The role of the polarization mechanism for emission of radiation by atoms over a broad photon frequency range

This paper develops an effective method for calculating the bremsstrahlung cross section with allowance for the polarization mechanism. We calculate the cross section of bremsstrahlung produced in the scattering of electrons and positrons by H and Kr atoms. We also demonstrate the important role of polarization bremsstrahlung in the formation of the total emission spectrum over the entire frequency range. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 458–473 (August 1998)     

Radiation of slow electromagnetic waves in an isotropic medium with spatial dispersion

This paper discusses the distinctive features of radiation of electromagnetic waves with anomalously large values of the wave vector and small phase velocity that exist near narrow absorption lines. The distribution of radiated energy with respect to angle and frequency is calculated for Čerenkov radiation and bremsstrahlung of the slow waves. It is shown that the angular distribution of the slow-wave bremsstrahlung exhibits a characteristic maximum in the direction perpendicular to the plane of motion of the particles. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1557–1562 (November 1997)     

The polarization of radiation in single crystals in the semiclassical approach

The radiation emission spectra of polarized photons emitted from charged particles in single oriented crystals are obtained in Bayer-Katkov-Strakhovenko semiclassical approach. The results of numerical calculations are presented in the region of small angles of incidence for which the coherent theory fails but the magnetic bremsstrahlung region is not yet achieved. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 3, 171–175 (10 February 1999)     

Radiation from relativistic electrons in homogeneous condensed matter at large angles (≫γ−1)

The radiation spectra from 900 and 400 MeV electrons in thin Ta, Cu, and Sn foils are measured at an angle of 19° with respect to the direction of motion of the beam. The radiation yield and its dependence on the electron energy agree satisfactorily with the theory of polarization bremsstrahlung. This result represents the first direct observation of polarization bremsstrahlung from ultrarelativistic electrons in homogeneous condensed matter. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 3, 145–149 (10 February 1996)     

On harmonic generation in a photoionized gas

The laws characterizing the radiation of high harmonics due to the coherent bremsstrahlung effect are indicated in the limit of high intensity of the laser pump photoionizing a gas in regime of suppression of the ionization barrier. It is shown that the intensity of the harmonics is determined by the quantum properties of the electron distribution in an atom before it is ionized. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 7, 486–490 (10 April 1999)     

Estimates of electron-positron pair production in the interaction of high-power laser radiation with high-Z targets

Electron-positron production processes occurring in the interaction of 10¹⁸–10²⁰ W/cm² laser radiation with high-Z targets are examined. Computational results are presented for the pair production and the positron yield from the target with allowance for the contribution of pair production processes due to electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. Monte Carlo simulations using the PRIZMA code confirm the estimates obtained. The possible positron yield from high-Z targets irradiated with 10²–10³ TW laser radiation is estimated to be 10⁹–10¹¹. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 4, 239–244 (25 February 1998)     

Weibel instability associated with inverse bremsstrahlung absorption of intense electromagnetic radiation

We investigate the Weibel instability in a plasma with a nonstationary three-temperature electron distribution generated by inverse bremsstrahlung of an intense elliptically polarized electromagnetic wave. We show that electron-ion collisions in this strong high frequency field are simultaneously the cause of the development of the instability and the reason it is suppressed. We find plasma and radiation parameters for which spontaneous quasistationary solenoidal electromagnetic fields can increase by many times. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1245–1257 (April 1997)     

Effect of multiple scattering on the emission of ultrarelativistic electrons in a thin layer of matter

We develop a quantitative theory of the effect of multiple scattering on the bremsstrahlung of ultrarelativistic electrons in a thin layer of matter. The effect is an analog of the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal (LPM) effect of suppression of the radiation emitted by high-energy particles in an infinite amorphous medium, but certain differences do exist. On the basis of our approach we analyze the data recently obtained at SLAC (E-146) in experiments set up to verify the LPM effect. We show that in addition to the LPM effect, this experiment exhibited the suppression of bremsstrahlung in a thin layer of matter, theoretically predicted in our earlier papers. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 58–70 (January 1998)     

Polarization of the high harmonics of radiation in a laser plasma

The polarization of the high harmonics generated in plasmas by the bremsstrahlung of electrons oscillating under the influence of high-power plasma-heating electromagnetic radiation is described on the basis of a simple model of a cold plasma. It is shown that when the polarization of the heating radiation differs from plane polarization by a small but finite amount, the high harmonics are generated with almost perpendicular polarization, and the degree of circular polarization of the harmonics increases with the number of the harmonic. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 5, 313–316 (10 March 1998)     

Polarization-interference effects in the bremsstrahlung of quasiclassical electrons on ions with a core

The polarization dependence of the stimulated bremsstrahlung and inverse bremsstrahlung (SBIB) of quasiclassical electrons on highly charged ions with a core is calculated in the approximation of a specified Coulomb current. Emission frequencies close to an eigenfrequency of the ion core are considered. The contributions of the static and polarization channels are taken into account in the amplitude of the process. When the nondipole nature of the interaction between the incident particle and a resonant transition in the ion core is taken into account, interference between these channels causes the spectral-amplitude characteristics of the process to assume a specific dependence on the angle α between the electric field intensity vector of the electromagnetic wave and the initial velocity vector of the incident particle. This dependence, which persists after integration of the cross section over the scattering angle of the incident particle, causes interference effects, viz., asymmetry of the line shape and dips in the dependence of the SBIB cross section on electric field intensity, to appear for α=π/2 and significantly reduces them for α=0. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1619–1629 (May 1999)     

Spontaneous interference bremsstrahlung effect in the scattering of a relativistic electron by a nucleus in the field of two light waves

This paper presents, for the general relativistic case, a theoretical study of nonresonance spontaneous bremsstrahlung by an electron scattered by a nucleus in the field of two elliptically polarized light waves propagating in the same direction. We show that there are two significantly different kinematic regions: the noninterference region where the main multiphoton parameters are the Bunkin-Fedorov quantum parameters γ _1,2, and the interference region where interference effects play an important role and where the quantum interference parameters α(±) act as multiphoton parameters. We encounter the spontaneous interference bremsstrahlung effect in two cases: in the special case of the same linear polarization of both waves, and in the general case of elliptical polarization of the waves. The effect manifests itself in the interference region and is due to stimulated, correlated emission and absorption of photons of both waves. For moderately strong fields, we find the cross sections of spontaneous bremsstrahlung by an electron scattered by a nucleus in the given kinematic regions. Finally, we show that the differential cross section in the interference region with correlated emission (absorption) of equal numbers of photons of both waves can be much greater than the corresponding cross section in any other geometry. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1210–1240 (October 1999)     

Nonlinear properties of a weakly collisional plasma at low radiation intensities

In this paper we evaluate theoretically the modification of the distribution function of slow subthermal electrons heated by radiation in a completely ionized plasma. The new solution we have found to the kinetic equation under conditions typical of weak-collisional plasmas can be used to predict new nonlinear behavior arising from perturbations of the nonuniform electron density and the coefficient of nonlocal heat transfer that depend on the intensity of the radiation heating the plasma, which is absorbed via inverse bremsstrahlung. It is predicted that this new nonlinear behavior manifests itself at unexpectedly small radiation intensities. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1299–1312 (April 1998)     

Formation mechanisms and structure of the luminescence spectra of a dense resonant medium

The purely thermal visible and infrared radiation emitted by a dense resonant medium (sodium vapor) heated nonuniformly to temperatures of 600–1200 K was investigated experimentally for the first time under conditions where the photon mean free path is comparable with the emission wavelength. The profile of the recorded spectra and the absolute luminescence intensities in the different spectral ranges show good agreement with the results of a numerical simulation using a previously developed theory of resonance radiation transport which assumes a Boltzmann spectral distribution of the resonant level population proportional to exp(−ℏω/T). The self-reversed resonant sodium line exhibited strong asymmetry and it was shown that under certain conditions, the luminescence spectrum of the medium may exhibit an additional broad peak on the far “red” limb of the resonance line. Calculations and measurements demonstrated that the intensity of the thermal emission of sodium vapor at this red peak is several orders of magnitude higher than that obtained from the standard theory of resonance radiation transport. This effect is arbitrarily termed an infrared “ catastrophe.” It is noted that in a solar corona plasma and in gas-discharge lamps, the far red limbs of the resonant lines may make a substantial contribution to the total luminescence intensity and in some cases, considerably exceed the intensity of the photorecombination and bremsstrahlung continuum. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 135–154 (July 1998)     

Boltzmann spectral distribution or “infrared catastrophe” in the resonance radiation of a gas

The purely thermal infrared emission spectra of a resonance medium (sodium vapor) are investigated experimentally. It is shown that the emission intensity in the 2–3 μm range at temperatures of 600–1200 K is several orders of magnitude higher than the intensity obtained from the standard theory of resonance radiation transfer. This phenomenon can be conventionally termed an “infrared catastrophe.” The form of the recorded spectra and the absolute intensity of the emission in both the infrared and visible regions of the spectrum are in agreement with the theory developed by Yu. L. Zemtsov and A. M. Starostin, Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 103, 345 (1993) [JETP 76, 186 (1993)], in which the Boltzmann spectral distribution of the population of the resonance level is proportional to exp(−ħω/T). Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 11, 807–811 (10 June 1997)     

Self-cooling of weak solutions of 3He in 4He during adiabatic melting

A new method of pressure regularization in the measuring cell is proposed for experiments on self-cooling of weak solutions. Preliminary results are presented for solutions with concentrations of 2% and 7%. Cooling by a factor of 1.5–2 was observed in the starting-temperature range 40–140 mK. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 3, 263–267 (10 February 1997)     

Fractal structure of fullerite

We have obtained macroscopic fractal aggregates of fullerite ranging in size from 100 to 400 μm. The fractal structure of fullerite is formed by microscopic (30–100 nm) fullerite crystals in the presence of a temperature gradient under conditions of diffusion-limited aggregation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 9, 684–685 (10 May 1998)     

Giant magnetoresistance of vanadium films with a surface magnetic superlattice

Giant (up to 68%) room-temperature magnetoresistance is observed in (110) V films on mica with a periodic system of 5–25 nm wide, thin (⩽10 nm) Co strips, separated by 1–2 nm gaps, grown on the films. The effect is observed only for samples in which the magnetization tilts out of the plane of the film. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 5, 346–349 (10 September 1996)     

Mechanisms of resonant laser ionization

An experimental investigation and numerical simulation of resonant laser breakdown are performed. As a result, quantitative agreement between the experimental data on the parameters of a dense resonant plasma (the electron density and the electron temperature) and the results of calculations in the range of detunings of the laser radiation from resonance Δλ>2–2.5 nm, in which the spatial instability of the intense resonant laser beam and the absorption of radiation are minimal, is obtained for the first time. It is shown that the previously proposed mechanism of resonant breakdown associated with laser-induced associative ionization introduces only a small correction to the final extent of ionization of the resonant plasma and scarcely alters its temperature. The influence of quantum stimulated inverse bremsstrahlung processes, which are usually described as collisions of the second kind in the resonance case, on the energy gain by electrons is analyzed for the first time in reference to specific experimental findings. The numerical calculations show that at detunings of the order of the Rabi frequency, the mechanism by which electrons gain energy through the resonant system does not reduce to collisions of the second kind and can significantly increase the density of the resonant plasma. However, in this range of detunings the laser beam is still strongly perturbed by instability processes, precluding a proper comparison of the theory with experiment. At large Δλ the classical and quantum cases differ from one another only slightly, and the values of N _e calculated for both mechanisms lie within the measurement error. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1274–1296 (April 1997)