High precision elimination of angular chirp in CPA laser systems with large stretching factors or high bandwidth

We present a novel and highly sensitive method to determine the residual angular dispersion of high-power laser pulses after stretching, amplification, and re-compression of the pulses in a chirped-pulse amplification laser system. This method is based on the intentional deflection of a part of the the spectrum within the compressor and aligning the centers of gravity of the two resulting and separated foci with largest possible spectral separation in the far field. Using this technique, we were able to reduce the residual angular dispersion on pulses to less than 0.05 μrad/nm in the vertical plane and less than 0.03 μrad/nm in the horizontal plane, respectively. With this method, it is possible to minimize the deviation of the actual peak intensity for the focused laser pulses to less than 2 % of its theoretical limit.     

Quasicrystal discovery—from NBS/NIST to Stockholm

There were ideal conditions in 1982 at the NBS/NIST for the kind of exploratory research that led Dan Shechtman to the quasicrystal discovery. Almost thirty years later, in 2011, Shechtman received the Nobel Prize for this achievement. What happened in between these two dates has been covered quite extensively elsewhere. But it is intriguing to learn more about the very beginning. Then, the festivities in Stockholm added to our seeing the story in a fuller perspective.     

Optimal control of one- and two-photon transitions with shaped femtosecond pulses and feedback

This paper reports two pump–probe experiments in sodium where dynamically tailored ultrashort pulses from a Ti:Sapphire-pumped optical parametric amplifier were employed. The first study focuses on the one-photon Na(3s→3p) transition to derive sensitive criteria which judge the performance of a frequency-domain pulse shaper using a spatial light modulator. On the basis of the interpretation, follow-up experiments are suggested to test their cogency. The second experiment uses coherent quantum control by placing an appropriate phase distribution on the incident beam to enhance or cancel the transition probability in the nonresonant two-photon process Na(3s→→5s). Ignorant of the “ideal” phase function, an evolutionary algorithm which uses a feedback derived from the experiment performs the optimization and produces the desired bright or dark pulses within a few minutes. Attention is given to the role of resonant 3s→3p transitions excited by the spectral wings of the pump pulse. Different parametrizations of the phase distribution have been examined. Two of these produced solutions which had not previously been predicted by theory still meet the objective of the experiment. The study represents the first successful application of a feedback-organized self-learning algorithm to the design of dark pulses. Received: 3 November 1999 / Published online: 5 July 2000     

Insider behavior under different market structures: experimental evidence on trading patterns,manipulation, and profitability

Central European Journal of Operations Research - We conduct laboratory experiments incorporating different market structures and insiders who compete with imperfectly informed traders. The...     

The use of thermoplastic elastomers as polymer processing aids in processing of linear low density polyethylene

Commercially available thermoplastic elastomers based on block copolymers of diisocyanates and polyols and based on silicones have been reported by Kulikov et al. (2004 and 2006) to delay sharkskin in extrusion of Linear Low Density Polyethylene. In this work thermoplastic elastomers have been used as polymer processing additives in blown film extrusion of Linear Low Density Polyethylene. When a thermoplastic elastomer is added in small amounts to Linear Low Density Polyethylene it deposits at the die surface during extrusion and may postpone the onset of sharkskin enabling up to 20 times higher rate of extrusion. Many thermoplastic elastomers are certified for body and food contacts and could be a cost-effective substitution of fluorinated polymers in processing of Linear Low Density Polyethylene by extrusion. Oscillating and capillar rheometry have been used to reveal the mode of action of the additives. Results of capillar rheometry showed a decrease of apparent viscosity of the polymer melt when additive was added. Therefore Mooney method (Mooney, 1931) was applied to prove occurring slip inside of the die. Substantial delay of sharkskin was achieved also in conditions without slip of molten polyethylene inside the die by adding thermoplastic elastomer based on urethanes. Oscillating rheometry has been used to characterize elasticity of the materials. It could be shown that efficiency to delay sharkskin depends on elasticity of the specific thermoplastic elastomer at processing temperature. Surface tension of the solid materials was used to estimate the mutual affinity of the materials. Therefore a theoretical model of Rathod and Hatzikiriakos (2004) was used to evaluate the data. Finally a classification of polymer processing aids into “slip inducers” and “flow enhancers” by their mode of action was done. Ability of novel processing aids to postpone sharkskin was shown in blown film extrusion. Applicability of polymer processing aids in injection moulding could be proved by use of a mould with spiral cavity.     

Exploiting photoinduced reactions in polymer blends to create hierarchically ordered, defect-free materials

Computer simulations reveal how photoinduced chemical reactions can be exploited to create long-range order in binary and ternary polymeric materials. The process is initiated by shining a spatially uniform light over a photosensitive AB binary blend, which thereby undergoes both a reversible chemical reaction and phase separation. We then introduce a well-collimated, higher intensity light source. Rastering this secondary light over the sample locally increases the reaction rate and causes formation of defect-free, spatially periodic structures. These binary structures resemble either the lamellar or hexagonal phases of microphase-separated diblock copolymers. We measure the regularity of the ordered structures as a function of the relative reaction rates for different values of the rastering speed and determine the optimal conditions for creating defect-free structures in the binary systems. We then add a nonreactive homopolymer C, which is immiscible with both A and B. We show that this component migrates to regions that are illuminated by the secondary, higher intensity light, allowing us to effectively write a pattern of C onto the AB film. Rastering over the ternary blend with this collimated light now leads to hierarchically ordered patterns of A, B, and C. The findings point to a facile, nonintrusive process for manufacturing high quality polymeric devices in a low-cost, efficient manner.     

Partial poly(glutamic acid) <--> poly(aspartic acid) exchange in layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte films. Structural alterations in the three-component architectures

Layer-by-layer (LBL) polyelectrolyte films were constructed from poly(L-glutamic acid) (PGA) and poly(L-aspartic acid) (PAA) as polyanions, and from poly(L-lysine) (PLL) as the polycation. The terminating layer of the films was always PLL. According to attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared measurements, the PGA/PLL and PAA/PLL films, despite their chemical similarity, had largely different secondary structures. Extended beta-sheets dominated the PGA/PLL films, while alpha-helices and intramolecular beta-sheets dominated the PAA/PLL films. The secondary structure of the polyelectrolyte film affected the adsorption of human serum albumin (HSA) as well. HSA preserved its native secondary structure on the PGA/PLL film, but it became largely deformed on PAA/PLL films. Both PGA and PAA were able to extrude to a certain extent the other polyanion from the films, but the structural consequences were different. Adding PAA to a (PGA/PLL)5-PGA film resulted in a simple exchange and incorporation: PGA/PLL and PAA/PLL complexes coexisted with their unaltered secondary structures in the mixed film. The incorporation of PGA into a (PAA/PLL)5-PAA film was up to 50% and caused additional beta-structure increase in the secondary structure of the film. The proportions of the two polyanions were roughly the same on the surfaces and in the interiors of the films, indicating practically free diffusion for both polyanions. The abundance of PAA/PLL and PGA/PLL domains on the film surfaces was monitored by the analysis of the amide I region of the infrared spectrum of a reporter molecule, HSA, adsorbed onto the three-component polyelectrolyte films.     

Modeling the release of nanoparticles from mobile microcapsules

The authors present a novel computational approach to simulate both the release of nanoparticles from a microcapsule, which is moving through a microchannel, and the adsorption of the released particles onto the channel walls. By integrating the lattice spring model for the micromechanics of elastic solids and the lattice Boltzmann model for fluid dynamics, they simulate the relevant fluid-structure interactions in the system. In particular, they capture the dynamic interactions among the capsule's elastic shell, the encapsulated fluid, and the external, host solution. The nanoparticles are treated as "tracer particles" and their motion is modeled via a Brownian dynamics simulation. An imposed pressure gradient drives the capsule to move along an adhesive substrate and the particles are released from the surface of this mobile capsule. The authors determine how the elasticity of the capsule, the strength of the capsule-surface adhesion and the diffusion coefficient of the nanoparticles affect the relative amount of particles that are adsorbed onto the substrate. In addition to showing that the compliant nature of the capsule can significantly affect the nanoparticle deposition, they isolate a range of parameters for maximizing the adsorbed amount. The findings yield guidelines for optimizing the efficiency of microcapsule carriers in the targeted delivery of nanoparticles.