Soft X-ray spectra of Cerium laser-produced plasmas

Spectra of laser-produced plasmas of cerium have been recorded in the 1.5 to 15.5 nm spectral region. The plasmas were formed using the frequency doubled pulsed output of a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser at 532 nm. At the power densities incident on-target, ranging from 8.6×109- 2.1×1013W cm-2, Ce4+ to Ce27+ ions gave rise to emission from ∆n = 0, 1 transitions to final states where n = 4. The spectra are dominated by an intense unresolved transition array (UTA) in the 8-10 nm region arising from n = 4 to n = 4 transitions. Two distinct components of this UTA are observed whose appearance is strongly dependent on laser power density, corresponding to transitions involving ions with open 4d and open 4f subshells, the latter at longer wavelengths. Multiple other transition arrays are identified and UTA statistics are given. The analysis was aided by atomic structure calculations and the use of a steady state collisional-radiative (CR) model.

Multi-target ranging using optical reservoir computing approach in the laterally coupled semiconductor lasers with self-feedback

In this work, we utilize three parallel reservoir computers using semiconductor lasers with optical feedback and light injection to model radar probe signals with delays. Three radar probe signals are generated by driving lasers constructed by a three-element lase array with self-feedback. The response lasers are implemented also by a three-element lase array with both delay-time feedback and optical injection, which are utilized as nonlinear nodes to realize the reservoirs. We show that each delayed radar probe signal can well be predicted and to synchronize with its corresponding trained reservoir, even when there exist parameter mismatches between the response laser array and the driving laser array. Based on this, the three synchronous probe signals are utilized for ranging to three targets, respectively, using Hilbert transform. It is demonstrated that the relative errors for ranging can be very small and less than 0.6%. Our findings show that optical reservoir computing provides an effective way for applications of target ranging.

Amplitude discrimination is predictably affected by echo frequency filtering in wideband echolocating bats

Big brown bats emit wideband frequency modulated (FM) ultrasonic pulses for echolocation. They perceive target range from echo delay and target size from echo amplitude. Their sounds contain two prominent down-sweeping harmonic sweeps (FM1, ~55-22 kHz; FM2, ~100-55 kHz), which are affected differently by propagation out to the target and back to the bat. FM2 is attenuated more than FM1 during propagation. Bats anchor target ranging asymmetrically on the low frequencies in FM1, while FM2 only contributes if FM1 is present as well. These experiments tested whether the bat's ability to discriminate target size from the amplitude of echoes is affected by selectively attenuating upper or lower frequencies. Bats were trained to perform an echo amplitude discrimination task with virtual echo targets 83 cm away. While echo delay was held constant and echo amplitude was varied to estimate threshold, either lower FM1 frequencies or higher FM2 frequencies were attenuated. The results parallel effects seen in echo delay experiments; bats' performance was significantly poorer when the lower frequencies in echoes were attenuated, compared to higher frequencies. The bat's ability to distinguish between virtual targets at the same simulated range from echoes arriving at the same delay indicates a high level of focused attention for perceptual isolation of one and suppression of the other.

Grasping Control of a UVMS Based on Fusion Visual Image Enhancement

The Underwater Vehicle Manipulator System (UVMS) is an essential equipment for underwater operations. However, it is difficult to control due to the constrained problems of weak illumination, multidisturbance, and large inertia in the underwater environment. After the UVMS mathematical model based on water flow disturbance is established, fusion image enhancement algorithm based on Retinex theory is proposed to achieve fine perception of the target. The control method based on redundant resolution algorithm is adopted to establish the anti-interference controller of the manipulator, which can compensate the internal and external uncertain interference. Finally, stable underwater operation is realized. The target ranging method is used to solve the angle of each joint of the manipulator to complete the tracking and grasping of the target. Underwater experiments show that the algorithm can improve the clarity of underwater images, ensure the accuracy of robot capture, and optimize the UVMS control performance.

Biosonar spatial resolution along the distance axis: revisiting the clutter interference zone

ABSTRACTMany echolocating bats forage close to vegetation – a chaotic arrangement of prey and foliage where multiple targets are positioned behind one another. Bats excel at determining distance: they measure the delay between the outgoing call and the returning echo. In their auditory cortex, delay-sensitive neurons form a topographic map, suggesting that bats can resolve echoes of multiple targets along the distance axis – a skill crucial for the forage-amongst-foliage scenario. We tested this hypothesis combining an auditory virtual reality with formal psychophysics: we simulated a prey item embedded in two foliage elements, one in front of and one behind the prey. The simulated spacing between ‘prey’ (target) and ‘foliage’ (maskers) was defined by the inter-masker delay (IMD). We trained Phyllostomus discolor bats to detect the target in the presence of the maskers, systematically varying both loudness and spacing of the maskers. We show that target detection is impaired when maskers are closely spaced (IMD<1 ms), but remarkably improves when the spacing is increased: the release from masking is approximately 5 dB for intermediate IMDs (1–3 ms) and increases to over 15 dB for large IMDs (≥9 ms). These results are comparable to those from earlier work on the clutter interference zone of bats (Simmons et al., 1988). They suggest that prey would enjoy considerable acoustic protection from closely spaced foliage, but also that the range resolution of bats would let them ‘peek into gaps’. Our study puts target ranging into a meaningful context and highlights the limitations of computational topographic maps.

How frequency hopping suppresses pulse-echo ambiguity in bat biosonar

Big brown bats transmit wideband FM biosonar sounds that sweep from 55 to 25 kHz (first harmonic, FM1) and from 110 to 50 kHz (second harmonic, FM2). FM1 is required to perceive echo delay for target ranging; FM2 contributes only if corresponding FM1 frequencies are present. We show that echoes need only the lowest FM1 broadcast frequencies of 25 to 30 kHz for delay perception. If these frequencies are removed, no delay is perceived. Bats begin echo processing at the lowest frequencies and accumulate perceptual acuity over successively higher frequencies, but they cannot proceed without the low-frequency starting point in their broadcasts. This reveals a solution to pulse-echo ambiguity, a serious problem for radar or sonar. In dense, extended biosonar scenes, bats have to emit sounds rapidly to avoid collisions with near objects. But if a new broadcast is emitted when echoes of the previous broadcast still are arriving, echoes from both broadcasts intermingle, creating ambiguity about which echo corresponds to which broadcast. Frequency hopping by several kilohertz from one broadcast to the next can segregate overlapping narrowband echo streams, but wideband FM echoes ordinarily do not segregate because their spectra still overlap. By starting echo processing at the lowest frequencies in frequency-hopped broadcasts, echoes of the higher hopped broadcast are prevented from being accepted by lower hopped broadcasts, and ambiguity is avoided. The bat-inspired spectrogram correlation and transformation (SCAT) model also begins at the lowest frequencies; echoes that lack them are eliminated from processing of delay and no longer cause ambiguity.