Conventional and collision photon echo in ytterbium vapor

The polarization properties of the photon echo generated by two linearly polarized pulses of resonant radiation at the (6s6p)³ P ₁ ? (6s ²)¹ S ₀ transition of ¹⁷⁴Yb are investigated. A complicated polarization behavior of the photon echo versus an angle between the polarization vectors of the excitation pulses is revealed in a mixture of ytterbium vapor with inert gas. For the angles ranging from 0° to 75°, a conventional echo with its linear polarization coinciding with the second excitation pulse dominates and the echo amplitude decreases with an increasing angle. For the angles ranging from 75° to 89°, the photon echo is elliptically polarized. Finally, for an angle of 90°, the conventional echo disappears and the collision echo becomes linearly polarized along the first excitation pulse.     

Depolarizing collisions in ytterbium vapor: Isotropic and anisotropic relaxation

Isotropic depolarizing collisions are studied using a stimulated photon echo with a specific polarization of the excitation radiation pulses in a mixture of ytterbium with krypton for the J = 1 ? J = 0 transition of ¹⁷⁴Yb. The difference between the relaxation rates of orientation and alignment γ _b ⁽²⁾ ? γ _b ⁽¹⁾ of the ³ P ₁(6s6p) ¹⁷⁴Yb level is measured as a function of the krypton pressure. The collision photon echo at the J = 1 ? J = 0 transition induced by the anisotropic relaxation is studied for the Yb + Xe mixture. The power of the collision echo increases from zero with the addition of a buffer gas to ytterbium, reaches an optimal level, and decreases with an increase in the buffer gas pressure. The polarization of this collision-induced echo differs from the polarization of the conventional echo. The experimental results are in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Effect of magnetic field on the stimulated photon echo in ytterbium vapors

Polarization of the stimulated photon echo (SPE) at the 0 ? 1 transition in ytterbium vapors in the presence of a longitudinal magnetic field of 0–40 G is experimentally and theoretically studied. The SPE is generated using three light pulses with identical linear polarizations, so that the SPE polarization is the same at zero magnetic field. In the presence of a weak magnetic field, the SPE polarization vector rotates around the magnetic field vector and the depolarization of the SPE signal takes place. Each of the SPE polarization components exhibits biharmonic oscillations depending on the magnetic field. In the presence of a strong magnetic field, these oscillations vanish and the SPE becomes depolarized. The experimental data are in qualitative agreement with the results of the numerical calculations performed with the method of the evolution operator for the finite-duration excitation pulses. The application of the results for the processing of optical data is discussed.     

Formation of stimulated photon echo in ytterbium vapours in a longitudinal magnetic field

Intensity and polarization are derived for stimulated photon echo produced in a longitudinal magnetic field by transitions between resonance levels with the angular momenta 0 and 1. It is shown that stimulated photon echo generated in a longitudinal magnetic field can be used to obtain spectroscopic data on the times of relaxation of population, orientation, and alignment of the level ³P₁ of a ¹⁷⁴Yb atom.     

Relaxation and quantum beat of picosecond backward echo in Na vapor

The backward photon echo has been realized for the first time in the picosecond regime on the Na D line, and used to measure collisional relaxation of the Na-Ar system. The separations of the successive 10 ps excitation pulses were varied from 300 to 1500 ps. By means of a streak camera, we directly observed a quantum beat of the echo pulse arising from the hyperfine splitting of the 3S_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} ground state of Na.     

Stimulated collision induced processes in sodium vapor in the presence of helium

Stimulated resonant emission and stimulated Raman effects in sodium vapor in the presence of helium are investigated experimentally. The intensity dependence of these effects on the buffer gas and sodium vapor pressures, and on the intensity and detuning of the exciting radiation are obtained in experiment. Our experimental results agree with the most recent theoretical calculations.This work was carried out under the Polish Central Program of Fundamental Research CPBP 01.06     

Quantum Stackelberg Duopoly Game in Depolarizing Channel

In this paper, we investigate the quantum Stackelberg duopoly （QSD） game in the noise environment with the depolarizing channel expressed by the Kraus-operator representation. It is found that the presence of the damping in the depolarizing channel always leads to the decrease of the quantities of the moves and payoffs of the two players in the QSD game. It is indicated that under certain conditions the first-mover advantage in the QSD game can be weakened due to the presence of the damping in the depolarizing channel.     

Rotational damping in ytterbium nuclei

We have made the first clear measurements of rotational damping widths in nuclei. In a mixture of three Yb nuclei, these widths are 300 +/- 60 keV between 1.2 and 1.5 MeV gamma-ray energy [approximately (37-57)Planck's constant]. Compound damping and motional narrowing are discussed in connection with these results.     

Hydrogen in amorphous and crystalline ytterbium films

Ytterbium vapor condensation on a liquid-helium cooled substrate in a hydrogen atmosphere is used to obtain Yb-H films containing up to 55 at.% hydrogen. Various thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the transition of these films from the amorphous to the crystalline state (a→c transition) are investigated along with the electrical conductivity of these states. It is shown that the investigated properties of Yb-H films containing up to 40 at.% hydrogen are essentially indistinguishable from those of pure Yb films in the temperature interval 4.2–293 K. Increasing the hydrogen concentration to 55 at.% leads to an insignificant increase in the electrical resistivity, the kinetic temperature, and the activation energy of the a→c transition, and also to a decrease of the propagation speed of self-maintaining avalanche (explosive) crystallization. Reasons for the observed influence of hydrogen on the properties of Yb-H films are analyzed. The examined low-temperature Yb-H condensates can be characterized as a “frozen” solid solution of hydrogen in ytterbium in the temperature interval 4.2–293 K. Storing such films at room temperature leads to the formation of ionic ytterbium dihydride YbH₂. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 177–182 (February 1999)     

Magneto-transport properties in fcc ytterbium

Electron-hole compensation in a heavy rare-earth, ytterbium (Yb), was investigated by room-temperature galvanomagnetic measurements and a two-band model analysis. Face-centered cubic (fcc) Yb films were prepared by a molecular-beam technique. Transverse magnetoresistance (MR) and Hall resistivity (HR) measurements were performed on the fcc Yb film at room temperature. Transverse MR showed a quadratic behavior under magnetic fields up to ±5 T, whereas the HR had linear characteristics and a positive Hall coefficient. The experimental results are quantitatively explained by a two-band model with nearly identical carrier density ($\sim 1\times {10}^{21}$ cm⁻³) and mobility (∼70–80 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) of electrons and holes. The positive Hall coefficient observed is explained by a slightly greater hole density and/or mobility compared with those of electrons.     

A simple spin echo measurement of the anisotropy of the self-diffusion coefficient in a smectic A and B type liquid crystal

The temperature dependence of the self diffusion coefficients D_ along D₆ perpendicular to the molecular director of p-dodecanoyl-benzylidene-p -aminoazobenzene has been investigated in both the smectic A and B regime.     

Another indicated phase transformation in ytterbium

The electrical resistivity of polycrystalline samples of Yb showing the f.c.c.-h.c.p. transformation has been determined in the range 300–1088°K. Three anomalous features are observed: first, a hysteretic and reversible transformation is indicated at about 560°K. Second, a sharp discontinuity in the temperature dependence of the resistivity is observed at about 660°K and, third, a discontinuous transition is observed at about 970°K. The latter is tentatively attributed to the onset of the b.c.c. phase in material of this purity, but since no high temperature X-ray investigation has been possible, no certain interpretation of any of these features can presently be given.     

Aggregates of iron in ytterbium films

Films of ytterbium doped with iron (0.3?C1.6 at.% Fe) have been prepared by co-deposition of atomic beams of the elements onto Kapton substrates under high vacuum. Iron is immiscible in ytterbium and various iron species are expected to occur. XRD reveals a mixture of fcc and hcp ytterbium. The Mössbauer spectra are interpreted with contributions from monomeric iron on interstitial sites, two types of neighboring substitutional iron aggregates and two types of clusters formed upon diffusion. The present data supplement earlier data obtained for 0.5 and 5 at.% Fe. There is no systematic correlation of cluster formation with increasing iron concentration. There are indications that clusters are formed more easily for thin films. We conclude that cluster formation occurs mainly on the film surface and is limited by the slow diffusion from inside films.     

Rapid assessment of mid-infrared refractive index anisotropy using a prism coupler: chemical vapor deposited ZnS

A state-of-the-art mid-infrared prism coupler was used to study suspected anisotropy in the refractive index of forward-looking-infrared grade chemical vapor deposited (CVD) zinc sulfide. Samples were prepared with columnar grain structure in and perpendicular to the sample plane, as well as from different depths in the CVD growth body. This study was motivated by the growing industry concern among optical design engineers, as well as developers of mid-infrared systems, over the reliability of historically accepted index data. Prior photoluminescence and x-ray diffraction measurements have suggested that refractive index may vary according to sample orientation with respect to the grain structure. Measurements were conducted to provide optical dispersion and thermal index (dn/dT) data at discrete laser wavelengths between 0.633 and 10.591 μm at two temperature set points (30 °C and 90 °C). Refractive index measurements between samples exhibited an average standard deviation comparable to the uncertainty of the prism coupler measurement (0.0004 refractive index units), suggesting that the variation in refractive index as a function of sample orientation and CVD deposition time is negligible and should have no impact on subsequent optical designs. Measured dispersion data at mid-infrared wavelengths were also found to agree well with prior published measurements.     

Laser cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms

The experiments on the laser cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms are reported, including the two-dimensional transversal cooling, longitudinal velocity Zeeman deceleration, and a magneto-optical trap with a broadband transition at a wavelength of 399 nm. The magnetic field distributions along the axis of a Zeeman slower were measured and in a good agreement with the calculated results. Cold ytterbium atoms were produced with a number of about 10⁷ and a temperature of a few milli-Kelvin. In addition, using a 556-nm laser, the excitations of cold ytterbium atoms at ¹S₀-³P₁ transition were observed. The ytterbium atoms will be further cooled in a 556-nm magneto-optical trap and loaded into a three-dimensional optical lattice to make an ytterbium optical clock.      

Proton spin-lattice relaxation times in ytterbium hydrides

The measurements of the proton (NMR) spinlattice relaxation times have been made in a series of ytterbium hydrides, YbH _x . Results are reported forx=1.80, 1.95, 2.00 and 2.62 and temperatures 4.2T297K. In the orthorhombic phase (1.80x2.00), the spin-lattice relaxation times are dominated by the hyperfine interaction of protons with conduction electrons and the spin diffusion mechanism. In the cubic phase (x=2.62), the relaxation times are five orders of magnitude shorter than in the orthorhombic one. This is interpreted in terms of the proton coupling with the Yb³⁺ ion spin fluctuations.     

Luminescence of europium and ytterbium ions in strontium hexaborate

We have studied the luminescent properties of Eu^2+/3+ and Yb²⁺ ions in strontium hexaborate SrB₆O₁₀ for excitation in the 120–400 nm region. The luminescence spectra of Ln²⁺ ions in SrB₆O₁₀ consist of overlapping bands in the 370–520 nm region, due to 5d → 4f transitions at several nonequivalent centers. In the excitation spectra, besides the bands associated with 4f → 5d transitions in the Ln²⁺ ions, we also observe a band in the 135–160 nm region due to the transitions O(2p) → B(2s,2p) within the borate anions. The luminescence of the Eu³⁺ ions is excited most efficiently in the region of the Eu³⁺ charge transfer band (λ_max = 226 nm). The results obtained are compared with data for Ln in other strontium borates. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 770–774, November–December, 2006.     

碰撞因子温度系数及克分子碰撞因子

根据Schaaffs的声速-碰撞因子理论,推导了碰撞因子温度系数表达式,碰撞因子温度系数与声速温度系数和体积膨胀系数相联系. 结合Raom公式进一步给出了碰撞因子温度系数与体积膨胀系数、碰撞因子温度系数与声速温度系数之间的关系,参考Soczkiewicz的研究数据,对碰撞因子温度系数表达式给予了验证. 在此基础上,提出了克分子碰撞因子的概念和数学表达式,与克分子声速和克分子压缩系数类似,克分子碰撞因子也为一与温度无关的常数. 关键词： Based on Schaaffs' theory of sound speed-collision factor the expression of temperature coefficient of collision factor was deduced. The temperature coefficient of collision factor is related with the temperature coefficient of sound speed and dilatabili     

Determination of intramolecular energy-transfer efficiency in ytterbium chelates

The quantum yield of²F_5/2 →²F_7/2 luminescence of the Yb³⁺ ion has been measured for ytterbium tris-thenoyltrifluoroacetonate upon excitation in the UV S₀ → S₁ absorption band of a ligand and in the IR²F_7/2 →²F_5/2 absorption band of the Yb³⁺ ion. It has been established that the quantum efficiency of intramolecular transfer of electron excitation energy from the lowest triplet state of the ligand to the excited²F_5/2 level of Yb³⁺ is equal to unity. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 539–542, July–August, 2000.