trend in MSY mirrored the observed increase of the OC:EC ratio over time. Moreover, in BCN during the COVID-19 lockdown period in spring 2020 we observed a sharp increase of Eabs due to the observed sharp increase of the OC:EC ratio. Our results show similar values of Eabs to those found in the literature for similar background stations.
Keywords: black carbomn, coating, organic aerosol, light absorption
Published in RUNG: 10.05.2024; Views: 733; Downloads: 5
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5. Anthropic settlementsʹ impact on the light-absorbing aerosol concentrations and heating rate in the arcticNiccolò Losi, Piotr Markuszewski, Martin Rigler, Asta Gregorič, Griša Močnik, Violetta Drozdowska, Przemek Makuch, Tymon Zielinski, Paulina Pakszys, Małgorzata Kitowska, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Light-absorbing aerosols (LAA) impact the atmosphere by heating it. Their effect in the Arctic was investigated during two summer Arctic oceanographic campaigns (2018 and 2019) around the Svalbard Archipelago in order to unravel the differences between the Arctic background and the local anthropic settlements. Therefore, the LAA heating rate (HR) was experimentally determined. Both the chemical composition and high-resolution measurements highlighted substantial differences between the Arctic Ocean background (average eBC concentration of 11.7 ± 0.1 ng/m3) and the human settlements, among which the most impacting appeared to be Tromsø and Isfjorden (mean eBC of 99.4 ± 3.1 ng/m3). Consequently, the HR in Isfjorden (8.2 × 10−3 ± 0.3 × 10−3 K/day) was one order of magnitude higher than in the pristine background conditions (0.8 × 10−3 ± 0.9 × 10−5 K/day). Therefore, we conclude that the direct climate impact of local LAA sources on the Arctic atmosphere is not negligible and may rise in the future due to ice retreat and enhanced marine traffic.
Keywords: light-absorbing aerosols, black carbon, climate change, heating rate
Published in RUNG: 21.12.2023; Views: 1391; Downloads: 7
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6. Highlights from the Telescope Array ExperimentJ. Kim, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2023, published scientific conference contribution (invited lecture) Abstract: The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) observatory in the Northern Hemisphere. Together with the TA Low Energy Extension (TALE), TA×4, and TALE infill detector, the TA measures the properties of UHECR-induced extensive air showers (EAS) in the energy region from 10^15 eV to over 10^20 eV. Each of these uses a hybrid system with an array of scintillators to sample the footprint of the EAS at the Earth’s surface along with telescopes that measure the fluorescence and Cherenkov light from the EAS. The statistics at the highest energies are being enhanced with the TA×4 detector, half completed but still under construction, which will quadruple the surface detector area with telescopes. The TALE infill surface detectors were recently deployed to further lower the hybrid energy threshold of TALE. We present the status of the experiment and recent results on the energy spectrum, mass composition, and anisotropy, including new features in the energy spectrum at about 10^19.2 eV and in the UHECR arrival direction anisotropy.
Keywords: Telescope Array, TALE, low energy extension, TAx4, indirect detection, hybrid detection, ground array, surface detection, fluorescence detection, cerenkov light, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, energy spectrum, composition, anisotropy
Published in RUNG: 10.10.2023; Views: 1379; Downloads: 7
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7. Cosmic ray mass composition measurement with the TALE hybrid detectorK. Fujita, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We report on the cosmic ray mass composition measured by the Telescope Array Low-energy Extension (TALE) hybrid detector. The TALE detector consists of a Fluorescence Detector (FD) station with 10 FD telescopes located at the TA Middle Drum FD Station (itself made up of 14 FD telescopes), and a Surface Detector (SD) array of scintillation counters. The SD array consists of 40 counters with 400 m spacing and 40 counters with 600 m spacing. The FD station, with a total of 24 telescopes, overlooks the SD array and provides sky coverage with an elevation angle range of 3∘ to 59∘. In this contribution, we will present the latest result of the cosmic ray mass composition measurement in the energy range from 10^16.5 eV to 10^18.5 eV using almost 5 years of TALE hybrid data.
Keywords: Telescope Array, TALE, low energy extension, indirect detection, hybrid detection, ground array, infill array, fluorescence detection, cerenkov light, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, composition
Published in RUNG: 09.10.2023; Views: 1357; Downloads: 7
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8. Telescope Array Cloud Ranging TestT. Okuda, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Telescope Array (TA) experiment detects air-showers induced by ultra high energy cosmic rays. The TA atmospheric Fluorescence telescopic Detector(TAFD) observes cosmic ray airshower, which is incident very far from the telescope. The observation does not take place in overcast night. However, the cloud status changes quickly and sometimes there are some isolated clouds. If the cloud is behind the airshower as viewed from the TAFD, the cloud presents no problem for airshower reconstruction. However if the cloud obscures the airshower, it does create a problem for airshower reconstruction. The problematic event can be rejected by airshower profile at reconstruction. However, the estimation of exposure with isolated cloud is difficult. And it should be affected more at higher energy event with relatively further from the telescope, which is lower statistics and more important for the ultra high energy cosmic ray physics. Therefore, to test the method for evaluating the correction of exposure, we installed stereo cloud cameras near one of FD sites. I report the status of the study of the Telescope Array Cloud Ranging Test.
Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, cerenkov light, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, atmosphere, cloud detection, exposure, air shower reconstruction
Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 1729; Downloads: 8
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9. FOV direction and image size calibration of Fluorescence Detector using light source on UAVA. Nakazawa, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: In the Telescope Array (TA) experiment, we have been observing cosmic rays using a Fluorescence Detector (FD). More than 10 years have passed since we started this observation, and the accuracy of the observation has become more important than ever. We have developed the "Opt-copter" as a calibration device for the FDs. The Opt-copter is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a light source and can fly freely within the FD's field of view (FOV). In addition, the Opt-copter is equipped with a high-precision RTK-GPS, which enables it to accurately determine the position of the light source in flight. With this device, we can obtain detailed information on the optical characteristics of the FD. So far, we have reported on the configuration of the device and the analysis of the FOV direction. In this presentation, we will report on the new FOV analysis and image size analysis.
Keywords: Telescope Array, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, light source, calibration, UAV, FOV
Published in RUNG: 04.10.2023; Views: 1629; Downloads: 8
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10. Energy spectrum of cosmic rays measured using the Pierre Auger ObservatoryV. Novotný, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: We present the energy spectrum of cosmic rays measured at the Pierre Auger Observatory from 6×10^15 eV up to the most extreme energies where the accumulated exposure reaches about 80 000 km^2sr yr. The wide energy range is covered with five different measurements, namely using the events detected by the surface detector with zenith angles below 60 degrees and applying different reconstruction method also above 60 degrees, those collected by a denser array, the hybrid events simultaneously recorded by the surface and fluorescence detectors, and using those events in which the signal is dominated by Cherenkov light registered by the high-elevation telescopes. In this contribution, we report updates of the analysis techniques and present the spectrum obtained by combining the five different measurements. Spectral features occurring in the wide energy range covered by the Observatory are discussed.
Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, indirect detection, fluorescence detection, surface detection, hybrid detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, cerenkov light, energy spectrum, inclined showers
Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 6484; Downloads: 6
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