On the probability distributions of relaxation times in glasses

The scale of relaxation times in glasses has led to generalizations of the Drude model of the dielectric function in terms of an integral, containing a Drude kernel and a probability distribution. This integral equation is solved by a Mellin or a Stieltjes transform. Beyond known results, we obtain the probability distribution of the Havriliak-Negami dielectric function. Even more general classes of dielectric models can be dealt with, using Mellin's transform. They may serve as checks for numerical procedures applied to the underlying ill-posed problem, if experimental data for the dielectric function are used. Received: 2 February 1998 / Accepted: 17 March 1998     

Heavy ion induced cluster formation and fragmentation phenomena in amorphous graphite

A study has been conducted into the mechanisms of evolution of clusters and their subsequent fragmentation under energetic heavy ion bombardment of amorphous graphite. The evolving clusters and their subsequent fragmentation under continuing ion bombardment are revealed by detecting various clusters in the energy spectra of the Direct Recoils (DRs) emitted as a result of collisions between ions and surface constituents. The successive DR spectra reveal that the energetics of bond formation as well as any subsequent fragmentation can be related to the processes of energy dissipation in a cylindrical volume of a few ? surrounding the ion path. The dependence of formation or fragmentation is seen to be a function of the ionic stopping powers in this cylindrical volume. Received: 2 January 1998 / Accepted: 5 March 1998     

From colloidal aggregation to spinodal decomposition in sticky emulsions

Aggregation mechanisms of emulsions at high initial volume fractions () is studied using light scattering. We use emulsion droplets which can be made unstable towards aggregation by a temperature quench. For deep quenches and , the aggregation mechanism is identified as diffusion-limited cluster aggregation (DLCA). An ordering of the clusters, which is reflected by a peak in the scattering intensity, is shown to result from the intercluster separation, exhibiting different scaling than that observed at lower volume fractions. This manifests an increasing similarity to spinodal decomposition observed as is increased. For and shallow quenches, different mechanisms, closer to spinodal decomposition, are observed. These results allow the subtle boundaries between DLCA and spinodal decomposition to be explored. Received: 7 April 1998 / Revised: 19 August 1998 / Accepted: 21 August 1998     

Inelastic cross-sections and natural lifetimes for the 62D3/2, 5/2 and 82S1/2 states of Rb

The results of an experimental study of population dynamics following excitation of [0pt] and [0pt] states of rubidium are reported. Excitation transfer and quenching cross-sections in collisions with ground state rubidium atoms, and natural lifetimes have been measured. The experiment was performed in a vapour cell, using pulsed two-photon excitation and photon counting detection. The analysis of time dependent signals was based on a rate equation model in which transitions induced by thermal radiation have been accounted for. The measurements yielded following results: (1) [0pt] state J-mixing cross-section: [0pt] ; (2) cross-sections for [0pt] excitation transfer process: [0pt] ; (3) quenching cross-sections: [0pt] , [0pt] , [0pt] ; [0pt](4) radiative lifetimes: [0pt] ns, [0pt] ns, [0pt] ns. Received 1st December 1998 and Received in final form 17 May 1999     

Charge density wave transport in submicron antidot arrays in NbSe3

We demonstrate for the first time that a periodic array of submicrometer holes (antidots) can be patterned into thin single NbSe₃ crystals. We report on the study of Charge Density Wave (CDW) transport of the network of mesoscopic units between antidots. Size of the elementary unit can be as small as 0.5 μm along the chain axis and in cross-section. We observe size effects for Ohmic residual resistance and in CDW transport current-voltage characteristics in submicronic networks. Received: 25 November 1997 / Received in final form: 30 March 1998 / Accepted: 6 April 1998     

Statistical analysis of the transition to turbulence in plane Couette flow

We argue on general grounds that the transition to turbulence in plane Couette flow is best studied experimentally at a statistical level. We present such a statistical analysis of experimental data guided by a parallel investigation of a simple coupled map lattice model for spatiotemporal intermittency. We confirm that this generic type of spatiotemporal chaos is relevant in the context of plane Couette flow, where the linear stability of the laminar regime at all Reynolds numbers insures the necessary local subcriticality. Using large ensembles of similar experiments, we show the existence of a well-defined threshold Reynolds number above which a unique, turbulent, intermittent attractor coexists with the laminar flow. Furthermore, our data reveals that this transition to spatiotemporal intermittency is discontinuous, i.e. akin to a first-order phase transition. Received: 10 April 1998 / Revised: 22 June 1998 / Accepted: 24 June 1998     

An analytical estimate of the period for the delayed logistic application and the Lotka-Volterra system

We first introduce a simple and new method for the quantitative analysis of some nonlinear oscillating systems. It is shown that if the dynamics of the system reduces to piecewise exponential growth and exponential damping phases, then the amplitude and period of the motion can be computed with accuracy in the nonlinear regime without invoking linear stability arguments or perturbative expansions. This method is then successfully applied to the delayed logistic application and to the Lotka-Volterra prey-predator model. For both of these systems, we provide an accurate analytical expression for the period of the oscillations in the nonlinear regime. Received: 27 April 1998 / Received in final form: 25 June 1998 / Accepted: 29 June 1998     

Hot and cold denaturation of proteins: Critical aspects

We argue that the first order hot and cold folding transitions of proteins observed at physiological chemical conditions ends in a critical point at a given temperature and chemical potential of the surrounding water. We investigate the properties of this critical point using a single-pathway scenario for the folding process. This pathway assumption determines the form of a Hamiltonian whose critical properties define a new universality class. Received 9 November 1998     

Multi-electron transitions in -Ne and -Ne collisions

The ratios of the multiple ionization cross-section to those of the single ionization of neon are measured for 2.0-8.0 MeV and ( q = 2-5) ions bombardment. By means of the coincidence beween the charge state-selected scattered projectiles and recoil ions the contribution of the electron capture is separated from the total multiple ionization. A theoretical method is proposed to exclude the Auger transitions from the considered multiple ionization processes in the present work. The (q / v) dependence of the obtained ratios of the “pure” direct multiple ionization to those of the single ionization is discussed. The electronic structure dependence of the electron transition occurring in ion-neon collisions is studied and discussed for the symmetrical collision systems - and -. Received: 4 June 1998 / Received in final form: 24 August 1998     

Spatio-temporal patterns in the thermoconvection of a planar nematic layer: I. Weakly nonlinear models

We study theoretically the formation of convection patterns in a laterally extended planar nematic layer heated from below, in the linear and weakly nonlinear regimes. By reformulating the viscous coupling terms of the basic nematohydrodynamic equations, a simple interpretation of the flow effects on the director dynamics can be proposed. A detailed linear analysis of the problem is presented. A systematic method to investigate nonlinear mechanisms is developed, and exemplified by the study of the nonlinear saturation in rolls. The extension of the roll amplitude equation with the envelope formalism is used to characterize the dynamics of the roll modulations near threshold. Coupled envelope equations are shown to describe the structure of the point defects in zig-zags observed experimentally. Finally the bifurcation to the bimodal varicose is studied. The secondary wavevector in the bimodal appears to be selected by a rotation of the director in the horizontal plane. Quantitative predictions concerning the amplitude of this rotation are given. Received: 1st December 1997 / Revised: 25 May 1998 / Accepted: 2 June 1998     

Hydrophobicity and unique folding of selected polymers

In a suitable environments, proteins, nucleic acids and certain synthetic polymers fold into unique conformations. This work shows that it is possible to construct lattice models of foldable heteropolymers by expressing the energy only in terms of individual properties of monomers, which model exposure to the solvent and the steric factor. Received: 4 June 1998     

Effective electron Hamiltonian for a quasi one-dimensional system. The (TMTSF)2X and the (TMTTF)2X systems

In this paper we have introduced a variational approach to investigate the ground state of a model which includes both the Holstein electron-phonon interaction and the extended Hubbard electron-electron interaction. We have considered a variational state for the phonon subsystem which generalizes the previous used forms. This state allows to take into account the possibility of extended phonon mediated correlations. The effective electron Hamiltonian, which we have obtained, includes first and second neighbor electron-electron interaction terms. We have treated exactly, through a Lanczos method, this effective model in the one-dimensional case. We have applied our method to two Bechgaard salts and in these cases we have estimated the correlation parameters. We have shown that the introduction of electron-phonon interaction allows an estimate of the on site U and nearest-neighbor V Coulomb repulsion, which are in agreement with the experimental optical spectra of the above mentioned two compounds. Received: 30 October 1997 / Revised: 28 January 1998 / Accepted: 10 April 1998     

Radiative lifetimes of excited W II levels

Radiative lifetimes of 19 selected W II levels with energies between 36 000 cm^-1 and 55 000 cm^-1 have been measured with the time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique. The ions are generated in a hollow cathode discharge and stored in a linear Paul trap. Selected states are populated with tunable dye laser pulses and the subsequent fluorescence is measured by means of a 5 Gigasample transient digitizer and a fast photodetector with a risetime of 700 ps. By taking into account both the temporal profile of the laser pulses and the separately measured response function of the system, the lifetime can be determined from the full decay curve. A refined evaluation procedure, taking into account saturation effects in the signals, reduces the uncertainty in our data to around 1%. Received: 30 July 1998 / Revised: 18 August 1998     

Intercombination transition rates in Al-like ions

N =3, intercombination transitions in Al-like ions of Au have been studied by time-resolved EUV spectroscopy of foil-excited ion beams. Wavelengths and lifetimes are compared to the available relativistic calculations. The theoretical data are found to be useful for guidance, but of clearly insufficient precision, in particular for the transition probabilities. Received: 23 February 1998 / Accepted: 5 March 1998     

Phase behavior of binary blends of symmetric polystyrene-polybutadiene diblock copolymers studied using SANS

Binary blends of compositionally symmetric diblock copolymers are investigated using small-angle neutron scattering. The study focuses on the miscibility of blends of polystyrene-polybutadiene diblock copolymers as a function of chain length ratio and blend composition, and the results are related to the theoretical phase diagram put forward by M.W. Matsen (J. Chem. Phys. 103, 3268 (1995)). Three different low molar mass copolymers were blended with a high molar mass copolymer. We find very good coincidence with the theoretical phase diagram obtained. Only for blends having a chain length ratio of 0.06, theory predicts that a larger amount of short copolymers can be dissolved in the matrix of long copolymers, and vice versa. With the latter blends and volume fractions of short chains between 0.11 and 0.70, the second-order Bragg-peaks do not vanish, which indicates that the lamellae are asymmetric. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 20 April 1998 / Accepted: 24 April 1998     

Structural evidence of charge renormalization in semi-dilute solutions of highly charged polyelectrolytes

We show experimentally that Manning counterion condensation also leads to a renormalization of the charge density at high concentrations of highly charged, flexible, hydrophilic polyelectrolytes. Investigations by small angle neutron and X-ray scattering of semi-dilute solutions of poly(acrylamide-co-sodium-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate) at different charge densities above the condensation threshold, show that the scattering function is invariant with the charge density. Received 16 June 1998     

Resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and REMPI-photoelectron spectroscopy of ammonia

Resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy, preferably linked with kinetic energy analysis of the resulting photoelectrons (REMPI-photoelectron spectroscopy (PES)), continues to make enormous contributions to our understanding of the spectroscopy and, in many cases, the decay dynamics of small molecules in excited (normally Rydberg) electronic states. Here we present results of recent REMPI and REMPI-PES studies involving the ammonia molecule which provide further illustration of some of the many opportunities offered by these techniques. Received: 28 January 1998 / Revised: 3 April 1998 / Accepted: 15 April 1998     

Classical study of and collisions in intense laser fields

In this paper, ion-atom and ion-ion collisions in the presence of intense laser fields are qualitatively studied by Classical Trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) simulations. It is found that in contrast to the field-free collisions, the colliding ion and the target nucleus could absorb energy from the applied laser fields when the electrons escape from the collision system. This result is explained in terms of Coulomb explosion induced by the enhanced ionization at the so-called critical internuclear distance. Also, the corresponding energy gain cross-sections are evaluated. Received: 7 October 1998 / Received in final form: 28 January 1999     

Measurement of the transverse kinetic energies of argon recoil ions produced in 120 MeV -Ar collisions

Measurements were carried out to deduce the transverse kinetic energies of highly charged argon recoil ions produced in single collisions of 120 MeV ions with argon atoms in which the post collision charge states of the projectiles were not determined. A time of flight spectrometer was designed and fabricated to detect the charge states of recoils. Experimental procedures for optimizing the spectrometer for extraction, transmission and detection of recoils are described. A simple approach for determining the transverse kinetic energy of the recoil ions from FWHM of the peaks is reported. This method is shown to be independent of the choice of collision partners and requires only the knowledge of the physical values of “optimized parameters” of time-of-flight spectrometer used in the experiment. The transverse kinetic energy of the recoil ions determined from the present approach is found to vary from 0.03 eV for to 4.02 eV for Ar¹⁰⁺. These values are compared with the results reported by earlier workers and are shown to follow a q²-behaviour up to a charge state q =8+ of the recoil ions. Received: 5 February 1998 / Revised: 8 June 1998 / Accepted: 11 June 1998     

Molecular photodynamics involved in multi-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy

We present a simple model for calculating the fluorescence generated by the multi-photon excitation (MPE) of molecules in solution. The model takes into account internal molecular dynamics such as ground-state depletion due to inter-system crossing (ISC), as well as external molecular dynamics associated with diffusion into and out of an excitation volume confined in 3-dimensions. Internal and external molecular dynamics are combined by using a technique of linearization of a modified diffusion equation which takes into account the possibility of concentration depletion due to photobleaching. In addition, we discuss the phenomenon of pulse saturation which effectively limits the molecular excitation rate constant in the case of short pulsed excitation. Our results are specifically applied in the context of fluorescence autocorrelation functions and single-molecule detection. In the latter case, we discuss some consequences of high-order multi-photon photobleaching. Finally, we include three appendices to rigorously define the temporal and spatial profiles of an arbitrary excitation beam, and also to discuss some properties of an exact evaluation of concentration depletion due to photobleaching. Received: 9 March 1998 / Accepted: 20 April 1998