Active wavelength control of an external cavity quantum cascade laser

We present an active wavelength control system for grating-based external cavity lasers that increases the accuracy of predicting the lasing wavelength based on the grating equation and significantly improves scan-to-scan wavelength/frequency repeatability. The ultimate 3?? precision of a frequency scan is determined by the scan-to-scan repeatability of 0.042?cm^?1. Since this control method can be applied to any external cavity laser with little to no modification, such a precision provides an excellent opportunity for spectroscopic applications that target molecular absorption lines at standard atmospheric conditions.     

Radiation induced charge injection in metal-polyethylene contacts

Charge injection on exposure to X-ray pulses in metal-low density polyethylene (LDPE) contact is studied. The differences between injection from Al and Au electrodes have been examined. Internal electric field strenghh on the Au-LDPE contact equal to about 5 MV/m was found. Energy density of surface states in LDPE foil was defined as 3.2·10¹⁵ eV⁻¹m ⁻².     

Palladium adsorption on MgO surface a theoretical model

The bonding energy of Pd atom with the MgO crystal surface has been calculated using semiempirical atomic potentials. The greatest energy for a perfect surface was found for the Pd atom placed over the Mg²⁺ ion (0.35 eV). The bonding energies for surfaces with Mg²⁺ or O^2- vacancies are 2.7 eV and 4.6 eV, respectively.

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Pd MgO. , Pd Mg⁺² (0,35 ). Pd O^–2 Mg⁺² , , 4,6, 2,7 .

     

Reconstitution of rhodopsin into polymerizable planar supported lipid bilayers: influence of dienoyl monomer structure on photoactivation

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play key roles in cellular signal transduction and many are pharmacologically important targets for drug discovery. GPCRs can be reconstituted in planar supported lipid bilayers (PSLBs) with retention of activity, which has led to development of GPCR-based biosensors and biochips. However, PSLBs composed of natural lipids lack the high stability desired for many technological applications. One strategy is to use synthetic lipid monomers that can be polymerized to form robust bilayers. A key question is how lipid polymerization affects GPCR structure and activity. Here we have investigated the photochemical activity of bovine rhodopsin (Rho), a model GPCR, reconstituted into PSLBs composed of lipids having one or two polymerizable dienoyl moieties located in different regions of the acyl chains. Plasmon waveguide resonance spectroscopy was used to compare the degree of Rho photoactivation in fluid and poly(lipid) PSLBs. The position of the dienoyl moiety was found to have a significant effect: polymerization near the glycerol backbone significantly attenuates Rho activity whereas polymerization near the acyl chain termini does not. Differences in cross-link density near the acyl chain termini also do not affect Rho activity. In unpolymerized PSLBs, an equimolar mixture of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids enhances activity relative to pure PC; however after polymerization, the enhancement is eliminated which is attributed to stabilization of the membrane lamellar phase. These results should provide guidance for the design of robust lipid bilayers functionalized with transmembrane proteins for use in membrane-based biochips and biosensors.     

An experimental and theoretical study of dipole moments of N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)-3-methoxyphenyl]methanesulfonamide

The excited state (S1) dipole moment of m-AMSA (1), an acridine derivative with antitumor activity, was determined from solvatochromic shifts of the lowest energy absorption band in several organic solvents. The effect of the solute shape and the values of polarizability on the determined change of dipole moment between ground and excited state was discussed. The dipole moments in S0 and S1 state were calculated in gas phase with semiempirical quantum-chemical and DFT and CIS methods and in solvents with SM5.4A solvation model and compared with values obtained experimentally. All the results show that the dipole moment of compound 1 in the excited state is higher than that in the ground state. These methods quite well predict the values of Deltamicro between two states of an investigated compound.     

Branch structure of -holomorphic curves near periodic orbits of a contact manifold

Let be a three-dimensional contact manifold, and a finite-energy pseudoholomorphic map from the punctured disc in that is asymptotic to a periodic orbit of the contact form. This article examines conditions under which smooth coordinates may be defined in a tubular neighbourhood of the orbit such that resembles a holomorphic curve, invoking comparison with the theory of topological linking of plane complex algebroid curves near a singular point. Examples of this behaviour, which are studied in some detail, include pseudoholomorphic maps into , where denotes a rational ellipsoid (contact structure induced by the standard complex structure on ), as well as contact structures arising from non-standard circle-fibrations of the three-sphere.

     

Effect of fuel mixture fraction and velocity perturbations on the flame transfer function of swirl stabilized flames

A novel methodology is developed to decompose the classic Flame Transfer Function (FTF) used in the thermo-acoustic stability analysis of lean premix combustors into contributions of different types. The approach is applied, in the context of Large Eddy Simulation (LES), to partially-premixed and fully-premixed flames, which are stabilized via a central recirculation zone as a result of the vortex breakdown phenomenon. The first type of decomposition is into contributions driven by fuel mixture fraction and dynamic velocity fluctuations. Each of these two contributions is further split into the components of turbulent flame speed and flame surface area. The flame surface area component, driven by the pure dynamic velocity fluctuation, which is shown to be a dominant contribution to the overall FTF, is also additionally decomposed over the coherent flow structures using proper orthogonal decomposition. Using a simplified model for the dynamic response of premixed flames, it is shown that the distribution of the FTF, as obtained from LES, is closely related to the characteristics of the velocity field frequency response to the inlet perturbation. Initially, the proposed method is tested and validated with a well characterized laboratory burner geometry. Subsequently, the method is applied to an industrial gas turbine burner.