Evidence for a second,local contact condition for a planar electric double layer containing size and valency asymmetric ions

A generalised form of a local contact condition for the charge profile in a primitive model planar double layer [Bhuiyan, Outhwaite, and Henderson, Mol. Phys. 107, 343 (2009)] at low electrode charge is examined for completely asymmetric, binary electrolytes. The cation and anion sizes are taken to be different from each other with the valencies being 2⁺:1^? or 1⁺:2^?, while the electrode surface charge density is varied from being negative through zero to being positive. Monte Carlo simulation data obtained for such double layer systems at varying ionic radius ratios and electrolyte concentrations suggest the generalised contact relation to be valid at low charge on the electrode.     

Laser polarization effects on K-shell Compton scattering

We study Compton scattering on the ground state of the hydrogen atom in the presence of an intense low-frequency electric field (the laser) of arbitrary polarization, for incident and scattered photons of energies around 15 keV. The adopted formalism is the nonrelativistic one developed by Voitkiv et al. [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 36, 1907 (2003)] and applied by them for a circularly polarized laser. We explore the spectrum and the electron energy distribution in their dependence on the incident photon energy or electric field intensity, for different polarizations.     

Equation of state for systems of soft diatomic molecules

A new potential that is a modification of the BBL (Bratko, D.,Blum, L., and Luzar, A.,1985, J. chem. Phys., 83, 6367; Blum, L., Vericat, F., and Bratko, D., 1995, J. chem. Phys., 102, 1461) potential and of the one recently solved analytically by Blum and Vericat (BV) (1995, Molec. Phys., 86, 809; 1996, J. phys. Chem., 100, 1197) is studied by Monte Carlo simulation. The main feature of this potential is that it can be solved using only a small number of parameters (3 in the case treated by BV), and therefore produces a substantial simplification of earlier work. The new potential has an orientational octupole–octupole interaction term which is found necessary to reproduce the broad peak of the oxygen–oxygen structure function due to the tetrahedral position of the second nearest neighbour water molecule. This important feature was absent in the original BBL potential. This model agrees also with the experimental pair correlation functions for oxygen–hydrogen and hydrogen–hydrogen, and yields 42·6 kJ mol^-1 for the internal energy of water, also in agreement with experiment. The hard core central repulsion causes the sharpness of the first peaks in all three correlation functions. This is not necessary but convenient for an analytical solution.     

Influence of a symmetric lossless beam splitter on a non-classical feature of an optical field

Recently, it was found [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. & Opt. Phys. 38, 665 (2005)] that amplitude-squared squeezing, a non-classical feature, can be enhanced during linear mixing with a coherent light beam using a symmetric lossless beam splitter. Here, another example is reported of enhancement of an easily detectable non-classical feature of an optical field in a similar mixing using a symmetric lossless beam splitter. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Measurement of angular dependence of M X-ray production cross-sections in Re,Bi and U at 5.96 keV

The M X-ray production differential cross sections in Re, Bi and U elements have been measured at the 5.96 keV incident photon energy in an angular range 135°–155°. The measurements were performed using a ⁵⁵Fe source and a Si(Li) detector. The present results contradict the predictions of Cooper and Zare [Atomic Collision Processes, Gordon and Breach, New York (1969)] and experimental results of Kumar et al. [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 34, 613 (2001)]. that, after photoionization of inner shells, the vacancy state has equal population of magnetic substates and the subsequent X-ray emission is isotropic, but confirm the predictions of the calculations of Flügge et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 7 (1972)] and experimental results of Sharma and Allawadhi [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 32, 2343 (1999)] and Ertugrul [Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B 119, 345 (1996)]. Total M X-ray production cross sections from the decay at the 5.96 keV photon energies are found to be in good agreement with the calculated theoretical results using the theoretical values of M shell photoionization cross section.     

A case study of the MSA approach to quantized polarizable media

The mean spherical approximation (MSA) has proved to be a very general and flexible method to analyze equilibrium statistical mechanical systems. In this note we test its accuracy against a simple one-dimensional model, i.e., a lattice gas of polarizable molecules where the internal degree of freedom is treated as quantized harmonic oscillators which interact via harmonic forces. This model can be solved exactly. We find a very good agreement between the MSA and exact solutions.2 The corresponding classical problem of polarizable particles was first solved in a mean spherical approximation (MSA) by M. Wertheim [J. Chem. Phys. 26:1425 (1973)]. He considered the model with nonfluctuating dipole moments. Later L. Pratt [Mol. Phys. 40:347 (1980)] and J. S. Høye and G. Stell [J. Chem. Phys. 73:461 (1980)] solved the corresponding classical problem in the MSA for particles with fluctuating dipole moments.     

Enhancement and generation of sum squeezing in two-mode light in mixing with coherent light using a beam splitter

Recently, we showed [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 38, 665 (2005)] that the `amplitude-squared squeezing', a non-classical feature, can be enhanced in mixing with a coherent light beam using a beam splitter. Here, we show that the sum squeezing in a two-uncorrelated-mode light beam (one mode is in Gaussian state and the other one is in coherent state), which is degenerate limit of amplitude-squared squeezing, may be generated or enhanced in mixing with a two-mode coherent light beam using a beam splitter.     

Study of higher order non-classical properties of squeezed Kerr state

Recently, Prakash and Mishra [J. Phys. B: at. Mol. Opt. Phys., 39, 2291(2006); 40, 2531(2007)] have studied higher order sub-Poissonian photon statistic conditions for non-classicality in the form of general inequalities for expectation values of products of arbitrary powers of photon number and of photon-number fluctuation. It is, therefore, vital to study the generation of these higher order sub-Poissonian photon statistics (phase-insensitive behavior) in a physically realizable medium and their relations to higher order squeezing (phase-sensitive behavior). In the present paper, we study higher order non-classical properties, such as Hong and Mandel squeezing, amplitude-squared squeezing and higher order sub-Poissonian photon statistics, of squeezed Kerr state which is generated by squeezing the output of a Kerr medium whose input is coherent light. Such states can be realized if laser light is sent through an optical fiber and then into a degenerate parametric amplifier. It is established that the squeezed Kerr state can exhibit higher order non-classical properties.     

The effect of the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation on the rotation-vibration Hamiltonian of a triatomic molecule

The rotation-vibration-electronic Hamiltonian of a triatomic molecule has been derived in a manner similar to that used by J. T. Hougen, P. R. Bunker, and J. W. C. Johns [J. Mol. Spectrosc.34, 136 (1970)] in deriving the rotation-vibration Hamiltonian. An effective rotation-vibration Hamiltonian for the ground electronic state has been obtained from this, by using the perturbation technique of P. R. Bunker and R. E. Moss [Mol. Phys.33, 417 (1977)], in order to account for the effect of the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation to second order. The same form of effective rotation-vibration Hamiltonian, in which the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is allowed for, will be obtained for any molecule. This Hamiltonian contains effective moments of inertia (these involve rotation g-factor corrections) and effective nuclear masses (likely to be close to the atomic masses). Following the procedure of A. R. Hoy and P. R. Bunker [J. Mol. Spectrosc.74, 1 (1979)] the effective rotation-bending Hamiltonian is derived from the effective rotation-vibration Hamiltonian, and this could be used to fit the rotation-bending energy levels.     

Amino-acid selective experiments on uniformly 13C and 15N labeled proteins by MAS NMR: Filtering of lysines and arginines

Amino-acid selective magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR experiments can aid the assignment of ambiguous cross-peaks in crowded spectra of solid proteins. In particular for larger proteins, data analysis can be hindered by severe resonance overlap. In such cases, filtering techniques may provide a good alternative to site-specific spin-labeling to obtain unambiguous assignments that can serve as starting points in the assignment procedure. In this paper we present a simple pulse sequence that allows selective excitation of arginine and lysine residues. To achieve this, we make use of a combination of specific cross-polarization for selective excitation [M. Baldus, A.T. Petkova, J. Herzfeld, R.G. Griffin, Cross polarization in the tilted frame: assignment and spectral simplification in heteronuclear spin systems, Mol. Phys. 95 (1998) 1197-1207.] and spin diffusion for transfer along the amino-acid side-chain. The selectivity of the filter is demonstrated with the excitation of lysine and arginine side-chain resonances in a uniformly 13C and 15N labeled protein preparation of the alpha-spectrin SH3 domain. It is shown that the filter can be applied as a building block in a 13C-13C lysine-only correlation experiment.     

The smallest absorption refrigerator: the thermodynamics of a system with quantum local detailed balance

We study the thermodynamics of a quantum system interacting with different baths in the repeated interaction framework. In an appropriate limit, the evolution takes the Lindblad form and the corresponding thermodynamic quantities are determined by the state of the full system plus baths. We identify conditions under which the thermodynamics of the open system can be described only by system properties and find a quantum local detailed balance condition with respect to an equilibrium state that may not be a Gibbs state. The three-qubit refrigerator introduced in Linden et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 130401 (2010)] and Skrzypczyk et al. [J. Phys. A: Math. Theory 44, 492002 (2011)] is an example of such a system. From a repeated interaction microscopic model we derive the Lindblad equation that describes its dynamics and discuss its thermodynamic properties for arbitrary values of the internal coupling between the qubits. We find that external power (proportional to the internal coupling strength) is required to bring the system to its steady state, but once there, it works autonomously as discussed in Linden et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 130401 (2010)] and Skrzypczyk et al. [J. Phys. A: Math. Theory 44, 492002 (2011)].     

Ionization and Charge Transfer of Atomic Hydrogen by Highly Charged Ions

Cross sections for charge transfer and ionization of atomic hydrogen by highly charged ions A^q＋ （q =6 9） are evaluated using a simple and classical method based on the previous works by Bohr and Lindhard [K. Dan. Vidensk. Selsk. Mat. Fys. Medd 28 （1954） No 7], Brandt [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. 214 （1983） 93] and Ben-Itzhak et al. [J. Phys. B： At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 26 （1993） 1711]. It is proved that the present calculations are feasible to some extent in comparison with available experimental data and quantum calculations.     

Potential Energies, Permanent and Transition Dipole Moments for Numerous Electronic Excited States of NaK

Recent experimental works have been devoted to the spectroscopy of highly excited states of NaK, confirming the accuracy of our previous calculations [S. Magnier and Ph. Millié, Phys. Rev. A: Gen. Phys. 54, 204 (1996)] of spectroscopic constants and potential curves. Among them, [E. Laub, I. Mazsa, S. C. Webb, J. La Civita, I. Prodan, Z. J. Zabbour, R. K. Namiotka, and J. Huennekens, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 193, 376 (1999)] have deduced from their measurements the variation of the transition dipole moment with the interatomic distance for the transition X(1)Sigma+ --> (3)(1)Pi. They have shown that a large discrepancy was observed with the previous ab initio calculations currently used as a guide for spectroscopic experiments. Upon request of several experimentalists, we have computed again potential curves for electronic states correlated up to Na(4p) + K(4s) as well as relevant permanent and transition dipole moments. We present extensive predictions for the electronic structure of NaK (potential energies, dipole moments) for which numerical data have been listed in a data base available as supplementary data. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Optical gap solitons: Past,present, and future; theory and experiments

Optical gap solitons refer to nonlinear waves propagating in optical fibers whose linear refractive index has a periodic variation. Stationary gap solitons came to light first in 1987 [Chen and Mills, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 160 (1987)]; two years later, they re-emerge in Christodoulides and Joseph [Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 1746 (1989)] and are first extended to a more general traveling wave form in Aceves and Wabnitz [Phys. Lett. A 141, 37 (1989)]. But it was not until seven years later, that the first experimental demonstration [Eggleton et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1627 (1996); J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 14, 2980 (1997)] was reported. Since then, there has been an increase in the study of the dynamics and applications of such solitons. This paper is a brief survey of some of the ongoing and future research on optical gap solitons. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.     

Comment on Radiative transfer over small distances from a heated metal

We show that there is no contradiction between the results presented by Pan [Opt. Lett. 25, 369 (2000)] and the 1/L(2) dependence of the radiative energy flux between two half-spaces separated by a small vacuum gap of width L obtained by Polder and Van Hove [Phys. Rev. B 4, 3303 (1971)] and by Loomis and Maris [Phys. Rev. B 50, 18517 (1994)].     

“Electron impact ionization of helium isoelectronic systems”

We show that the criticism [Eur. Phys. J. D 49, 167 (2008)] of our empirical formula for electron-impact ionization of atomic ions [J. Phys B. 33, 5025 (2000)] is unjustified.     

Spatial longitudinal coherence length of a thermal source and its influence on lensless ghost imaging

The spatial longitudinal coherence length (SLCL), which is determined by the size of and the distance from the source, is introduced to investigate the longitudinal resolution of lensless ghost imaging. Its influence is discussed quantitatively by simulation. The discrepancy of position sensitivity between Scarcelli et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett.88, 061106 (2006)] and Basano and Ottonello [Appl. Phys. Lett.88, 091109 (2006)] is clarified.     

Observations of non-Rayleigh statistics in the approach to photon localization

We measure the distribution of intensity of microwave radiation transmitted through absorbing random waveguides of lengths L up to localization length xi . For large intensity values the distribution is given by a negative stretched exponential to the 1/2 power, in agreement with predictions by Nieuwenhuizen and van Rossum [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2674 (1995)] for diffusing waves in nonabsorbing samples, as opposed to a negative exponential given by Rayleigh statistics. The intensity distribution is well described by a transform derived by Kogan and Kaveh [Phys. Rev. B 52, R3813 (1995)] of the measured distribution of total transmission.     

Nonsteady condensation and evaporation waves

Recent scaling results for the ac conductivity of ionic glasses by Roling et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2160 (1997)] and Sidebottom [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3653 (1999)] are discussed. We prove that Sidebottom's version of scaling is completely general. A new approximation to the universal ac conductivity arising in the extreme disorder limit of the symmetric hopping model, the "diffusion cluster approximation," is presented and compared to computer simulations and experiments.     

On the optimality of individual entangling-probe attacks against BB84 quantum key distribution

Some MIT researchers [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] have recently claimed that their implementation of the Slutsky-Brandt attack [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998); Phys. Rev. A 71, 042312 (2005)] to the BB84 quantum-key-distribution (QKD) protocol puts the security of this protocol “to the test” by simulating “the most powerful individual-photon attack” [Phys. Rev. A 73, 012315 (2006)]. A related unfortunate news feature by a scientific journal [G. Brumfiel, Quantum cryptography is hacked, News @ Nature (april 2007); Nature 447, 372 (2007)] has spurred some concern in the QKD community and among the general public by misinterpreting the implications of this work. The present article proves the existence of a stronger individual attack on QKD protocols with encrypted error correction, for which tight bounds are shown, and clarifies why the claims of the news feature incorrectly suggest a contradiction with the established “old-style” theory of BB84 individual attacks. The full implementation of a quantum cryptographic protocol includes a reconciliation and a privacy-amplification stage, whose choice alters in general both the maximum extractable secret and the optimal eavesdropping attack. The authors of [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] are concerned only with the error-free part of the so-called sifted string, and do not consider faulty bits, which, in the version of their protocol, are discarded. When using the provably superior reconciliation approach of encrypted error correction (instead of error discard), the Slutsky-Brandt attack is no more optimal and does not “threaten” the security bound derived by Lütkenhaus [Phys. Rev. A 59, 3301 (1999)]. It is shown that the method of Slutsky and collaborators [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998)] can be adapted to reconciliation with error correction, and that the optimal entangling probe can be explicitly found. Moreover, this attack fills Lütkenhaus bound, proving that it is tight (a fact which was not previously known).