Performance of an electro-optical solar compass in partially obscured Sun conditions.

Solar compasses are designed to accurately find true North on sunny days. However, no data on their performance are available when sunlight is partially blocked, e.g., by a cloud. We have measured, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the performance of one of the most accurate electro-optical solar compasses (accuracy better than 0.01 deg) as a function of the solar disk obscuration during the Sun's eclipse on 20 March 2015. The measurements show that the accuracy level is mainly dependent on the asymmetry of the obscuration with respect to the main axis of the optical detection system and, to a lesser extent, on the percentage of the solar disk covered. In particular, azimuth measurement suffered a maximum deviation of 0.08 deg when 35% of the solar disk was asymmetrically obscured. The deviation was smaller when 46% of the solar disk was more symmetrically obscured. This experiment demonstrates that, even in the case of a partially obscured Sun, the electro-optical solar compass maintains an accuracy better than magnetic and electronic compasses.

Contact X-ray microscopy of living cells by using LiF crystal as imaging detector.

In this paper, the use of lithium fluoride (LiF) as imaging radiation detector to analyse living cells by single-shot soft X-ray contact microscopy is presented. High resolved X-ray images on LiF of cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya VRUC135, two unicellular microalgae of the genus Chlamydomonas and mouse macrophage cells (line RAW 264.7) have been obtained utilizing X-ray radiation in the water window energy range from a laser plasma source. The used method is based on loading of the samples, the cell suspension, in a special holder where they are in close contact with a LiF crystal solid-state X-ray imaging detector. After exposure and sample removal, the images stored in LiF by the soft X-ray contact microscopy technique are read by an optical microscope in fluorescence mode. The clear image of the mucilaginous sheath the structure of the filamentous Leptolyngbya and the visible nucleolus in the macrophage cells image, are noteworthiness results. The peculiarities of the used X-ray radiation and of the LiF imaging detector allow obtaining images in absorption contrast revealing the internal structures of the investigated samples at high spatial resolution. Moreover, the wide dynamic range of the LiF imaging detector contributes to obtain high-quality images. In particular, we demonstrate that this peculiar characteristic of LiF detector allows enhancing the contrast and reveal details even when they were obscured by a nonuniform stray light.

Saturation and electron-beam lifetime in a storage ring free-electron laser.

We present a phenomenological treatment of free-electron laser storage ring saturation dynamics. The model includes longitudinal instabilities, Touschek intrabeam scattering, and nonzero off-energy-function contributions. The model predictions are compared with Super ACO experimental results and the agreement is shown to be satisfactory.

Suppression of the sawtooth instability in a storage ring by free-electron laser: an example of nonlinear stabilization by noise.

The stabilization of nonlinear excitations by noise is a topic of fundamental importance in many physical problems. We discuss a genuine example within the context of storage ring-free electron laser physics, by presenting a model which allows the characterization of the system evolution and the determination of the conditions leading to the suppression of instabilities of sawtooth type. The conclusions of the model are confirmed by a comparison with experimental results on the Super Aco Storage Ring-Free Electron Laser.

Isolation of Legionella anisa using an amoebic coculture procedure.

Conventional diagnostic tests for legionellosis were negative for a 61-year-old immunocompromised man with pneumonia. However, coculture of a sputum sample with Acanthamoeba polyphaga amoebae led to the recovery of Legionella anisa. This procedure may be a sensitive and convenient diagnostic method, especially for non-Legionella pneumophila species infections that can be diagnosed only by culture.

Pulse propagation and optical-klystron free-electron-laser devices.

We derive the equation governing the evolution of the optical field amplitude of a free-electron-laser oscillator operating in the optical-klystron configuration. The equation includes short pulse effects, due to the finite length of the electron bunches, and are valid under the assumption of small signal regime and low gain. Stationary solutions of the supermode type, analogous to those of conventional free-electron-laser configurations, are shown to exist for this case, too. Analytical expressions for the optical pulse shape are derived, without any assumption of dominance of the dispersive section, in the case of the long bunch regime, namely when the bunch length is larger than the slippage length. We present useful gain formulas, including the combined effect of dispersive section and pulse effects, and discuss the limits of validity of our treatment.