Theoretical and experimental study of differential group delay and polarization dependent loss of Bragg gratings written in birefringent fiber

In this paper, we completely study the wavelength dependency of differential group delay (DGD) and polarization dependent loss (PDL) for Bragg gratings written in birefringent fibers. Based on the coupled mode theory, we present analytical expressions for the evolution with wavelength of the transmission coefficient, the DGD and the PDL. The wavelength dependencies of these evolutions on the birefringence are then discussed. Experimental results are finally presented for an apodized FBG written in a bow-tie fiber. A very good agreement between theory and experience is reported, confirming the validity of the theoretical analysis.     

Géométrie diophantienne et variétés toriques

We present some results on projective toric varieties which are relevant in diophantine geometry. We interpret and study several invariants attached to these varieties by geometrical and combinatorial terms. We also give a Bézout theorem for Chow weights of projective varieties and an application to the theorem of successive algebraic minima. These results are extracted from the two texts of Philippon and Sombra mentioned in the references at the end of this Note (both downloadable from http://fr.arxiv.org). To cite this article: P. Philippon, M. Sombra, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 340 (2005).     

Local pressure components and surface tension of spherical interfaces. Thermodynamic versus mechanical definitions. I. A mesoscale modeling of droplets

We report mesoscale simulations of spherical drops to investigate the surface tension and mechanical properties. The Monte Carlo simulations are performed with the multibody potential commonly used in the many-body dissipative particle dynamics simulations. We establish here the calculation of the local normal and transverse components of the pressure tensor via the perturbation volume within the thermodynamic route. The different profiles of these components are compared to those calculated using the mechanical approach. To complete the mesoscale modeling of drops, we investigate the curvature dependence of the surface tension in order to calculate the Tolman's length, which is found to be negative.     

Modulating the photophysical properties of azamacrocyclic europium complexes with charge-transfer antenna chromophores

Two europium complexes with bis(bipyridine) azamacrocyclic ligands featuring pendant arms with or without π-conjugated donor groups are synthesized and fully characterized by theoretical calculations and NMR spectroscopy. Their photophysical properties, including two-photon absorption, are investigated in water and in various organic solvents. The nonfunctionalized ligand gives highly water-stable europium complexes featuring bright luminescence properties but poor two-photon absorption cross sections. On the other hand, the europium complex with an extended conjugated antenna ligand presents a two-photon absorption cross section of 45 GM at 720 nm but is poorly luminescent in water. A detailed solvent-dependent photophysical study indicates that this luminescence quenching is not due to the direct coordination of O-H vibrators to the metal center but to the increase of nonradiative processes in a protic solvent induced by an internal isomerization equilibrium.     

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis method for the enantiomeric purity determination of S-timolol using heptakis(2,3-di-O-methyl-6-O-sulfo)-beta-cyclodextrin: validation using the accuracy profile strategy and estimation of uncertainty

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) was successfully applied to the enantiomeric purity determination of S-timolol maleate using heptakis(2,3-di-O-methyl-6-O-sulfo)-beta-cyclodextrin (HDMS-beta-CD) as chiral selector. With a background electrolyte made up of a methanolic solution of 0.75 M formic acid, 30 mM potassium camphorsulfonate and containing 30 mM HDMS-beta-CD, the determination of 0.1% of R-timolol in S-timolol could be performed with an enantiomeric resolution of 8.5. Pyridoxine was selected as internal standard. The NACE method was then fully validated by applying a novel strategy using accuracy profiles. It is based on beta-expectation tolerance intervals for the total measurement error which includes trueness and intermediate precision. The uncertainty of measurements derived from beta-expectation tolerance intervals was estimated at each concentration level of the validation standards. To confirm the suitability of the developed and validated method, several real samples of S-timolol maleate containing R-timolol maleate at different concentrations were analysed and the results were compared to those obtained by liquid chromatography.     

Atmospheric pressure photoionization coupled to porous graphitic carbon liquid chromatography for the analysis of globotriaosylceramides. Application to Fabry disease

Globotriaosylceramides (Gb(3)) are biological compounds implicated in Fabry disease, a lysosomal storage disease due to the deficient activity of alpha-D-galactosidase A, which results in an accumulation of Gb(3) in many organs. The naturally occurring samples are composed of mixtures of several molecular species differing by the structure of the alkyl chains and the nature of the sphingoid base. Atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry (APPI-MS) proved to be an efficient method for the analysis of globotriaosylceramide molecular species, both in direct injection and by coupling with liquid chromatography (LC). In the positive ion mode, in-source fragmentations yield very precious information that can be used to determine the structure of the alkyl chains. In the negative ion mode, the chloroform solvent participates to the analyte ionization by forming an adduct with chloride ions generated in situ. Combination of LC on a Porous Graphitic Carbon stationary phase and APPI-MS allowed the detection of a great number of species from biological samples isolated from Fabry patients. This method could be an interesting analytical tool for the biochemical investigation of (sphingo) lipid metabolism.     

Velocimetry microsensors driven by linearly polarized optical tweezers

We report on a new type of single-point velocimetry microsensor that can be positioned in microfluidic devices by use of optical tweezers. The flag-shaped microsensor is readily made by a low-cost two-photon polymerization technique. At rest the linearly polarized optical tweezer traps the microsensor at the focal point, and the flag-plate gets aligned in the polarization direction. Under a fluid flow, the plate rotates to an equilibrium angle that is used to measure the fluid velocity with a micrometer-size spatial resolution. Experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations of optical and hydrodynamic torques on such a flag-shaped microsensor.     

Gas-phase behaviour of negative ions produced from thiazidic diuretics under electrospray conditions

A systematic mass spectrometric study of 10 thiazidic diuretics and related compounds was undertaken by mass spectrometry (MS) with electrospray ionization in the negative ion mode. Collisional dissociation 'in-source' (CID-MS) and in a low-pressure collision cell (CID-MS/MS) were compared in both excitation regions. Spectra obtained by CID-MS and by CID-MS/MS were matched. Using the two methods, loss of HCl and consecutive dissociations from 2HCl losses were exhibited from compounds such as methyclothiazide and trichlormethiazide but not from other thiazidic diuretics that contain chlorine substituents in the aromatic moiety. However, deprotonated dichlorphenamide gave rise to loss of HCl by CID-MS and CID-MS/MS. For other diuretics such as hydroflumethiazide and hydrochlorothiazide, the loss of HCN and [HCN + SO(2)] was relevant. Reaction mechanisms were checked by means of deuterium-hydrogen exchange, which showed that deprotonation took place regioselectively on the heterocyclic moiety. The cleavage pathways require molecular isomerization forming ion-dipole complexes prior to decompositions, allowing long-distance proton transfer for neutral elimination. Identifications of the most specific fragmentations presented in this paper were applied to the screening and unambiguous identification of diuretics for horse doping control.     

Three-dimensional microfabrication by two-photon-initiated polymerization with a low-cost microlaser

Fabrication of submicrometer structures by two-photon-initiated polymerization is performed with an inexpensive and low-power microlaser. This is made possible by the design of photoinitiators with strong two-photon absorption cross sections. We analyze the influence of both material properties and irradiation conditions on the two-photon polymerization rate and show that resins based on our highly sensitive two-photon photoinitiator can be solidified with microlaser excitation, whereas commercial UV photoresins require ultrashort and intense laser pulses.     

Mode dependent vibrational autoionization of Rydberg states of NO2. II. Comparing the symmetric stretching and bending vibrations

Triple-resonance excitation and high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy are combined to characterize the mode selectivity of vibrational autoionization of the high Rydberg states of NO2. Photoelectron spectra and vibrational branching fractions are reported for autoionizing Rydberg states converging to the NO2+ X 1Sigmag +(110) state, that is, with one quantum in the symmetric stretch, nu1, and one quantum in the bending vibration, nu2. These results indicate that autoionization proceeds most efficiently through the loss of one quantum from the symmetric stretch rather than from the bending vibration. The implications of this result are discussed in terms of the autoionization mechanism.