Quantum control of electron‐proton symmetry breaking in dissociative ionization of H2 by intense laser pulses

Forward and backward electron/proton ionization/dissociation spectra from one‐dimensional non‐Born‐Oppenheimer H₂ molecule exposed to ultrashort intense laser pulses ( W/cm², λ = 800 nm) have been computed by numerically solving the time‐dependent Schrödinger equation. The resulting above‐threshold ionization and above‐threshold dissociation spectra exhibit the characteristic forward‐backward asymmetry and sensitivity to the carrier‐envelope phase (CEP), particularly for high energies. A general framework for understanding CEP effects in the asymmetry of dissociative ionization of H₂ has been established. It is found that the symmetry breaking of electron‐proton distribution with π periodic modulation occurs for all CEPs except for ( integer) and the largest asymmetry coming from the CEP of . At least one of the electron and proton distributions is asymmetric when measured simultaneously. Inspection of the nuclear and electron wave packet dynamics provides further information about the relative contribution of the gerade and ungerade states of to the dissociation channel and the time delay of electrons in asymmetric ionization. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Elemental analysis of topaz from northern areas of Pakistan and assessment of induced radioactivity level after neutron irradiation for color induction

To study the impurity elements, which render color-induced topaz long lived radionuclides, three samples of topaz, from three different cities of the Northern Pakistan (Baltistan, Gilgit and Mardan) were analyzed using k ₀ instrumental neutron activation analysis (k ₀-INAA). The samples were irradiated in Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR-1) and PARR-2 at Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH), Islamabad. The method was validated by analyzing IAEA-S7 reference material. In three samples a total of 22 trace level impurity elements were quantified. Among impurities, 10 elements including As, Ce, Ga, Ge, La, Na, Sb, Sc, U and Zn were common in topaz of all the three places. The storage time has been calculated for each sample required to bring the induced radioactivity down to permissible level given by US National Regulatory Commission.     

A Time-Dependent Wavepacket Method for Photodissociation Dynamics of Triatomic Molecule

We report a time-dependent quantum wavepacket theory employed to interpret the photoabsorption spectrum of the N20 molecule in terms of the nuclear motion on the upper 21A＇ and 11A＂ potential energy surfaces. The N2-O bond breaks upon excitation leading to dissociation. The total angular momentum is treated correctly taking into account the vector property of the electric field of the exciting radiation.     

Temperature‐programmed reduction of silver(I) oxide using a titania‐supported silver catalyst under a H2 atmosphere

Reduction kinetics of silver(I) oxide using a titania‐supported silver catalyst was analyzed using temperature‐programmed reduction (TPR) with hydrogen as a reducing gas. Ag₂O reduction to Ag was observed in all samples as a single reduction step occurring at two reduction peaks. Observation of these reduction peaks indicates the existence of different lattice oxygen species, that is, surface and bulk, which are, respectively, attributed to surficial and pore‐deposited Ag₂O aggregates. The powdered samples exhibited high reducibility with average final oxidation states ranging from 0 to +0.18. The apparent activation energies for Ag₂O reduction to Ag metal were 73.35 and 81.71 kJ/mol for surficial and pore‐deposited Ag₂O aggregates, respectively. In this study, a unimolecular decay model was reported to accurately describe the reduction mechanism of Ag/TiO₂ catalysts. Hence, this would also infer that the catalyst reduction is rate‐limited by the nucleation of Ag metal instead of the topochemical reaction and the diffusion of hydrogen and oxygen molecules.     

INAA for the characterization of airborne particulate matter from the industrial area of Islamabad city

Air particulate matter (PM) was collected in two size fractions using stacked filter units (SFUs) provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from the industrial area of Islamabad. Nucleopore polycarbonate filters were used for collecting from Oct 98 to Jun 99 the particulate matter in coarse and fine size fractions. The samples were characterized by the instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). About 33 elements were quantified using different irradiation and counting protocols.     

Local Inverse Scattering at a Fixed Energy for Radial Schrödinger Operators and Localization of the Regge Poles

We study inverse scattering problems at a fixed energy for radial Schrödinger operators on \({\mathbb{R}^n}\), \({n \geq 2}\). First, we consider the class \({\mathcal{A}}\) of potentials q(r) which can be extended analytically in \({\Re z \geq 0}\) such that \({\mid q(z)\mid \leq C \ (1+ \mid z \mid )^{-\rho}}\), \({\rho > \frac{3}{2}}\). If q and \({\tilde{q}}\) are two such potentials and if the corresponding phase shifts \({\delta_l}\) and \({\tilde{\delta}_l}\) are super-exponentially close, then \({q=\tilde{q}}\). Second, we study the class of potentials q(r) which can be split into q(r) = q ₁(r) + q ₂(r) such that q ₁(r) has compact support and \({q_2 (r) \in \mathcal{A}}\). If q and \({\tilde{q}}\) are two such potentials, we show that for any fixed \({a>0, {\delta_l - \tilde{\delta}_l \ = \ o \left(\frac{1}{l^{n-3}}\ \left({\frac{ae}{2l}}\right)^{2l}\right)}}\) when \({l \rightarrow +\infty}\) if and only if \({q(r)=\tilde{q}(r)}\) for almost all \({r \geq a}\). The proofs are close in spirit with the celebrated Borg–Marchenko uniqueness theorem, and rely heavily on the localization of the Regge poles that could be defined as the resonances in the complexified angular momentum plane. We show that for a non-zero super-exponentially decreasing potential, the number of Regge poles is always infinite and moreover, the Regge poles are not contained in any vertical strip in the right-half plane. For potentials with compact support, we are able to give explicitly their asymptotics. At last, for potentials which can be extended analytically in \({\Re z \geq 0}\) with \({\mid q(z)\mid \leq C (1+ \mid z \mid)^{-\rho}}\), \({\rho >1}\), we show that the Regge poles are confined in a vertical strip in the complex plane.     

Optical and electrical characteristics of (LiCl) x (P2O5)1 − x glass

Homogeneous (LiCl) _x (P₂O₅)_1 − x glasses were synthesised using a melt-quenching method for x = 0.1–0.6 in the interval of 0.05. The amorphous structure of the samples was evident by the X-ray diffraction spectrum. The short range structures of the binary phosphate samples were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, whilst the density of the samples was measured as supportive data for the investigations. The results of refractive indices as measured using an ellipsometer reveal the homogeneity of samples and was found to depend on the glass composition. The electrical properties of the glasses were investigated by ac impedance spectroscopy from 10 mHz to 1 MHz for temperatures ranging from room temperature to 573 K. An estimation of the bulk resistivity was obtained by taking the intercepts on the real axis at low frequencies of the complex impedance plot. The dc conductivities derived from the reciprocal of resistivity values were found to obey the Arrhenius relationship, and its activation energy shows a decreasing trend with the increase in LiCl content in the glass. Lastly, an equivalent circuits consisting of real and complex capacitors is proposed to describe the dielectric response of the glass.     

Adsorption kinetics of various gases in carbon molecular sieves (CMS) produced from palm shell

Carbon molecular sieves (CMS) have been prepared from locally available palm shell of Tenera type by a thermal treatment technique involving carbonization followed by steam activation and benzene deposition technique. Carbonization of the dried palm shells was done at 900 °C for duration of 1 h followed by steam activation at 830 °C for 30–420 min to achieve activated carbons with different degree of burn-offs. The highest micropore volume of activated carbon obtained at 53.2% burn-off was found suitable to be used as a precursor for CMS production. Subsequent benzene deposition onto activated samples at temperature range from 600 to 900 °C for various benzene concentrations have resulted in a series of CMS with different kinetic selectivities. The molecular sieving behaviour of the CMS products was assessed by kinetic adsorption isotherms of O₂, N₂, CO₂ and CH₄ at room temperature.