A qualitative investigation of the oscillations of a pendulum with a periodically varying length and a mathematical model of a swing

The behaviour of the amplitude-frequency characteristics of families of periodic solutions, produced from the equilibrium position of a system, is established by a qualitative investigation of the equation of the oscillations of a pendulum, the length of which is an arbitrary periodic function of time. The non-local conditions for their stability and instability, expressed in terms of the amplitude and frequency of the oscillations, are obtained. The results are used when discussing the parametric and self-excited oscillatory model of a swing. In the parametric model the length of a swing is a specified periodic function of time, and in the self-excited oscillatory model it is a function of the phase coordinates of the system. For an appropriate choice of these functions, both systems have a common periodic solution. It is shown that the parametric model leads to an erroneous conclusion regarding the instability of the periodic mode, which is in fact realized in the oscillations of a swing, whereas the self-excited oscillatory model indicates its stability.     

Pressure recovery system for a high-power HF/DF laser: implementation practice

The matter of development of a high-performance pressure recovery system (PRS) for a high-power HF/DF laser is discussed. A sequence of design steps is proposed, which involves estimation of basic characteristics of PRS components with the help of one-dimensional integral and semi-empirical procedures; simulation, to be performed using three-dimensional non-stationary Navier — Stokes equations; experimental modelling aimed at verification of the calculation procedures and at refinement of obtained parameters; and a fullscale experiment. An ejector-type system providing for recovery of pressure from 12 Torr to atmospheric pressure in the gas-dynamic system of an HF/DF laser of several-tens-kilowatt power is developed. Matching conditions for parameters of individual PRS components as well as joint functioning of the PRS with a continuous chemical laser in an integral complex are analysed. Conditions for minimization of mass-dimensional characteristics of the laser-PRS complex necessary for the development of ground-based mobile systems are identified.     

Voltage ‐ Current Study of an Atmospheric Dielectric Barrier Discharge

The discharge behaviour of an atmospheric dielectric barrier parallel plate discharge, used for surface treatment, is studied. Since an uniform plasma is preferable for surface treatment, filaments must be avoided in the discharge. The occurrence of filaments can be detected by measuring the current flowing through the discharge. Current and voltage measurements give an indication of the power consumption by the plasma. The power consumption of the plasma as function of the applied frequency is examined. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exploring magnetic properties of ultrathin epitaxial magnetic structures using magneto-optical techniques

We describe magneto-optic Kerr effect studies of ultrathin Fe and Ni films on single crystal surfaces of Ag and Cu. Monolayer Fe films on Ag(100) exhibit the theoretically predicted spin-orbit anisotropy, but also yield some interesting discrepancies between behavior predicted by Kerr effect and by spin-polarized photoemission experiments. Layer-dependent studies of the magnetic moment of Ni on Ag(111) and Ag(100) suggest sp-d hybridization effects quench the first layer magnetic moment on Ag(111) but not on Ag(100). Temperature dependent studies of thin film magnetization obtained from Kerr effect measurements yield thickness dependent Curie temperatures, and critical exponents for several thin film systems.     

Maximal Cluster Sets of L-Analytic Functions Along Arbitrary Curves

Let Ώ be a domain in the N-dimensional real space, let L be an elliptic differential operator, and let (T_n) be a sequence whose members belong to a certain class of operators defined on the space of L-analytic functions on Ώ. This paper establishes the existence of a dense linear manifold of L-analytic functions all of whose nonzero members have maximal cluster sets under the action of every T_n along any curve ending at the boundary of Ώ such that its closure does not contain any component of the boundary. The above class contains all partial differentiation operators ∂^α, hence the statement extends earlier results due to Boivin, Gauthier, and Paramonov, and due to the first, third, and fourth authors.     

Generation of red light at 660 nm by frequency doubling a Nd:YAG laser with periodically-poled stoichiometric LiTaO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

High power red light was generated from a periodically-poled stoichiometric LiTaO₃ (PPSLT) by single-pass frequency doubling of a diode-side-pumped, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1319 nm. An average power of 2.4 W of the 660 nm red light was obtained at the fundamental power of ∼5.4 W with the conversion efficiency up to 44.4% and with low fluctuation down to 2%. The high efficiency and stability at the red output indicate that it is a practical method to construct a reliable compact red laser. PACS 42.70.Mp; 42.79.Nv; 42.55.Xi     

Growth of InAs nanostructures on InP using atomic-force nanolithography

Atomic-force nanolithography was used to control the nucleation sites of InAs nanostructures on InP substrates. Indentations with a wide range of dimensions were produced on InP. InAs nanostructures were selectively grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. It is shown that the number of active nucleation sites depends on the normal force applied during nanoindentation. Crystalline defects introduced by nanoindentation are shown to be nucleation sites for these nanostructures. The presence of screw dislocations within the grown nanostructures further supports this observation. PACS 81.07.-b; 68.37.Ps; 81.16.Nd     

Electrochemical reduction of sodium metavanadate in an equimolar KCl-NaCl melt

Electrochemical reduction of sodium metavanadate in an equimolar KCl-NaCl melt and the effect of acid-base properties of environment on this process are studied by a voltammetry method on a stationary platinum electrode. It is established that the limiting current of the NaVO₃ electroreduction process has a kinetic nature. The process proceeds via an autoinhibition scheme and its rate is limited by an acid-base reaction conjugated with an irreversible charge transfer reaction. A substantial role of cationic composition of the melt is revealed experimentally. Following acidification of the KCl-NaCl-NaVO₃ melt by Mg²⁺ (from MgCl₂), the process passes from an irreversible kinetic regime into a reversible diffusion (quasi-diffusion) process. Values of stability constants for vanadates produced with the aid of acid-base titration of vanadium pentoxide by oxygen ions in experimental conditions are presented. These values are taken into account when calculating kinetic parameters of the NaVO₃ electroreduction.     

Empirical minimization

We investigate the behavior of the empirical minimization algorithm using various methods. We first analyze it by comparing the empirical, random, structure and the original one on the class, either in an additive sense, via the uniform law of large numbers, or in a multiplicative sense, using isomorphic coordinate projections. We then show that a direct analysis of the empirical minimization algorithm yields a significantly better bound, and that the estimates we obtain are essentially sharp. The method of proof we use is based on Talagrand's concentration inequality for empirical processes. Research partially supported by NSF under award DMS-0434393. Research partially supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Porject DP0343616.     

Electronic structure of CeAl2 thin films studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

We report X-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) study of CeAl₂ thin films of various thicknesses, 40-120 nm, at Al K- and Ce L₃-edges. The threshold of the absorption features at the Al K-edge shifts to the higher photon energy side as film thickness decreases, implying a decreased in Al p-orbital charges. On the other hand, from Ce L₃-edge spectra, we observed a decrease in the 5d4f occupancy as the surface-to-bulk ratio increases. The valence of Ce in these thin films, as revealed by the Ce L₃-edge spectral results, is mainly trivalent. From a more detailed analysis we found a small amount of Ce⁴⁺ contribution, which increases with decreasing film thickness. Our results indicate that the surface-to-bulk ratio is the key factor which affects the electronic structure of CeAl₂ thin films. The above observations also suggest that charge transfer from Al to Ce is associated with the decrease of the film thickness.