Cosmic ray spectrum obtained from the energy scattered by the particles of extensive air showers in the atmosphere and the galactic model

The differential energy spectrum of cosmic rays that is obtained on the basis of the measurements of Cherenkov radiation from extensive air showers in an energy range of 10¹⁵–10²⁰ eV is compared with the model of the propagation of primary particles in the interstellar medium with fractal properties. It is found that the shape of the experimental spectrum is in good agreement with the shape of the calculated spectrum of “all particles” at 10¹⁵–10¹⁸ eV. The average mass composition of cosmic rays that is calculated on the basis of five components does not contradict the average mass composition obtained from the experimental data for several parameters in this energy range. Original Russian Text ? S.P. Knurenko, A.A. Ivanov, A.V. Saburov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 709–712.     

Measurement of the e+e? → π+π? cross section with the CMD-2 detector in the 370–520-MeV energy range

The results of the experiment on the measurement of the e ⁺ e ⁻ → π⁺π⁻ cross section in a cm energy range of 370–520 MeV are presented. The systematic measurement error is equal to 0.7%. In the vector dominance model, the pion electromagnetic radius is calculated using all the CMD-2 data on the pion form factor. The cross section for the production of a muon pair is measured in the energy range of the experiment. Original Russian Text ? V.M. Aul’chenko, R.R. Akhmetshin, V.Sh. Banzarov, L.M. Barkov, N.S. Bashtovoĭ, D.V. Bondarev, A.E. Bondar’, A.V. Bragin, N.I. Gabyshev, D.A. Gorbachev, A.A. Grebenyuk, D.N. Grigor’ev, S.K. Dhawan, D.A. Epifanov, A.S. Zaĭtsev, S.G. Zverev, F.V. Ignatov, V.F. Kazanin, S.V. Karpov, I.A. Koop, P.P. Krokovny, A.S. Kuz’min, I.B. Logashenko, P.A. Lukin, A.P. Lysenko, A.I. Mil’shteĭn, K.Yu. Mikhaĭlov, I.N. Nesterenko, M.A. Nikulin, A.V. Otboev, V.S. Okhapkin, E.A. Perevedentsev, A.S. Popov, S.I. Redin, B.L. Roberts, N.I. Root, A.A. Ruban, N.M. Ryskulov, A.L. Sibidanov, V.A. Sidorov, A.N. Skrinsky, V.P. Smakhtin, I.G. Snopkov, E.P. Solodov, J.A. Thompson, G.V. Fedotovich, B.I. Khazin, V.W. Hughes, A.G. Shamov, Yu.M. Shatunov, B.A. Shvarts, S.I. éĭdel’man, Yu.V. Yudin, 2006, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2006, Vol. 84, No. 8, pp. 491–495.     

Multiplicity fluctuations of particles produced in interactions of light nuclei with carbon nuclei at a momentum of 4.2 A GeV/ c and their theoretical interpretation

New experimental data on fluctuations in the multiplicities of negatively charged particles in interactions of light nuclei (p, d, ⁴He, ¹²C) with carbon nuclei at a momentum of 4.2 A GeV/c in 4π geometry are reported. The data indicate a behavior similar to that earlier observed by the NA49 Collaboration. The cascade evaporation model, FRITIOF model, and UrQMD 1.3 model are used to analyze the data. The dependence of the fluctuations on nuclear collision centrality is theoretically described without any exotic assumptions. According to the FRITIOF model, the dependence of the multiplicity fluctuations on the collision centrality is to a large extent governed by fluctuations in the number of “wounded” nucleons that are associated with the experimental observation conditions. The NA49 Collaboration data are also described. Original Russian Text ? A.S. Galoyan, E.N. Kladnitskaya, V.V. Uzhinsky, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 718–721.     

Optical study of the electronic structure and magnetic ordering in a weak ferromagnet FeBO3

Spectral dependences of the relative permittivity ɛ = ɛ₁ − iɛ₂ of a uniaxial weak ferromagnet FeBO₃ are measured for two principal polarizations in the energy range 0.6–5.6 eV. The positions have been determined for the charge-transfer transitions that make the main contribution to absorption above the bandgap and determine the refractive-index dispersion below the bandgap. The isotropic magnetic contribution to the refractive index has been detected by studying the temperature dependence of the refractive index in the range 100–700 K; its value (≈2 × 10⁻²) is found to be record high for magnetic dielectrics. The energy shift of the effective oscillator, which characterizes the shift of the positions of the charge-transfer transitions due to magnetic ordering, is determined from these data within the framework of a single-oscillator model. The value of the exchange striction in FeBO₃ is determined from optical measurements. Original Russian Text ? P.A. Markovin, A.M. Kalashnikova, R.V. Pisarev, Th. Rasing, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 822–827.     

Giant dielectric susceptibility and magnetocapacitance effect in manganites at room temperature

Extremely high values of the relative permittivity up to 10⁷ and the magnetocapacitance up to 10⁵% have been found in La_{1 − x} Sr _x MnO₃ single crystals (x = 0.1, 0.11). These phenomena are observed even at room temperature. The observed behavior can be a consequence of the strong interaction among charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom, which leads to charge and phase separation in the regime before the percolation threshold. Original Russian Text ? R.F. Mamin, T. Egami, Z. Marton, C.A. Migachev, M.F. Sadykov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 731–735.     

Temperature sensitivity and noise of an HTSC Josephson detector on a sapphire bicrystal substrate at 77 K

In YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 − x} films grown on sapphire bicrystal substrates, the Josephson junctions are prepared based on artificial grain boundaries formed by the turn of the crystal lattices about the [100] axis. The films are deposited by the laser ablation method on the buffer CeO₂ layer. The critical film temperature reaches 88.5 K with a transition width of 1.5 K. Junctions from 2 to 3-μ m wide are integrated into the planar log-periodic antennas and their characteristics are measured at 77 K. The characteristic voltage I _c R _n reaches 570 μV. With exposure to external radiation at a frequency of 113 GHz, the Shapiro steps were observed on the current-voltage characteristic. The temperature sensitivity of this detector placed in a quasi-optical receiving unit is measured. At the modulation of the input radiation temperature 77 K/300 K, a response of more than 200 nV is observed at the detector output. At the modulation frequency, intrinsic noise is about 1 nV/Hz^1/2, which corresponds to a temperature resolution of 1 K. Original Russian Text ? M. Tarasov, E. Stepantsov, A. Kalabukhov, M. Kupriyanov, D. Winkler, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 828–831.     

Absolute negative resistance in a nonequilibrium two-dimensional electron system in a strong magnetic field

The effect of microwave electromagnetic radiation on the resistance of the 2D electron gas in a GaAs/AlAs heterostructure in a strong magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that, under the nonequilibrium conditions caused by microwave radiation, the aforementioned 2D system exhibits giant oscillations of its resistance with varying magnetic field. When the measuring current density is small, an increase in the microwave power leads to the appearance of an absolute negative resistance at the main minimum of these oscillations, which lies near the cyclotron resonance. The experimental data are found to be in qualitative agreement with the theory of multiphoton photoinduced impurity scattering [J. Inarrea and G. Platero, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 052109 (2006)]. Original Russian Text ? A.A. Bykov, D.R. Islamov, D.V. Nomokonov, A.K. Bakarov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 695–698.     

Optical control of the anisotropy of the orientation of molecules in a liquid

The control of the anisotropy of the orientation of molecules in pure 1,2-dichlorobenzene, C₆H₄Cl₂ at room temperature is demonstrated experimentally. To accomplish the optical control, the medium is exposed to non-resonant excitation with two successive linearly polarized laser pulses with a duration of 60 fs. The state of transient anisotropy is probed with the third pulse by detecting the ultrafast optical Kerr effect via optical heterodyne detection and synchronous demodulation. It is shown that variations in the two parameters, the delay time between two pump pulses, and the angle between the polarization directions of the pump pulses ensure the control of the anisotropy of the orientation of molecules in the subpicosecond region. Original Russian Text ? V.G. Nikiforov, G.M. Safiullin, A.G. Shmelev, A.V. Leont’ev, V.S. Lobkov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 757–761.     

Stimulated radiation pressure acting on an atom nonadiabatically interacting with the field of counterpropagating frequency-modulated waves

The stimulated radiation pressure acting on an atom nonadiabatically interacting with the field of counterpropagating frequency-modulated waves is shown to reach high values typical for the rapid adiabatic passage of the instantaneous frequency of the field of the counterpropagating waves through resonance with an atomic transition. Under the appropriate choice of interaction parameters, the radiation pressure changes insignificantly in a wide range of atomic velocities. Original Russian Text ? V.I. Romanenko, L.P. Yatsenko, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp. 868–872.     

Absolute intensity and phase of the resonant X-ray scattering from a germanium crystal

The 222 and 600 reflections near the germanium absorption K edge were studied on the Kurchatov synchrotron radiation source. The energy spectrum of the 222 reflection is caused by the interference of the weak nonresonant and purely resonant contributions to the tensor atomic factor, whereas the 600 reflection is purely resonant. The energy dependence of the magnitude and phase of the resonant contribution to the scattering amplitude was determined from a change in the interference pattern. The numerical simulation of the energy spectra of reflections with the inclusion of the dipole-quadrupole and thermally induced contributions shows that the latter is dominant at room temperature. Original Russian Text ? E.Kh. Mukhamedzhanov, M.M. Borisov, A.N. Morkovin, A.A. Antonenko, A.P. Oreshko, E.N. Ovchinnikova, V.E. Dmitrienko, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp. 896–900.     

Anomalous burn-through of thin foils by high-intensity laser radiation

The paper presents results of experiments performed on the Pico facility in which foils were heated by laser radiation, and anomalously fast burn-through of foils by a structured laser beam was detected. Comparison with two-dimensional calculations has allowed us to suggest a tentative mechanism for the effect under investigation. The targets in the experiments were thin aluminum foils of thickness 3 to 40 μm. The flux density of laser radiation on the target surface varied between 10¹³ and 10¹⁴ W/cm². We detected a strong dependence of the transmitted energy on the foil thickness and the shortening of the transmitted laser pulse. Penetration of laser radiation through foils with thicknesses considerably larger than 3 μm has been observed, although it was stated in earlier publications [V. V. Ivanov, A. K. Knyazev, A. V. Kutsenko, et al., Kratk. Soobshch. Fiz. FIAN No. 7–8, 37 (1997)]; A. é. Bugrov, I. N. Burdonskii, V. V. Gol’tsov et al., Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 903 (1997) [JETP 84, 903 (1997)] that, at the laser radiation parameters used in our experiment, the evaporated layer of the foil could not be thicker than 2 μm. Two-dimensional calculations have allowed us to interpret this effect in terms of local “piercing” of the target at spots on the target surface where the radiation intensity has its peaks. The possibility of reducing these peaks by using a symmetrizing prepulse is discussed in the paper. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1287–1299 (October 1999)     

On the source of auroral kilometric radiation

The radiation pattern has been determined on the basis of the comparative analysis of auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) received in the space-diversity mode by two satellites, Interball-2 and Polar. The radiation propagates in a cone with an opening angle ∼±25° and the axis aligned with the local magnetic field. The results con-firm the theoretical estimates that the source boundaries play a significant role in the generation of the auroral kilometric radiation and in the formation of the radiation pattern. Original Russian Text ? M.M. Mogilevsky, T.V. Romantsova, J. Hanasz, T.M. Burinskaya, R. Schreiber, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 819–821.     

Proton and light-ion acceleration to relativistic GeV energies by the superstrong laser radiation interacting with a structured plasma target

A new scheme is proposed for proton and light-ion acceleration to relativistic energies by superstrong laser radiation interacting with a structured plasma target. The proposal consists in the use of two-component targets consisting of heavy and light ions, where an ambipolar field is formed under the action of the ponderomotive force of incident radiation, and, in contrast to the traditional schemes, acceleration starts from the front boundary of the layer. It is shown that, for the optimized target parameters, monoenergetic GeV ion beams can be produced for radiation pulse intensities on the order of 10²¹−10²² W/cm².     

Anomalous hall effect in HoB12

Within a wide temperature range of 1.8–300 K, the Hall effect in holmium dodecaboride is investigated. The measurements of the angular dependences of the Hall resistance ρ_H(φ, T, H) for HoB₁₂ performed in a high magnetic field up to 80 kOe at helium and intermediate temperatures made it possible to separate the normal and anomalous contributions to the Hall effect. Analysis of the anomalous component behavior in the paramagnetic and Néel phases suggests the appearance of the 5d-state magnetic polarization (the spin polaron effect) and makes it possible to compare the revealed features of the Hall coefficient R _H(T, H) with the H-T magnetic phase diagram of HoB₁₂. Original Russian Text ? N.E. Sluchanko, D.N. Sluchanko, V.V. Glushkov, S.V. Demishev, N.A. Samarin, N.Yu. Shitsevalova, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 691–694.     

Conductance of short quantum wires with sharp boundaries

The conductance of short ballistic wires with boundaries, whose curvature radius is comparable to the electron wavelength, is investigated. It is found that, in such wires, no conductance quantization takes place. Instead, pronounced interference effects are observed. These effects are related to the Fabry-Perot interference by the wire edges and with the mesoscopic interference caused by the coherent scattering of electrons by the wire edges and by the impurities located in the near-wire regions of the 2D electron gas. Original Russian Text ? D.A. Kozlov, Z.D. Kvon, A.E. Plotnikov, D.V. Shcheglov, A.V. Latyshev, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 752–756.     

Use of electromagnetically induced transparency for measurement of superhyperfine splitting of the levels of rare-earth metals doped in optical crystals

The results of experimental and theoretical investigations of the electromagnetically induced transparency regime on the ⁴ I _9/2-⁴ G _5/2 transition in Nd³⁺ ions doped in LaF₃ are presented. The superhyperfine splitting of the upper and lower working levels has been determined on the basis of the results obtained. A theoretical model adequately describing the parameters of the resonances of electromagnetically induced transparency has been developed by analyzing the experimental data. Original Russian Text ? R.A. Akhmedzhanov, A.A. Bondartsev, L.A. Gushchin, N.A. Zharova, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 646–650.     

Microwave photoresistance in a two-dimensional electron system with anisotropic mobility

The effect of microwave radiation on magnetotransport in single GaAs quantum wells with anisotropic mobility, whose maximum corresponds to the direction and minimum to the [110] direction, is investigated using the Van der Pauw method. In samples shaped as squares with sides oriented along the and [110] directions, giant oscillations of magnetoresistance arise under the effect of a microwave field for the both and [110] orientations of the measuring current I _ac. In the anisotropic two-dimensional system under study, the relative amplitude of microwave photoresistance oscillations in a magnetic field weakly depends on the orientation of I _ac. At a temperature of 4.2 K and a microwave frequency of 130 GHz, magnetic field intervals characterized by close-to-zero resistance manifest themselves only for the case of the [110] orientation of I _ac. The aforementioned experimental results are qualitatively explained by a quasi-one-dimensional potential modulation of the two-dimensional electron gas in the [110] direction. Original Russian Text ? A.A. Bykov, D.R. Islamov, A.V. Goran, A.K. Bakarov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp. 891–895.     

Kinetics of the growth of domain blocks in KDP-type ferroelectric crystals

The process of the domain-block structure formation at the ferroelectric phase transition in KDP-type crystals is investigated. An effective Hamiltonian of the system is constructed; the growth of domain blocks in the vicinity of the Curie point is numerically simulated using the Monte Carlo method, and the temperature interval of the domain block growth is determined. It is shown that the asymptotic dependence of the mean block size on time has the form R(t) ∼ √t/lnt. In the framework of an equivalent mathematical model combining the Ising and Kosterlitz-Thouless two-dimensional models, a kinetic equation that approximately describes the evolution of the domain-block size distribution function is derived. Original Russian Text ? P.A. Prudkovskiĭ, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 741–745.     

Measurement of the pion form factor in the range 1.04–1.38 GeV with the CMD-2 detector

The cross section for the process e ⁺ e ⁻ → π⁺π⁻ is measured in the c.m. energy range 1.04—1.38 GeV by analyzing 995 000 selected collinear events including 860000 e ⁺ e ⁻ events, 82000 μ⁺μ⁻ events, and 33000 π⁺π⁻ events. The systematic and statistical errors of measuring the pion form factor are equal to 1.2–4.2 and 5–13%, respectively. __________ Translated from Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, Vol. 82, No. 12, 2005, pp. 841–845. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2005 by Aul’chenko, Akhmetshin, Banzarov, Barkov, Bashtovoĭ, Bondarev, Bondar’, Bragin, Valishev, Gabyshev, Gorbachev, Grebenyuk, Grigor’ev, Dhawan, Epifanov, Zaĭtsev, Zverev, Ignatov, Kazanin, Karpov, Koop, Krokovny, Kuz’min, Logashenko, Lukin, Lysenko, Mil’shteĭn, Mikhaĭlov, Nesterenko, Nikulin, Otboev, Okhapkin, Perevedentsev, Polunin, Popov, Redin, Roberts, Root, Ruban, Ryskulov, Sibidanov, Sidorov, Skrinsky, Smakhtin, Snopkov, Solodov, Thompson, Fedotovich, Khazin, Hughes, Shamov, Shatunov, Shwartz, éĭdel’man, Yudin. Deceased.     

Laser-induced cavities and solitons in overcritical hydrogen plasma

A picosecond CO₂ laser was used successfully in a number of experiments exploring advanced methods of particle acceleration [1]. Proton acceleration from gas-jet plasma exemplifies another advantage of employing the increase in laser wavelength from the optical to the mid-IR region. Recent theoretical- and experimental-studies of ion acceleration from laser-generated plasma point to better ways to control the ion beam’s energy when plasma approaches the critical density. Studying this regime with solid-state lasers is problematic due to the dearth of plasma sources at the critical electron density ∼10²¹ cm⁻³, corresponding to laser wavelength λ = 1 μm. CO₂ laser offers a solution. The CO₂ laser’s 10 μm wavelength shifts the critical plasma density to 10¹⁹ cm⁻³, a value attainable with gas jets. Capitalizing on this approach, we focused a circular polarized 1-TW CO₂ laser beam onto a hydrogen gas jet and observed a monoenergetic proton beam in the 1–2 MeV range. Simultaneously, we optically probed the laser/plasma interaction region with visible light, revealing holes bored by radiation pressure, as well as quasi-stationary soliton-like plasma formations. Our findings from 2D PIC simulations agree with experimental results and aid in their interpretation.