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Unravelling the anisotropic behaviour of the upper mantle helps to shed light on its present and past deformation processes. In this study, we attempt to explore the seismic anisotropy prevailing within the upper mantle beneath the Kachchh rift zone through shear wave splitting analysis. We have measured the splitting parameters (e.g., fast axis orientation (Φ ) and delay time ( δ t )) using SKS/SKKS core refracted phases from 112 teleseismic events recorded at NGRI network in the Kachchh region, during 2006–2009 and 2013–2016. The ‘ Φ ’ and ‘ δ t ’ estimates vary from N34° to N73°E and 0.80 to 1.5 s, respectively. The average vector means of ‘ Φ ’ and ‘ δ t ’ for all the stations are found to be N 58 ± 10 °E and (0.99 ± 0.19) s, respectively. Measurements of 59 good SKS/SKKS splitting parameters from 112 earthquakes reveal that the upper mantle is highly anisotropic beneath the Kachchh rift zone with an average fast axis orientation of N 58 ± 10 °E, which is deviated nearly (∼ N 18 °E) from the absolute plate motion (APM) direction (~N40°E) of the Indian plate in a no-net-rotation reference frame. This deviation of fast axis orientation from APM direction may be attributed to the effect of Kachchh rift zone as well as the presence of structural imprints of the 65 Ma Deccan mantle plume in the study region. And the average delay time of (0.99 ± 0.19) s is consistent with the global average (1 s) for continents. Furthermore, the modelled seismic layer thicknesses reveal that anisotropic sources beneath study region are associated with both the lithospheric deformation processes (e.g., 184 Ma African rifting, 88 Ma Madagascar rifting, 65 Ma Deccan mantle plume) as well as asthenospheric flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an optical scheme based on the measurement of light intensity and a proper orientation of the Fresnel Rhomb is successfully developed for simultaneous determination of the phase retardation and fast axis of a wave plate. The theoretical analysis of the principle of measuring the reflection-induced retardance of the Fresnel Rhomb and the phase retardation of a wave plate is given taking Stokes–Mueller Formalism as a mathematical tool. In this method, the fast axis position of the wave plate need not be determined in advance. In addition, the measured result is free of the intensity fluctuation of light source. An application example is also demonstrated. The measured result of the example is verified with an experiment. Some of the merits of the method, such as, a simple optical set-up, high stability and high accuracy, low cost and easier operation, are presented, and the validity of the method is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A residual dispersion compensating octagonal photonic crystal fiber (OPCF), with an elliptical array of circular air-holes in the fiber core region, is proposed. The full-vector finite-element method with perfectly matched layer boundary is used as the analysis tool. It is demonstrated that it is possible to obtain large average negative dispersion of -562.52 ps/(nm · km) over 240 nm and -369.10 ps/(nm · km) over 630 nm wavelength bands for the fast and the slow axis, respectively. In addition to large negative dispersion, ultra-high birefringence, high nonlinearity, and zero-dispersion wavelengths with low confinement loss are also warranted. The proposed OPCFs would be a promising candidate for residual dispersion compensation, supercontinuum generation, and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]