The physical origin of the Fresnel drag of light by a moving dielectric medium

We present a new derivation of the Fresnel-Fizeau formula for the drag of light by a moving medium using a simple perturbation approach. We focus particulary on the physical origin of the phenomenon and we show that it is very similar to the Doppler-Fizeau effect. We prove that this effect is, in its essential part, independent of the theory of relativity. The possibility of applications in other domains of physics is considered.Comment: accepted for publication in EPJB (the European Journal of Physics B

Modified Sagnac experiment for measuring travel-time difference between counter-propagating light beams in a uniformly moving fiber

A fiber optic conveyor has been developed for investigating the travel-time difference between two counter-propagating light beams in uniformly moving fiber. Our finding is that there is a travel-time difference Deltat=2vDeltal/c^2 in a fiber segment of length Deltal moving with the source and detector at a speed v, whether the segment is moving uniformly or circularly.Comment: 4 pages, including 4 figure

Observation of light dragging in rubidium vapor cell

We report on the experimental demonstration of light dragging effect due to atomic motion in a rubidium vapor cell. We found that the minimum group velocity is achieved for light red-shifted from the center of the atomic resonance, and that the value of this shift increases with decreasing group velocity, in agreement with the theoretical predictions by Kocharovskaya, Rostovtsev, and Scully [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 86}, 628 (2001)].Comment: 4 pages 4 figures, submitted to PR

Arago (1810): the first experimental result against the ether

95 years before Special Relativity was born, Arago attempted to detect the absolute motion of the Earth by measuring the deflection of starlight passing through a prism fixed to the Earth. The null result of this experiment gave rise to the Fresnel's hypothesis of an ether partly dragged by a moving substance. In the context of Einstein's Relativity, the sole frame which is privileged in Arago's experiment is the proper frame of the prism, and the null result only says that Snell's law is valid in that frame. We revisit the history of this premature first evidence against the ether theory and calculate the Fresnel's dragging coefficient by applying the Huygens' construction in the frame of the prism. We expose the dissimilar treatment received by the ray and the wave front as an unavoidable consequence of the classical notions of space and time.Comment: 16 pages. To appear in European Journal of Physic

A modern Fizeau experiment for education and outreach purposes

On the occasion of the laser's 50th anniversary, we performed a modern Fizeau experiment, measuring the speed of light with a laser beam passing over the city centre of Marseille. For a round trip distance of almost five kilometers, the measurement has reached an uncertainty of about 10$^{-4}$, mainly due to atmospheric fluctuations. We present the experimental and pedagogical challenges of this brilliant outreach experiment.Comment: accepted by Eur J Phys in november 201

Imaging and Nulling with the Space Interferometry Mission

We present numerical simulations for a possible synthesis imaging mode of the Space Interferometer Mission (SIM). We summarize the general techniques that SIM offers to perform imaging of high surface brightness sources, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. We describe an interactive software package that is used to provide realistic, photometrically correct estimates of SIM performance for various classes of astronomical objects. In particular, we simulate the cases of gaseous disks around black holes in the nuclei of galaxies, and zodiacal dust disks around young stellar objects. Regarding the first, we show that a Keplerian velocity gradient of the line-emitting gaseous disk -- and thus the mass of the putative black hole -- can be determined with SIM to unprecedented accuracy in about 5 hours of integration time for objects with H_alpha surface brigthness comparable to the prototype M 87. Detections and observations of exo-zodiacal dust disks depend critically on the disk properties and the nulling capabilities of SIM. Systems with similar disk size and at least one tenth of the dust content of beta Pic can be detected by SIM at distances between 100 pc and a few kpc, if a nulling efficiency of 1/10000 is achieved. Possible inner clear regions indicative of the presence of massive planets can also be detected and imaged. On the other hand, exo-zodiacal disks with properties more similar to the solar system will not be found in reasonable integration times with SIM.Comment: 28 pages, incl. 8 postscript figures, excl. 10 gif-figures Submitted to Ap

Generalized Sagnac Effect

Experiments were conducted to study light propagation in a light waveguide loop consisting of linearly and circularly moving segments. We found that any segment of the loop contributes to the total phase difference between two counterpropagating light beams in the loop. The contribution is proportional to a product of the moving velocity v and the projection of the segment length Deltal on the moving direction, Deltaphi=4pivDeltal/clambda. It is independent of the type of motion and the refractive index of waveguides. The finding includes the Sagnac effect of rotation as a special case and suggests a new fiber optic sensor for measuring linear motion with nanoscale sensitivity.Comment: 3 pages (including 3 figures

Spin-Orbit Twisted Spin Waves : Group Velocity Control

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the interplay between spin-orbit coupling (SOC), Coulomb interaction, and motion of conduction electrons in a magnetized two-dimensional electron gas. Via a transformation of the many-body Hamiltonian we introduce the concept of spin-orbit twisted spin waves, whose energy dispersions and damping rates are obtained by a simple wave-vector shift of the spin waves without SOC. These theoretical predictions are validated by Raman scattering measurements. With optical gating of the density, we vary the strength of the SOC to alter the group velocity of the spin wave. The findings presented here differ from that of spin systems subject to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Our results pave the way for novel applications in spin-wave routing devices and for the realization of lenses for spin waves

Mapping the Shores of the Brown Dwarf Desert III: Young Moving Groups

We present the results of an aperture masking interferometry survey for substellar companions around 67 members of the young (~8-200Myr) nearby (~5-86pc) AB Doradus, Beta Pictoris, Hercules-Lyra, TW Hya, and Tucana-Horologium stellar associations. Observations were made at near infrared wavelengths between 1.2-3.8 microns using the adaptive optics facilities of the Keck II, VLT UT4, and Palomar Hale Telescopes. Typical contrast ratios of ~100-200 were achieved at angular separations between ~40-320mas, with our survey being 100% complete for companions with masses below 0.25\msolar across this range. We report the discovery of a $0.52 \pm 0.09$\msolar companion to HIP14807, as well as the detections and orbits of previously known stellar companions to HD16760, HD113449, and HD160934. We show that the companion to HD16760 is in a face-on orbit, resulting in an upward revision of its mass from $M_2 \sin i \sim 14$\mjupiter to $M_2 = 0.28 \pm 0.04$\msolar. No substellar companions were detected around any of our sample members, despite our ability to detect companions with masses below 80\mjupiter for 50 of our targets: of these, our sensitivity extended down to 40\mjupiter around 30 targets, with a subset of 22 subject to the still more stringent limit of 20\mjupiter. A statistical analysis of our non-detection of substellar companions allows us to place constraints on their frequency around ~0.2-1.5\msolar stars. In particular, considering companion mass distributions that have been proposed in the literature, we obtain an upper limit estimate of ~9-11% for the frequency of 20-80\mjupiter companions between 3-30AU at 95% confidence, assuming that their semimajor axes are distributed according to $d\mathcal{N}/da \propto a^{-1}$ in this range.Comment: Accepted by Ap

"Fresnel light drag in a coherently driven moving medium"

We theoretically study how the phase of a light plane wave propagating in a resonant medium under electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is affected by the uniform motion of the medium. For cuprous oxide (Cu2O), where EIT can be implemented through a typical pump-probe configuration, the resonant probe beam experiences a phase shift (Fresnel-Fizeau effect) that may vary over a wide range of values, positive or negative, and even vanishing, due to the combined effects of the strong frequency dispersion and anisotropy both induced by the pump. The use of such a coherently driven dragging medium may improve by at least 1 order of magnitude the sensitivity at low velocity in optical drag experiments