We have investigated the influence of thin films of a dielectric material on the near-field mediated heat transfer at the fundamental limit of single monolayer islands on a metallic substrate. We present spatially resolved measurements by near-field scanning thermal microscopy showing a distinct enhancement in heat transfer above NaCl islands compared to the bare Au(111) film. Experiments at this subnanometer scale call for a microscopic theory beyond the macroscopic fluctuational electrodynamics used to describe near-field heat transfer today. The method facilitates the possibility of developing designs of nanostructured surfaces with respect to specific requirements in heat transfer down to a single atomic layer.

We consider a generalization of the Kuramoto model of coupled oscillators to the situation where communities of oscillators having essentially different natural frequencies interact. General equations describing possible resonances between the communities’ frequencies are derived. The simplest situation of three resonantly interacting groups is analyzed in detail. We find conditions for the mutual coupling to promote or suppress synchrony in individual populations and present examples where the interaction between communities leads to their synchrony or to a partially asynchronous state or to a chaotic dynamics of order parameters.

High-field terahertz (THz) single-cycle pulses with $1.5\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{cm}$ are generated by optical rectification in the stilbazolium salt crystal 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4’-N’-methyl-stilbazolium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate. We show experimentally that the generated THz transient carrying 5 octaves (0.15 to 5.5 THz) undergoes a complex time-frequency evolution when tightly focused, and we present a model based on three independent oscillating dipoles capable to describe this anomalous field evolution. Finally, we present a method to control the absolute phase of such supercontinuum THz pulses as an essential tool for future field-sensitive investigations.

In this Letter, we report the preliminary demonstration of a new paradigm for photovoltaic power generation that utilizes a broadband diffractive-optical element (BDOE) to efficiently separate sunlight into laterally spaced spectral bands. These bands are then absorbed by single-junction photovoltaic cells, whose band gaps correspond to the incident spectral bands. We designed such BDOEs by utilizing a modified version of the direct-binary-search algorithm. Gray scale lithography was used to fabricate these multilevel optics. They were experimentally characterized with an overall optical efficiency of 70% over a wavelength range of 350–1100 nm, which was in excellent agreement with simulation predictions. Finally, two prototype devices were assembled: one with a pair of copper indium gallium selenide based photovoltaic devices, and another with GaAs and $c$-Si photovoltaic devices. These devices demonstrated an increase in output peak electrical power of $\sim 42\%$ and $\sim 22\%$, respectively, under white-light illumination. Because of the optical versatility and manufacturability of the proposed BDOEs, the reported spectrum-splitting approach provides a new approach toward low-cost solar power.

We present the first ever observation of dark solitons on the surface of water. It takes the form of an amplitude drop of the carrier wave which does not change shape in propagation. The shape and width of the soliton depend on the water depth, carrier frequency, and the amplitude of the background wave. The experimental data taken in a water tank show an excellent agreement with the theory. These results may improve our understanding of the nonlinear dynamics of water waves at finite depths.

This Letter presents the design, fabrication, and experimental characterization of a directional three-dimensional acoustic cloak for airborne sound. The cloak consists of 60 concentric acoustically rigid tori surrounding the cloaked object, a sphere of radius 4 cm. The major radii and positions of the tori along the symmetry axis are determined using the condition of complete cancellation of the acoustic field scattered from the sphere. They are obtained through an optimization technique that combines genetic algorithm and simulated annealing. The scattering cross section of the sphere with the cloak, which is the magnitude that is minimized, is calculated using the method of fundamental solutions. The low-loss fabricated cloak shows a reduction of the 90% of the sphere scattering cross section at the frequency of 8.55 kHz.

The existence of energy cascades as signatures of conserved magnitudes is one of the universal characteristics of turbulent flows. In homogeneous 3D turbulence, the energy conservation produces a direct cascade from large to small scales, although in 2D, it produces an inverse cascade pointing towards small wave numbers. In this Letter, we present the first evidence of an inverse cascade in a fully developed 3D experimental turbulent flow where the conserved magnitude is the angular momentum. Two counterrotating flows collide in a central region where very large fluctuations are produced, generating a turbulent drag that transfers the external torque between different fluid layers.

When two jets of fluid collide, they can “bounce” off each other, due to a thin film of air which keeps them separated. We describe the phenomenon of stable noncoalescence between two jets of the same fluid, colliding obliquely with each other. Using a simple experimental setup, we carry out a parametric study of the bouncing jets by varying the jet diameter, velocity, angle of inclination, and fluid viscosity, which suggests that the contact time of bouncing jets scales as the square root of the normal Weber number We. A dimensionless parameter $K=(\mathrm{We}\sqrt{\mathrm{Re}}/\sin \alpha {)}^{1/2}$, where Re is the normal Reynolds number and $\alpha$ the angle of inclination of the jets, quantitatively captures the transition of colliding jets from bouncing to coalescence. This parameter draws parallels between jet coalescence and droplet splashing and indicates that the transition is governed by a surface instability. Stable and continuous noncoalescence between fluid jets makes it a good platform for experimental studies of the interaction between fluid interfaces and the properties of the interfacial air films.

We study analytically and numerically the diffractive resonant radiation emitted by spatial solitons, which is generated in waveguide arrays with Kerr nonlinearity. The phase matching condition between solitons and radiation is derived and studied for the first time and agrees well with direct pulse propagation simulations. The folded dispersion due to the Brillouin zone leads to a peculiar anomalous soliton recoil that we describe in detail.

Stable periodic structures containing optimal ratchet transport, recently found in the parameter space dissipation versus ratchet parameter by [A. Celestino et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 234101 (2011)], are shown to be resistant to reasonable temperatures, reinforcing the expectation that they are essential to explain the optimal ratchet transport in nature. Critical temperatures for their destruction, valid from the overdamping to close to the conservative limits, are obtained numerically and shown to be connected to the current efficiency, given here analytically. A region where thermal activation of the rachet current takes place is also found, and its underlying mechanism is unveiled. Results are demonstrated for a discrete ratchet model and generalized to the Langevin equation with an additional external oscillating force.

We present the results of a numerical search for periodic orbits of three equal masses moving in a plane under the influence of Newtonian gravity, with zero angular momentum. A topological method is used to classify periodic three-body orbits into families, which fall into four classes, with all three previously known families belonging to one class. The classes are defined by the orbits’ geometric and algebraic symmetries. In each class we present a few orbits’ initial conditions, 15 in all; 13 of these correspond to distinct orbits.

We employ detailed numerical simulations to probe the mechanism of flow reversals in two-dimensional turbulent convection. We show that the reversals occur via a vortex reconnection of two attracting corner rolls having the same sign of vorticity, thus leading to major restructuring of the flow. Large fluctuations in heat transport are observed during the reversal due to the flow reconfiguration. The flow configurations during the reversals have been analyzed quantitatively using large-scale modes. Using these tools, we also show why flow reversals occur for a restricted range of Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers.

We demonstrate a fast Kerr phase gate in a room-temperature ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ vapor using a Raman gain method where the probe wave travels “superluminally”. Continuously variable, zero to $\pi$ radian nonlinear Kerr phase shifts of the probe wave relative to a reference wave have been observed at 333 K. We show rapid manipulation of digitally encoded probe waves using a digitally encoded phase-control light field, demonstrating the capability of the system in information science and telecommunication applications.

We analyze the emergence of synchronization in a population of moving integrate-and-fire oscillators. Oscillators, while moving on a plane, interact with their nearest neighbor upon firing time. We discover a nonmonotonic dependence of the synchronization time on the velocity of the agents. Moreover, we find that mechanisms that drive synchronization are different for different dynamical regimes. We report the extreme situation where an interplay between the time scales involved in the dynamical processes completely inhibits the achievement of a coherent state. We also provide estimators for the transitions between the different regimes.

Boundary layers play an important role in controlling convective heat transfer. Their nature varies considerably between different application areas characterized by different boundary conditions, which hampers a uniform treatment. Here, we argue that, independent of boundary conditions, systematic dissipation measurements in Rayleigh-Bénard convection capture the relevant near-wall structures. By means of direct numerical simulations with varying Prandtl numbers, we demonstrate that such dissipation layers share central characteristics with classical boundary layers, but, in contrast to the latter, can be extended naturally to arbitrary boundary conditions. We validate our approach by explaining differences in scaling behavior observed for no-slip and stress-free boundaries, thus paving the way to an extension of scaling theories developed for laboratory convection to a broad class of natural systems.

We discuss the potential of multilayered plasmonic particles to tailor the optical scattering response. The interplay of plasmons localized in thin stacked shells realizes peculiar degenerate cloaking and resonant states occurring at arbitrarily close frequencies. These concepts are applied to realize ultrasharp comblike scattering responses and synthesize staggered, ideally strong superscattering states closely coupled to invisible states. We demonstrate robustness to material losses and to variations in the background medium, properties that make these structures ideal for optical tagging.

We consider electroconvective fluid flows initiated by ion concentration polarization (ICP) under pressure-driven shear flow, a scenario often found in many electrochemical devices and systems. Combining scaling analysis, experiment, and numerical modeling, we reveal unique behaviors of ICP under shear flow: a unidirectional vortex structure, its height selection, and vortex advection. Determined by both the external pressure gradient and the electric body force, the dimensionless height of the sheared electroconvective vortex is shown to scale as $({\varphi }^2/U_{\mathrm{HP}}{)}^{1/3}$, which is a clear departure from the previous diffusion-drift model prediction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first microscopic characterization of ion concentration polarization under shear flow, and it firmly establishes electroconvection as the mechanism for an overlimiting current in realistic, large-area ion exchange membrane systems such as electrodialysis. The new scaling law has significant implications on the optimization of electrodialysis and other electrochemical systems.

We propose the following model equation, $u_t+1/2(u^2-u{u}_s{)}_x=f(x,u_s)$ that predicts chaotic shock waves, similar to those in detonations in chemically reacting mixtures. The equation is given on the half line, $x<0$, and the shock is located at $x=0$ for any $t\ge 0$. Here, $u_s(t)$ is the shock state and the source term $f$ is taken to mimic the chemical energy release in detonations. This equation retains the essential physics needed to reproduce many properties of detonations in gaseous reactive mixtures: steady traveling wave solutions, instability of such solutions, and the onset of chaos. Our model is the first (to our knowledge) to describe chaos in shock waves by a scalar first-order partial differential equation. The chaos arises in the equation thanks to an interplay between the nonlinearity of the inviscid Burgers equation and a novel forcing term that is nonlocal in nature and has deep physical roots in reactive Euler equations.

Liquid-gas-liquid interfaces stabilized by hydrophobic beads behave as ball bearings under shear and exhibit a giant slip. Using a scaling analysis and molecular dynamics simulations we predict that, when the contact angle $\theta$ between the beads and the liquid is large, the slip length diverges as $R{\rho }^{-1}(\pi -\theta {)}^{-3}$ where $R$ is the bead radius, and $\rho$ is the bead density.

We demonstrate that the quantum-mechanical description of Rutherford scattering has a photonic counterpart in a new form of single particle photothermal microscopy. Using a split detector we provide experimental evidence that photons are deflected by a photothermal potential that is created by a local refractive index change around a heated nanoparticle. The deflection experienced is shown to be the analog to the deflection of a massive particle wave packet in unscreened spinless Coulomb scattering. The experimentally found focal detection geometry reveals a lateral split feature which will allow new correlation-based velocimetry experiments of absorbing particles with ultrahigh sensitivity.