Superradiant Emission from Coherent Excitons in van Der Waals Heterostructures

Recent advancements in isolation and stacking of layered van der Waals materials have created an unprecedented paradigm for demonstrating varieties of 2D quantum materials. Rationally designed van der Waals heterostructures composed of monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and few-layer hBN show several unique optoelectronic features driven by correlations. However, entangled superradiant excitonic species in such systems have not been observed before. In this report, it is demonstrated that strong suppression of phonon population at low temperature results in a formation of a coherent excitonic-dipoles ensemble in the heterostructure, and the collective oscillation of those dipoles stimulates a robust phase synchronized ultra-narrow band superradiant emission even at extremely low pumping intensity. Such emitters are in high demand for a multitude of applications, including fundamental research on many-body correlations and other state-of-the-art technologies. This timely demonstration paves the way for further exploration of ultralow-threshold quantum-emitting devices with unmatched design freedom and spectral tunability.     

An expert system with temporal reasoning for alarm processing inpower system control centers

The alarm lists presented to control center operators are usually difficult to interpret. The authors present an expert system that processes the alarm lists in Portuguese control centers. This system makes an intelligent synthesis of the available information and presents it in a flexible and structured way. It uses an original approach to deal with temporal reasoning and real-time constraints. The system incorporates an explanation module that enables its use as a tutor for novice operators     

MASCEM: a multiagent system that simulates competitive electricity markets

Around the world, the electricity industry, which has long been dominated by vertically integrated utilities, is experiencing major changes in the structure of its markets and regulations. Owing to new regulations, it's evolving into a distributed industry in which market forces drive electricity's price. The industry is becoming competitive; a market environment is replacing the traditional centralized-operation approach. This transformation is often called the deregulation of the electricity market. MASCEM, a multiagent simulator system, is a valuable framework for evaluating new rules, new behavior, and new participants in the numerous electricity markets that are moving toward liberalization and competition.     

Pole placement adaptive control with persistent jumps in the plant parameters

In this paper we consider the problem of adaptively stabilizing, and providing step tracking for, an uncertain linear time-varying system. We propose an adaptive pole placement controller which solves the problem for a single-input single-output plant whose parameters switch at a moderate rate among the elements of a compact set. The output feedback controller incorporates an integrator, and its action emulates the behaviour of a pole placement state feedback compensator; the controller is periodic and mildly nonlinear, is easy to implement, is noise tolerant, and tolerates a degree of unmodelled dynamics.     

Interleaving Planning and Robot Execution for Asynchronous User Requests

ROGUE is an architecture built on a real robot which provides algorithms for the integration of high-level planning, low-level robotic execution, and learning. ROGUE addresses successfully several of the challenges of a dynamic office gopher environment. This article presents the techniques for the integration of planning and execution.ROGUE uses and extends a classical planning algorithm to create plans for multiple interacting goals introduced by asynchronous user requests. ROGUE translates the planner';s actions to robot execution actions and monitors real world execution. ROGUE is currently implemented using the PRODIGY4.0 planner and the Xavier robot. This article describes how plans are created for multiple asynchronous goals, and how task priority and compatibility information are used to achieve appropriate efficient execution. We describe how ROGUE communicates with the planner and the robot to interleave planning with execution so that the planner can replan for failed actions, identify the actual outcome of an action with multiple possible outcomes, and take opportunities from changes in the environment.ROGUE represents a successful integration of a classical artificial intelligence planner with a real mobile robot.     

X-ray Microcalorimeter Research for Solar Physics at LMSAL and NIST: An Update

LMSAL and NIST are developing position-sensitive X-ray strip detectors based on TES microcalorimeter arrays for solar physics. An important application of these devices will be the study of high temperature (>10 MK) X-ray lines, e.g. Fe XXV, at high spectral (E/ΔE≥1000) and temporal (sub-ms) resolution. Diagnostics from these lines will provide significant new insights into the physics of microflares and the early stages of flares. In this paper, we will describe the current status of our laboratory test program and applicability of our research to future space missions      

Solidification/stabilization of electric arc furnace dust using coal fly ash. Analysis of the stabilization process

In this paper, the stabilization of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust containing hazardous metals such as Pb, Cd, Cr or Zn is described. The treatment involves a waste solidification/stabilization (S/S) process, using coal fly ash as the fundamental raw material and main binder. The article also contains a brief review of the most important recent publications related to the use of fly ash as S/S agents.The efficacy of the process has been evaluated mainly through leaching tests on the solidified products and compliance with some imposed leachate limits. The concentration of metals leaching from the S/S products was strongly leachate pH dependent; thus, the final pH of the leachate is the most important variable in reaching the limits and, therefore, in meeting the stabilization goals.In this study, the dependence relationship between the leachate pH and the concentrations of metals in the leachate are analyzed; in some cases, this allows us to estimate the speciation of contaminants in the S/S solids and to understand the mechanism responsible for reduced leachability of heavy metals from solidified wastes.     

Advanced Code-Division Multiplexers for Superconducting Detector Arrays

Multiplexers based on the modulation of superconducting quantum interference devices are now regularly used in multi-kilopixel arrays of superconducting detectors for astrophysics, cosmology, and materials analysis. Over the next decade, much larger arrays will be needed. These larger arrays require new modulation techniques and compact multiplexer elements that fit within each pixel. We present a new in-focal-plane code-division multiplexer that provides multiplexing elements with the required scalability. This code-division multiplexer uses compact lithographic modulation elements that simultaneously multiplex both signal outputs and superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) detector bias voltages. It eliminates the shunt resistor used to voltage bias TES detectors, greatly reduces power dissipation, allows different dc bias voltages for each TES, and makes all elements sufficiently compact to fit inside the detector pixel area. These in-focal plane code-division multiplexers can be combined with multi-GHz readout based on superconducting microresonators to scale to even larger arrays.     

The Infrared Hall Effect in YBCO: Temperature and Frequency Dependence of Hall Scattering

We measure the Hall angle, _H , in YBCO films in the far- and mid-infrared to determine the temperature and frequency dependence of the Hall scattering. Using novel modulation techniques we measure both the Faraday rotation and ellipticity induced by these films in high magnetic fields to deduce the complex conductivity tensor. We observe a strong temperature dependence of the mid-infrared Hall conductivity in sharp contrast to the weak dependence of the longitudinal conductivity. By fitting the frequency dependent normal state Hall angle to a Lorentzian _H () = _H /( _H – i) we find the Hall frequency, _H , is nearly independent of temperature. The Hall scattering rate, _H , is consistent with _H T ² up to 200 K and is remarkably independent of IR frequency suggesting non-Fermi liquid behavior.