Quantum diffusion of light interstitials

The diffusion rate of light interstitials is calculated avoiding the usual adiabatic and Condon approximations for the phonons. The method employed is a generalization of the standard small polaron theory taking explicitely account of the strongly coupled interstitial-host vibrations.     

Quantum diffusion of light interstitials in metals

A quantum theory of diffusion of self-trapped light interstitials in metals is presented. The theory encompasses both coherent and incoherent tunneling, but the approximation used neglects the dependence of the interstitial transfer matrix element on the vibrational state of the crystal. The coherent tunneling contribution is estimated by fitting the incoherent diffusion rate to experimental data for hydrogen and muon diffusion. It is predicted that coherent diffusion should be dominant below ～ 80 K for H in Nb and below ～ 190 K for μ⁺ in Cu. Experimental verifications of these predictions would require high purity strain free samples and low concentrations of the diffusing species.     

On the theory of diffusion of light interstitials in metals

Using a nonlinear-screening approach the potential energy of positively charged light interstitials in Cu and lattice distortions around these particles have been determined numerically. The calculations predict a marked isotope effect for the lattice distortions around positive muons and protons at octahedral interstitial sites. They indicate that in Cu the diffusion mechanisms for positive muons and for hydrogen isotopes may be different.     

On the entropy-fluctuation contribution to Rayleigh scattering of light

We discuss the power spectrum due to entropy fluctuations near the surface for quasielastic Rayleigh scattering in isotropic crystals. A back-scattering, oblique incidence geometry, is used in our theoretical calculations. Some interesting novel aspects are presented and their importance is discussed.     

Quantum theory of light propagation II. Application to Raman scattering

We present the quantum theory of propagation in Raman scattering of a strong laser field using space and time dependent modal operators governed by the Heisenberg-like equation involving the momentum operator and Heisenberg equation. We adopt the quasidistribution related to anti-normal ordering of boson operators and the generalized superposition of the coherent field and quantum noise. We study the temporal and onedimensional spatial evolution of the photon and phonon statistics, the quadrature variances, as well as the mean integrated intensity of the fields, including the nonclassical ones.The author would like to express his sincere thanks to Professor J. Peina for advice, comments and stimulating discussions.This work was partially supported by the grant PV202/1994 of Czech Ministry of Education and by an internal grant of the Palacký University.     

The motion of light interstitials in metals: Recent experiments

Recent theoretical considerations suggest, that at low temperatures the transport properties of light interstitials in metals are dominated by the interaction with the conduction electrons. After briefly surveying the state of the theory, experimental examples for the low and high temperature cases are presented. We begin with the low T regime and display first neutron scattering experiments on H trapped at O-impurities in Nb where a coherent tunneling state is observed. Its dependence on temperature and its properties in normal and superconducting Nb are discussed. Thereafter muon diffusion results in Al are examined. In Al, muon diffusion is observed via diffusion limited trapping and local properties of the impurity as well as long range diffusion are playing a role. Using a large variety of impurities it was possible to evaluate the diffusion coefficient over a large T-range. Muon motion in Al at accessible temperatures falls entirely in the hopping regime and constitutes an example for the high T regime of the theory.     

Anisotropic diffusion of light in a strongly scattering material

Light transport in a strongly scattering, strongly anisotropic material is studied experimentally using both static and time-resolved techniques. Both the static and the dynamic results are well characterized by a diffusion equation with an anisotropic diffusion tensor and a scalar absorption term. Light diffuses 4.0 times faster along the uniaxial axis of the material compared with diffusion in the orthogonal directions.     

Calculated hyperfine fields of light interstitials in Fe

Super-cell band structure calculations with the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method in the framework of the local-spin-density approximation are performed on ferromagnetic iron with typical elements (B, C andN) at the octahedral interstitial sites for the purpose of studying hyperfine fields of light interstitials. Lattice relaxations around the interstitial atoms are allowed in these calculations. Calculated hyperfine fields of these interstitial impurities are in better agreement with experimental values than the results obtained previously for unrelaxed lattices, showing that the inclusion of the lattice relaxation is crucial in these systems.     

Generalized diffusion solution for light scattering from anisotropic sources

The traditional diffusion theory, often used for isotropic sources, becomes inaccurate at short source-detector spacings and cannot be applied to media with large absorption or with small scattering strengths. We show that for any type of source anisotropy, a Green's-function-based procedure can remove these limitations. The accuracy of the new approach is examined through a comparison with the numerical solution to the radiative transfer equation.     

Heavy-flavor contribution to Bhabha scattering

We evaluate the last missing piece of the two-loop QED corrections to the high-energy electron-positron scattering cross section originating from the vacuum polarization by heavy fermions. The calculation is performed within a new approach applicable to a wide class of perturbative problems with mass hierarchy. The result is crucial for the high-precision physics program at existing and future e(+) e(-) colliders.     

Ionic contribution to Rayleigh line wing under conditions of light scattering by liquid electrolytic solutions

A theoretical treatment is performed of the mechanism (suggested in N. F. Bunkin andA. V. Lobeev, Z. Phys. Chem. 214, 269 (2000)) of ionic effect on the Rayleigh line wing under conditions of light scattering by liquid electrolytic solutions. The mechanism consists essentially in that the fluctuation electric field caused by Brownian motion of ions dissolved in a liquid leads, because of the Kerr polarization effect, to fluctuations of optical anisotropy of the scattering medium. The spectral characteristics of the Rayleigh line wing are obtained using the fluctuation-dissipative theorem as applied to equilibrium thermal electromagnetic field. Expressions are derived for the integral intensity and spectral width (Δν) of the Rayleigh line wing in terms of parameters of liquid solution such as the temperature T, the viscosity η, the concentration of dissolved ions n _i, and the coefficient of their diffusion D _i. It is demonstrated that Δν ∝ exp(?W/2T), where W is the activation energy of ion mobility b _i = D_i/T. The possible region of validity of developed theoretical concepts as applied to the experimental data for the Rayleigh line wing in electrolytic solutions is discussed.     

Quantum diffusion of a light particle in the Meissner phase of a superconductor

The influence of a superconducting fermionic environment on quantum diffusion is investigated. Within the framework of a two-state model hopping rates are calculated both for the biased and unbiased case. As for the latter, the jump frequency shows towards lower temperatures an exponential increase caused by the dyingout of quasiparticle excitations. The calculated rates show a much stronger sensitivity on bias than in the normal state. For small bias (compared to the energy gap) they behave non-monotonically: below a certain temperature an exponential decrease is found which leads to a localization of the particle. For large bias the hopping rates are not substantially changed by the onset of superconductivity.     

Quantum size effects in the elastic scattering of light from small metal particles

A quantum mechanical calculation of the differential elastic scattering cross-section of light from a metal microparticle is presented. The scattering intensity is found to exhibit oscillations as a function of the frequency due to the discreteness of the electron energy levels. The magnitudes of the oscillations have a sensitive dependence on the size of the electron mean free path relative to the diameter of the particle.     

Chemical contribution to surface-enhanced Raman scattering

We present a new mechanism for the chemical contribution to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The theory considers the modulation of the polarizability of a metal nanocluster or a flat metal surface by the vibrational motion of an adsorbed molecule. The modulated polarization of the substrate coupled with the incident light will contribute to the Raman scattering enhancement. We show that for a metal cluster and for a flat metal surface this new chemical contribution may enhance the Raman scattering intensity by a factor of approximately 102 and approximately 104, respectively. The new SERS process is determined by the electric field parallel to the surface of the metal substrate at the molecular binding site.     

Quantum vacuum contribution to the momentum of dielectric media

Momentum transfer between matter and electromagnetic field is analyzed. The related equations of motion and conservation laws are derived using relativistic formalism. Their correspondence to various, at first sight self-contradicting, experimental data (the so-called Abraham-Minkowski controversy) is demonstrated. A new, Casimir-like, quantum phenomenon is predicted: contribution of vacuum fluctuations to the motion of dielectric liquids in crossed electric and magnetic fields. Velocities of about 50 nm/s can be expected due to the contribution of high frequency vacuum modes. The proposed phenomenon could be used in the future as an investigating tool for zero fluctuations. Other possible applications lie in fields of microfluidics or precise positioning of micro-objects, e.g., cold atoms or molecules.