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In acoustics, it is known that, for a given response signal at an arbitrary location, reciprocity and time reversal (TR) can be used to focus high levels of acoustic energy at that position. In solid media, elastic waves generally induce different disturbances in three directions. In this paper, both experimental and numerical wave propagation results for solid materials demonstrate the ability to use a scalar source, a three component detector and the reciprocal TR process to selectively focus each of the different vector components, either individually or collectively. The principle is explained from an analytical point of view. The numerical and experimental study demonstrates excellent temporal and spatial focalization. Applications of the selective vector component focusing can be found in damage imaging techniques using both linear or nonlinear ultrasonic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured acoustic transmissions through subwavelength hole arrays fabricated on brass plates at normal and oblique incidence. It is found experimentally that the transmission phenomena for the hole array in thin plate case are analogous to the previously observed enhanced transmission of electromagnetic waves [Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998)]. While for the hole array in thick plate case, the transmission peaks of acoustic wave occur well below Wood’s anomalies, and the spectrum characteristics reveal a Fabry–Pérot-like resonance. An effective fluid approach is conceived and it can well describe the transmission properties of the hole array in thick plates within a range of incidence angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical objects have important practical applications in the fields of quantum information and metrology as quantum memories or transducers for measuring and connecting different types of quantum systems. The field of electromechanics is in pursuit of a robust and highly coherent device that couples motion to nonlinear quantum objects such as superconducting qubits. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a high-frequency bulk acoustic wave resonator that is strongly coupled to a superconducting qubit using piezoelectric transduction with a cooperativity of 260. We measure qubit and mechanical coherence times on the order of 10 microseconds. Our device requires only simple fabrication methods and provides controllable access to a multitude of phonon modes. We demonstrate quantum control and measurement on gigahertz phonons at the single-quantum level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the interaction between an elastic body and a compressible inviscid fluid, which occupies the unbounded exterior domain. The inverse problem of determining the shape of such an elastic scatterer from the measured far field pattern of the scattered fluid pressure field is of central importance in detecting and identifying submerged objects. Following a method proposed by Kirsch and Kress, we approximate the acoustic and elastodynamic wave by potentials over auxiliary surfaces, and we reformulate the inverse problem as an optimization problem. The objective function to be minimized is the sum of three terms. The first is the deviation of the approximate far field pattern from the measured one, the second is a regularization term, and the last a control term for the transmission condition. We prove that the optimization problem has a solution and that, for the regularization parameter tending to zero, the minimizers tend to a solution of the inverse problem. In contrast to a numerical method from a previous paper, the presented method requires neither a direct solution method nor an additional treatment of possible Jones modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) with femtosecond laser pulses has become a widespread method in nonlinear optical spectroscopy and microscopy. As a third-order nonlinear process, femtosecond CARS exhibits high efficiency at low average laser power. High sensitivity to molecular structure enables detection of small quantities of complex molecules and non-invasive biological imaging. Temporal and spectral resolution of CARS is typically limited by the duration of the excitation pulses and their frequency bandwidth, respectively. Broadband femtosecond pulses are advantageous for time-resolved CARS spectroscopy, but offer poor spectral resolution. The latter can be improved by invoking optical or quantum interference at the expense of increasing complexity of instrumentation and susceptibility to noise. Here, we present a new approach to coherent Raman spectroscopy in which high resolution is achieved by means of deliberately introduced noise. The proposed method combines the efficiency of a coherent process with the robustness of incoherent light. It does require averaging over different noise realizations, but no temporal scanning or spectral pulse shaping as commonly used by frequency-resolved spectroscopic methods with ultrashort pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents two ontological conceptions of sounds which include the unrepeated event (UE) and the repeatable object (RO). In the EU conception, sounds are considered events happening to and depending on material objects, and have temporal parts. The RO conception shares two principles with the EU conception, which state that sounds are particulars rather than universals and are not ordinary space-occupying objects. Lastly, it suggests that RO conception differs from the EU conception in terms of conceiving sounds to be kinds of objects rather than events.

In this work, we describe a novel pulse mode shear horizontal-surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) polymer coated biosensor that monitors rapid changes in both amplitude and phase. The SH-SAW sensors were fabricated on 36° rotated Y-cut X propagating lithium tantalate (36 YX.LT). The sensitivity of the device to both mass loading and visco-elastic effects may be increased by using a thin guiding layer of cross-linked polymer. Two acoustic modes are excited by the electrodes in this crystalline direction. Metallisation of the propagation path of the 36 YX.LT devices allows the two modes to be discriminated. Successive polymer coatings resulted in the observation of resonant conditions in both modes as the layer thickness was increased. Using the 36 YX.LT devices, we have investigated the application of a novel pulse mode system by sensing a sequence of deposition and removal of a biological layer consisting of vesicles of the phospholipid POPC. A continuous wave system was used to verify the accuracy of the pulse mode system by sensing a series of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) solutions. The data clearly demonstrates the ability of the 36 YX.LT pulse mode system to provide rapid measurements of both amplitude and phase for biosensing applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Expressions for calculating the directional characteristics of an array of sound receivers positioned in a waveguide with impedance walls are obtained from the solution to the problem on the diffraction of a plane sound wave by the waveguide open end with impedance flanges. The waveguide can be of a finite length, and, in this case, it can be considered as an open cavity in an impedance screen. The solution of the integral equation for the sound pressure distribution over the opening area is reduced to the solution of an infinite system of algebraic equations for the coefficients of the field expansion in normal waveguide waves. Examples of calculated directional characteristics are presented for arrays with receivers positioned at different distances from the opening and for different values of the impedances of the waveguide walls and flanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular simulations of sound waves propagating in a dilute hard sphere gas have been performed using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. A wide range of frequencies is investigated, including very high frequencies for which the period is much shorter than the mean collision time. The simulation results are compared to experimental data and approximate solutions of the Boltzmann equation. It is shown that free molecular flow is important at distances smaller than one mean free path from the excitation point. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple method for fluid velocimetry based on the velocity of the heterodyne speckles generated by tracking particles illuminated with coherent light. It works in real time and provides instantaneous two-dimensional velocity mappings in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis, independently of the particle concentration and size, also for subwavelength particles. It also provides the velocity distribution of the fluid over the entire sample thickness. The method has been quantitatively tested by using the motions of rigid diffusers and applied for mapping the flow of a confined fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]