Plasma effects and the modulation of white light spectra in the propagation of ultrashort, high-power laser pulses in barium fluoride

We report the results of a study of white light generation in a 7.5 cm long crystal of a high band-gap material, barium fluoride, using ultrashort (<42 fs) laser pulses over a range of values of incident laser power that extend up to more than three orders of magnitude larger than the critical power for self-focusing (P_cr). We explore white light generation and the intensity and spectral distributions within filaments that are formed as a result of the interplay of self-focusing and plasma-induced defocusing. The onset of plasma effects occurs at power levels in excess of 7 GW for ultrashort pulses in BaF₂. For incident power levels that are three orders of magnitude larger than the critical power, blue-shifting of the incident laser wavelength is observed in addition to asymmetric continuum generation. The blue shift enables us to estimate the temporal variation of the electron density in the plasma that is generated within the BaF₂ crystal. PACS 52.38.Hb; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 33.80.Wz; 52.35.Mw     

Detecting and Diagnostic Checking Multivariate Conditional Heteroscedastic Time Series Models

Two tests for multivariate conditional heteroscedastic models are proposed. One is based on the cross-correlations of standardized squared residuals and the other is a score (Lagrange multiplier) test. The cross-correlations test can be used to detect the presence of multivariate conditional heteroscedasticity whereas the other test can be used for diagnostic checking. Simulation studies on the size and power of the test statistics are reported. The application of the tests is illustrated by an example using the S & P 500 and Sydney All Ordinary Indexes.     

Threshold electrical switching in As45Te55-xInx and As50Te50-xInx glasses

The electrical switching behaviour of As₄₅Te_55-xIn_x (5≤x≤15) and As₅₀Te_50-xIn_x (2.5≤x≤11.5) has been studied over a wide range of compositions. These glasses are found to exhibit threshold switching. The composition dependence of switching voltage (V_t) has been found to exhibit a change in slope and a local minimum at compositions x=10 and 12.5 for As₄₅Te_55-xIn_x and x=7.5 and 10.8 for As₅₀Te_50-xIn_x, respectively. The slope change in V_t verses x and the local minimum have been identified using two network topological effects, namely the rigidity percolation threshold and the chemical threshold. Received: 23 August 2001 / Accepted: 27 August 2001 / Published online: 11 February 2002     

Adhesion measurement of thin films by a modified laser spallation technique: theoretical analysis and experimental investigation

Laser driven shocks can lead to a dynamic failure, called film spallation. Here, we use a modified laser spallation set-up to measure the dynamic adhesion of thin films and we propose a novel diagnostic technology. Based on correlation theory, new spallation criteria for characterizing the progressive damage at the interface between the film and the substrate are established, such as interface delamination, film spallation and film expulsion. With the help of the theory, the degree of damage and the dimension of damage (i.e. fracture), such as the minimum width of delamination radius, the thickness of the film etc., are estimated. Experiments are carried out on epoxy/stainless steel and epoxy/Al, and the experimental results show that their dynamic bonding strengths are about 25 MPa and 20 MPa, respectively. The detailed results, analyses and discussions are presented in this paper. Received: 6 February 2001 / Accepted: 3 December 2001 / Published online: 11 February 2002     

Carbon diffusion between the volume and surface of (100) molybdenum

The diffusion of carbon atoms between the volume and the surface of (100) molybdenum is directly studied at temperatures between 1400 and 2000 K (i.e., at process temperatures) for the first time. The balance of carbon atoms in the system is determined. The difference in the activation energies of carbon dissolution and precipitation, ΔE=E s 1-E1s, is found for the case when the diffusion fluxes of dissolved and precipitated carbon atoms are in equilibrium. This difference defines the enrichment of the surface by carbon relative to the bulk. The experimentally found activation energy of carbon dissolution is Es1=3.9 eV. The activation energy of carbon precipitation is estimated at E 1 s=1.9 eV. The latter value is close to the energy of bulk diffusion of carbon in molybdenum.     

Metrics of Homogeneous Spaces Admitting (3.1)-Type Complete Sets

A classification has been obtained for spaces which admit complete sets of motion integrals of the (3.1)-type and are spatially homogeneous. The metrics and Killing vectors have been found in explicit form for all types of these spaces. A classification by Bianchi is given for the spaces obtained.     

Barrier-free intermolecular proton transfer in the uracil-glycine complex induced by excess electron attachment

The photoelectron spectra (PES) of anions of uracil-glycine and uracil-phenylalanine complexes reveal broad features with maxima at 1.8 and 2.0 eV. The results of ab initio density functional B3LYP and second order M?ller-Plesset theory calculations indicate that the excess electron occupies a π^* orbital localized on uracil. The excess electron attachment to the complex can induce a barrier-free proton transfer (BFPT) from the carboxylic group of glycine to the O8 atom of uracil. As a result, the four most stable structures of the anion of uracil-glycine complex can be characterized as the neutral radical of hydrogenated uracil solvated by the anion of deprotonated glycine. The similarity between the PES spectra for the uracil complexes with glycine and phenylalanine suggests that the BFPT is also operative in the case of the latter anionic species. The BFPT to the O8 atom of uracil may be related to the damage of nucleic acid bases by low energy electrons because the O8 atom is involved in a hydrogen bond with adenine in the standard Watson-Crick pairing scheme. Received 6 April 2002 Published online 13 September 2002     

Controlling global stochasticity of Hamiltonian systems by nonlinear perturbation

A method of controlling global stochasticity in Hamiltonian systems by applying nonlinear perturbation is proposed. With the well-known standard map we demonstrate that this control method can convert global stochasticity into regular motion in a wide chaotic region for arbitrary initial condition, in which the control signal remains very weak after a few kicks. The system in which chaos has been controlled approximates to the original Hamiltonian system, and this approach appears robust against small external noise. The mechanism underlying this high control efficiency is intuitively explained. Received 15 January 2002 Published online 6 June 2002     

Tunneling and EPR linewidths due to dislocations in Mn acetate

We compute the width and shape of the EPR and tunneling resonances due to dislocations in Mn₁₂ acetate crystals. Uncorrelated dislocations produce the Gaussian shape of resonances while dislocations bound in pairs produce the Lorentzian shape. We stress that the uniaxial spin Hamiltonian together with crystal defects can explain the totality of experimental data on Mn₁₂. Received 2 August 2001 / Received in final form 15 March 2002 Published online 17 September 2002