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In this Perspective, we summarize the status of technological development for large-area and low-noise substrate-transferred GaAs/AlGaAs (AlGaAs) crystalline coatings for interferometric gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. These topics were originally presented as part of an AlGaAs Workshop held at American University, Washington, DC, from 15 August to 17 August 2022, bringing together members of the GW community from the laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO), Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations, along with scientists from the precision optical metrology community, and industry partners with extensive expertise in the manufacturing of said coatings. AlGaAs-based crystalline coatings present the possibility of GW observatories having significantly greater range than current systems employing ion-beam sputtered mirrors. Given the low thermal noise of AlGaAs at room temperature, GW detectors could realize these significant sensitivity gains while potentially avoiding cryogenic operation. However, the development of large-area AlGaAs coatings presents unique challenges. Herein, we describe recent research and development efforts relevant to crystalline coatings, covering characterization efforts on novel noise processes as well as optical metrology on large-area (∼10 cm diameter) mirrors. We further explore options to expand the maximum coating diameter to 20 cm and beyond, forging a path to produce low-noise mirrors amenable to future GW detector upgrades, while noting the unique requirements and prospective experimental testbeds for these semiconductor-based coatings. 

Photoswitches are molecules that undergo a reversible, structural isomerization after exposure to different wavelengths of light. The dynamic control offered by molecular photoswitches is favorable for applications in materials chemistry, photopharmacology, and catalysis. Ideal photoswitches absorb visible light and have long-lived metastable isomers. We used high throughput virtual screening to predict the absorption maxima (λmax) of the E-isomer and half-lives (t1/2) of the Z-isomer. However, computing the photophysical and kinetic properties of each entry of a virtual molecular library containing 103–106 entries with density functional theory is prohibitively time-consuming. We applied active search, a machine learning technique to intelligently search a chemical search space of 255991 photoswitches based on 29 known azoarenes and their derivatives. We iteratively trained the active search algorithm based on whether a candidate absorbed visible light (λmax > 450 nm). Active search was found to triple the discovery rate compared to random search. Further, we projected 1962 photoswitches to 2D using the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (umap) algorithm and found that λmax depends on the core, which is tunable with substituents. We then incorporated a second stage of screening with to predict the stabilities of the Z-isomers for the top 1% of candidates. We identified four ideal photoswitches that concurrently satisfy λmax > 450 nm and t1/2 > 2 hours; the range of λmax and t1/2 range from 465 to 531 nm and hours to years, respectively. 

Although typically used to measure dynamic strain from seismic and acoustic waves, Rayleigh‐based distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is also sensitive to temperature, offering longer range and higher sensitivity to small temperature perturbations than conventional Raman‐based distributed temperature sensing. Here, we demonstrate that ocean‐bottom DAS can be employed to study internal wave and tide dynamics in the bottom boundary layer, a region of enhanced ocean mixing but scarce observations. First, we show temperature transients up to about 4 K from a power cable in the Strait of Gibraltar south of Spain, associated with passing trains of internal solitary waves in water depth <200 m. Second, we show the propagation of thermal fronts associated with the nonlinear internal tide on the near‐critical slope of the island of Gran Canaria, off the coast of West Africa, with perturbations up to about 2 K at 1‐km depth and 0.2 K at 2.5‐km depth. With spatial averaging, we also recover a signal proportional to the barotropic tidal pressure, including the lunar fortnightly variation. In addition to applications in observational physical oceanography, our results suggest that contemporary chirped‐pulse DAS possesses sufficient long‐period sensitivity for seafloor geodesy and tsunami monitoring if ocean temperature variations can be separated.

 

We investigate the abundance and distribution of metals in the high-redshift intergalactic medium and circum-galactic medium through the analysis of a sample of almost 600 Si iv absorption lines detected in high- and intermediate-resolution spectra of 147 quasars. The evolution of the number density of Si iv lines, the column density distribution function, and the cosmic mass density are studied in the redshift interval 1.7 ≲ z ≲ 6.2 and for log N(Si iv) ≥ 12.5. All quantities show a rapid increase between z ∼ 6 and z ≲ 5 and then an almost constant behaviour to z ∼ 2 in very good agreement with what is already observed for C iv absorption lines. The present results are challenging for numerical simulations: When simulations reproduce our Si iv results, they tend to underpredict the properties of C iv, and when the properties of C iv are reproduced, the number of strong Si iv lines [log N(Si iv) > 14] is overpredicted.

 

Spatial ability is an intelligence that has been shown to be particularly important in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Targeted spatial interventions have been shown to improve spatial ability and support the success of individuals in these fields. However, the blind and low vision community has largely been omitted from this research, in part because no accepted and validated assessment of spatial ability is accessible to this population. This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of a new spatial ability instrument that is designed to be accessible non-visually. Although additional work is needed to finalize the test, preliminary analysis indicates that the test has high reliability and validity. 

This chapter extends application of a framework proposed by the authors (73, 74) for automated damage detection using strain measurements to study feasibility of using sensors that can measure accelerations, tilts, and displacements. The study utilized three-dimensional (3D) finite element models of double track, riveted, steel truss span, and girder bridge span under routine train loads. The chapter also includes three instrumentation schemes for each bridge span (65) to investigate the applicability of the framework to other bridge systems and sensor networks. Connection damage was simulated by reducing rotational spring stiffness at member ends and various responses were extracted for each damage scenario. The methodology utilizes Supervised Machine Learning to automatically determine damage location (DL) and intensity (DI). Simulated experiments showed that DLs and DIs were detected accurately for both spans with various structural responses and using different instrumentation plans. 

This paper seeks to illustrate the first steps in a process of adapting an existing, valid, and reliable spatial ability instrument – the Mental Cutting Test (MCT) – to assess spatial ability among blind and low vision (BLV) populations. To adapt the instrument, the team is developing three-dimensional (3-D) models of existing MCT questions such that a BLV population may perceive the test tactilely with their hands. This paper focuses on the development of the Tactile MCT (TMCT) instrument and does not report on the use of or results from the new instrument. Future work will investigate the validity and reliability of the adapted instrument. Each TMCT question is created by modeling and 3-D printing the objects represented by two-dimensional pictorial drawings on the MCT. The 3-D models of 25 items of the MCT are created using a solid modeling process followed by an additive 3-D printing process. The correct answer to each MCT question is the section view defined by a plane-of-interest (POI) intersecting the figure in question. A thin plane extending from the figure identifies the POI of each problem. The possible answers were originally presented in multiple representations including 3-D printed extrusions on top of a thin plate, and two forms of tactile graphics. The 3-D printed answers are developed by a combination of acquiring accurate dimensions of the 3-D figure’s cross-section and scaling up the printed paper test. To improve this adaptation of the MCT instrument, the TMCT models and their respective multiple-choice answers will be inspected by a spatial cognition expert as well as several BLV individuals. Feedback from these individuals will provide insight into necessary revisions before the test is implemented.