Protein dynamics in Brillouin light scattering: Termal denaturation of hen egg white lysozyme

Thermal denaturation of hen egg white lysozyme has been investigated by Brillouin light scattering in the temperature range from 297 to 350 K. Anomalies in the temperature dependences of velocity and damping of hypersound and also in the behavior of the intensity of Brillouin components for the lysozyme solution at thermal denaturation have been revealed. These anomalies are attributable to phase transformations of the protein in the high-temperature region. It has been shown that Brillouin light scattering is a suitable tool for studying the structural evolution of proteins.     

Temperature dependence of the sound velocity in liquid argon between triple point and boiling point by stimulated Brillouin scattering

The temperature dependence of a longitudinal sound velocity has been measured in argon between 77°K and 87.3°K by stimulated Brillouin scattering. In this letter we report measurements in liquid argon in the range between the triple point and the boiling point.     

氮化铝单晶的布里渊散射几何研究

在对称散射和180°背散射两种散射几何设置下获得了单晶透明氮化铝布里渊散射谱图。分析了谱峰出现的原因及其对应的声波模式,分析了对称散射几何设置下谱图的偏振态。实验观察到对称散射谱图中准纵波峰和背散射谱图中的纯纵模峰,分析了它们出现的原因。文章根据实验谱图求得了样品材料的全部弹性常数信息。     

Brillouin light scattering in LiKSO4 between 20 and 80°C

Elastic constants of LiKSO₄ crystals have been measured at room temperature and over the temperature range 20–80°C by Brillouin scattering. No anomaly has been found near 60°C, in disagreement with the results of a previous Brillouin study which suggested a new phase transition.     

Inelastic light scattering studies of diffuse phase transition in ferroelectric Sr1.9Ca0.1NaNb5O15 thin films

The dynamic behavior of highly oriented ferroelectric Sr_1.9Ca_0.1NaNb₅O₁₅ thin films has been investigated by Brillouin light scattering over a wide temperature range between 25 and 450 °C. The temperature variations of the full‐width at half‐maximum (FWHM) of the central peak (CP) are found to exhibit marked changes around the Curie temperature (T_c = 246 °C). The CP reveals a relaxational mode behavior, which is attributed to thermally activated fast relaxation of polar nanoregions (PNRs). The width of the CP decreases steadily upon cooling from ∼400 °C to T_c and shows little subsequent change within the ferroelectric state, indicating an increase of the number of PNRs and a slowing down of their dynamics. By using a modified superparaelectric model, the activation energy (H₀) of the relaxation processes and the Burns temperature (T_B) are determined to be 2939 and 385 °C, respectively. The evidence for this diffuse phase transition provided by Brillouin scattering is in agreement with results obtained from the temperature‐dependent dielectric permittivity, refractive index, and Raman spectra. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low-frequency dynamics of DNA in Brillouin light scattering spectra

Brillouin light scattering studies of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the temperature interval 297–375 K are presented. The DNA fragment (119 bp) from the first intron of D melanogaster limk1 gene with AT-rich insertion (28 bp, mutant agn ^ts3) was used as an experimental sample. The temperature dependence of the hypersonic velocity was found to exhibit anomalies in the vicinity of 347 and 335 K. Computer modeling of possible conformational states which might be attained by the DNA fragment under study has shown the existence of local structures that evolve with varying temperature. Combined analysis of experimental data and results of the modeling reveals a close relation between the anomalous behavior of Brillouin light scattering spectra and conformational DNA dynamics. The results are discussed in the framework of modern models of conformational DNA transformations.     

Measurement of polarization dependence of nonlinear susceptibility responsible for Rayleigh-wing and Brillouin scattering

By using a simple optical geometry based on backward light scattering and employing a Sandercock-type tandem Fabry-Perot interferometer, we measure both the linear and the circular polarization dependences of Rayleigh-wing and Brillouin scattering in a sample of liquid-crystal 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl. Observed polarization dependences are consistent with the third-order nonlinear susceptibilities, taking into account the traceless symmetric scattering tensor for Rayleigh-wing scattering and the isotropic scattering tensor for Brillouin scattering.     

Study of polymerizing styrene through depolarized light scattering

The thermal polymerization of clean styrene has been studied through Rayleigh-Brillouin light scattering. The frequency shifts, Rayleigh to Brillouin intensity ratios, Rayleigh depolarization ratios, and depolarized intensities were measured as the polymerization proceeded to completion at 90°C. The depolarized intensities decreased and the frequency shifts increased smoothly from the monomer to the polymer values. The Vv intensities and Rayleigh to Brillouin intensity ratios increase dramatically during the first stages of polymerization then decrease systematically to their final values. There is a large increase in the Rayleigh to Brillouin intensity ratio from the monomer to the final polymer value. The vertical depolarization ratio pv and the horizontal depolarization ratio pV were found to be respectively 0.4 and 1 for the polymer. Our observations are explained in terms of light being scattered from concentration fluctuations in the early stages of polymerization and from spherically symmetric strain fields in the polymer. We believe that the background, which we observed to embrace a wide range of frequencies, was due to rotational Raman transitions.     

Thermal vibration amplitudes in strontium chloride

The mean-square amplitudes of atomic vibrations have been calculated for strontium chloride at temperatures 10–600°K. The computation has been carried out by calculating the eigen-frequencies and eigenvectors at a number of points in the Brillouin zone with a shell-model. The calculated values of the Debye-Waller factors have been compared with the available experimental data at 80 and 300°K.     

High P–T Brillouin scattering study of H2O melting to 26 GPa

The properties of solid and liquid phases of H₂O at high pressure and temperature remain an active area of research. In this study, Brillouin spectroscopy has been used to determine the temperature dependence of sound velocities in H₂O as a function of pressure up to 26 GPa through the phase field of ice VII and into the liquid to a maximum temperature of 1200 K. The Brillouin shift of the quasi-longitudinal acoustic mode moves to lower frequencies upon melting at each pressure. As a test of the method, measurements of the melting of Ar by Brillouin scattering at several pressures show a similar behavior for the acoustic mode, and measured melting points are consistent with previous results. The results of H₂O melting are consistent with previously reported melting curves below 20 GPa. The data at higher pressure indicate that ice melts at a higher temperature than a number of previous studies have indicated.     

Development of acoustoelectric domains in zinc oxide with small inhomogeneities

The generation and development of acoustoelectric domains in slightly doped ZnO crystals (? ～ 30 Щcm) is studied by Brillouin scattering. The generation of multiple domains is observed which is found to be the reason for the lack of current oscillations in this material. From the distribution of the domains in space and time it is concluded, that a variation in ? is established along the sample. Furthermore it is shown, that for a proper interpretation of Brillouin scattering experiments, the divergence of the sound beam has to be considered. By the method of interpretation which is discussed in paragraph 4, Brillouin scattering experiments can also be used for the investigation of frequencies for which the scattered light is totally reflected if the geometry of Bragg scattering is used.     

Multicomponent Rayleigh scattering from guanidine hydrochloride solutions

We present results of Brillouin light scattering studies of lysozyme and guanidine hydrochloride solutions in the temperature range 290–350 K. The Brillouin spectra of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride have been found to contain an additional component in Rayleigh scattering that manifests itself as a broad quasi‐elastic scattering line centered at the unshifted frequency and described by a Lorentz function (i.e. a Debye relaxor with relaxation time τ₁ ~ 25 ps at room temperature). The temperature dependence of τ₁ is described by the Arrhenius law with activation energy E_a = 0.11 ± 0.01 eV and prefactor τ₀= 0.33 ± 0.03 ps. The Brillouin spectra of lysozyme denatured by 6 M guanidine hydrochloride exhibit a more complicated structure of the additional contribution into Rayleigh scattering, which is fitted best of all by a sum of two Lorentzians centered at the unshifted frequency (with relaxation times τ₁ ~ 19 ps and τ₂ ~ 180 ps at 339 K). Possible origins of the quasi‐elastic scattering are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brillouin scattering in ice and deuterated ice as a function of temperature

The elastic constants c₁₁, c₃₃, c₄₄ for ordinary ice and c₁₁ for D₂O ice between 12 and 250°K are deduced from light scattering Brillouin measurements for sound waves of wavevector q = 2.35 × 10⁵cm^?1. A range of temperature is found between 70 and 130°K where the elastic constants display an abnormal behaviour.     

Bursting behaviours in cascaded stimulated Brillouin scattering

Stimulated Brillouin scattering is studied by numerically solving the Vlasov-Maxwell system. A cascade of stimulated Brillouin scattering can occur when a linearly polarized laser pulse propagates in a plasma. It is found that a stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade can reduce the scattering and increase the transmission of light, as well as introduce a bursting behaviour in the evolution of the laser-plasma interaction. The bursting time in the reflectivity is found to be less than half the ion acoustic period. The ion temperature can affect the stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade, which can repeat several ×at low ion temperatures and can be completely eliminated at high ion temperatures. For stimulated Brillouin scattering saturation, higher-harmonic generation and wave-wave interaction of the excited ion acoustic waves can restrict the amplitude of the latter. In addition, stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade can restrict the amplitude of the scattered light.     

Scattering mechanisms in p-type GaSb in the temperature range 30–300°K

In a former paper[1], we have shown that the magnetoresistance coefficient in p-type GaSb (1+ξ) remains close to 1 at 77°K and that the mobilities ratio remains equal to 6 in the temperature range 77–300°K.We show from these results that between 30 and 300°K, the predominant scattering is a mixed scattering by lattice vibrations and ionized impurities. Interband scattering is the predominant process for light holes, while heavy holes undergo intraband scattering. In this temperature range, this mechanism accounts for the mobility variation, a result which had not been found so far on p-type GaSb.     

Focussing of acoustoelectrically amplified phonons in obliquely-cut CdS crystal

The effect of elastic and acoustoelectric anisotropy on acoustoelectric domain propagation in semiconducting CdS has been studied by Brillouin scattering, in the case where the c-axis of the crystal is obliquely oriented with respect to the electric drift field. In the 45° configuration (the angle between E and c is 45°) angular focussing of energy is observed.     

Brillouin spectroscopic studies of a crystal grain boundary region in ice Ih

Brillouin spectroscopy has been used to study the local acoustic properties of the crystal grain boundary region in a naturally formed bicrystalline sample of ice Ih at - 16°C. Spectra from the boundary region show a distinct and unexpected asymmetry $\text{in the frequency shifts}$ of the upshifted versus the downshifted longitudinal Brillouin components.     

Infrared versus light scattering techniques to monitor the gel to liquid crystal phase transition in lipid membranes

In this study, Fourier transform infrared, Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy have been used to study lipid phase behavior of hydrated as well as dried multilamellar l ‐α‐phosphatidylcholine assemblies, in order to compare limitations and potentials of the different techniques. Dried lipid samples have been studied in the presence and absence of trehalose, which is known to affect the phase behavior of these systems. The methylene C‐H stretching (2800–3000 cm⁻¹) region in infrared (IR) and Raman spectra provided mutually consistent information on the rearrangement of lipid acyl chains occurring at the lipid melting temperature. IR spectra have a higher signal‐to‐noise ratio, thus permitting a more precise evaluation of the melting temperature. In the hydrated lipid samples, the C‐H stretching region in the Raman spectra is less affected by the contribution of water compared with that in the IR spectra. Raman spectra are particularly suitable to simultaneously study both lipid and water contributions allowing to distinguish ice from non‐frozen water below 0 °C. Brillouin light scattering was used to probe the collective dynamics, i.e. the propagation velocity and the attenuation of longitudinal acoustic modes in the lipid samples. Lipid phase transitions are evident from a change in the temperature behavior of the acoustic velocity. Moreover, a strong relaxation process with a characteristic time of 14 ps was observed in the sample dried without trehalose with a maximum in acoustic attenuation at about 45 °C, which likely reflects the rearrangement of acyl chains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On‐chip stimulated Brillouin Scattering for microwave signal processing and generation

Demonstration of continuously tunable delay, low‐noise lasers, dynamically controlled gratings, and optical phase shifting using the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) process has lead to the emergence of SBS as a promising technology for microwave photonics. On‐chip realization of SBS enables photonic integration of microwave photonic signal processing and offers significantly enhanced performance and improved efficiency. On‐chip stimulated Brillouin scattering is reviewed in the context of slow‐light based tunable delay, low‐noise narrow linewidth lasers and filtering for integrated microwave photonics. A discussion on key material and device properties, necessary to enable on‐chip Brillouin scattering using both the single‐pass and resonator geometry, is presented along with an outlook for photonic integration of microwave signal processing and generation in other platforms.