XUV generation from plasma produced by a XeCl excimer laser on a Cu target

Summary We present a detailed study of XUV and soft X-ray emission from Cu plasma produced by an excimer laser at intensitiesI _L≦8·10¹¹ W/cm². The XeCl excimer laser (ψ≈308 nm) delivers pulses with energyE _L≈2.3 J, temporal durationt _L≈100 ns and brightnessB≧10¹⁴ W/cm² sr. We recorded a spectral conversion efficiency η=0.5% eV⁻¹ forI _L=4·10¹¹W/cm² in the aluminium window at 73eV with a harder X-ray tail around ≈400eV. We also measured the dependence of X-ray signal on laser intensity and viewing angle. Experimental results have been compared with some analytical laser-plasma interaction models.     

Two-photon resonant four-wave mixing in atomic sodium vapour

Using the 4d- and 5s-states of sodium, two different types of two-photon resonance enhanced four-wave mixing have been observed. In the first type 2v _L =v _IR +v _pIR radiation near 2.34 μm and UV radiation near 320 nm has been detected. In the second typev _P −v _S =v _L +v _IR the UV radiation produced in the first parametric process acted as a pump for stimulated electronic Raman scattering via the 4p-state of sodium. Resonantly enhanced by the two-photon transition 3s–4s, radiation near 1.18 μm was produced in this scheme. The realisation of a tunable coherent IR source based on these four-wave mixing processes is discussed.     

The superconducting properties of YBa2(Cu1−xMx)3O7 for M=Zn and Ni

Transverse and zero-field μSR measurements were made on YBa₂(Cu_1−xNi_x)₃O_7−y withx=0.1 and 0.2, and YBa₂(Cu_1−x Zn _x )₃O_7−y withx=0.03, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.16, wherey≈0.1. Since doping may lead to magnetic ordering this was searched for with both zero and transverse field μSR, but no evidence was found over the temperature range studied: 10–100 K. However, depolarization rates as functions of temperature were obtained, and the low temperature values of these are σ=3.2 μs⁻¹.1.6μs⁻¹, and 1 μs⁻¹ forx=0.01, and 0.2 Ni, respectively, and σ=0.8 μs⁻¹, 0.75 μs⁻¹, 0.65 μs⁻¹, and 0.4 μs⁻¹ forx=0.03, 0.06, 0.1, and 0.16 Zn, respectively. Estimates for the effect of decreasing electron concentration for Zn are made, but these alone do not account for the drop in σ. Estimates for the effect of scattering on λ and hence σ are made. The reduction in σ for Ni dopant is in surprisingly good agreement with these estimates. For Zn the order of magnitude is correct, but the relative lack of further change in σ after the effect of the first 0.03 addition seems to imply a saturation of the effect of scattering.     

Beat frequency intercomparisons of127I2 stabilized ion lasers at 514.5 nm

International comparisons of I₂ stabilized ion lasers operated at 514.5 nm have shown a laser frequency reproducibility of 2·10⁻¹⁰ v to 5·10⁻¹² v. These results encouraged the international acceptance of the wavelength value λ_vac=514.673467 for thea ₃ hyperfine component of the¹²⁷I₂ line 43-0P(13).     

Stimulated Brillouin scattering of CO2 radiation in compressed xenon

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (STBS) and phase conjugation of CO₂ laser radiation have been demonstrated experimentally for the first time in compressed xenon (59 atm at 21°C) located inside the low-Q cavity of this laser. The nonlinear medium was exposed to the action of counterpropagating focused multimode radiation beams. The difference between the frequencies of the longitudinal cavity modes was set at the frequency of the acoustic wave (v _s=32.2±0.3 MHz) excited as a result of STBS by 9.584 μm radiation. The duration of the radiation pulse τ _L was close to the acoustic phonon lifetime (τ _L<τ _ph≈3× 10⁻⁶s). The excitation of STBS was manifested experimentally as the locking of longitudinal modes, an increase in power and energy, and also an increase in the duration of the lasing pulse and a reduction in the divergence to the diffraction limit. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1941–1946 (December 1999)     

Non-steady-state photo-EMF in nanostructured GaN and polypyrrole within porous matrices

We report an experimental investigation of the non-steady-state photoelectromotive force in nanostructured GaN within porous glass and polypyrrole within chrysotile asbestos. The samples are illuminated by an oscillating interference pattern created by two coherent light beams and the alternating current is detected as a response of the material. Dependences of the signal amplitude versus temporal and spatial frequencies, light intensity, and temperature are studied for two wavelengths λ=442 and 532 nm. The conductivity of the GaN composite is measured: σ=(1.1–1.6)×10⁻¹⁰ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ (λ=442 nm, I ₀=0.045–0.19 W/cm², T=293 K) and σ=(3.5–4.6)×10⁻¹⁰ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ (λ=532 nm, I ₀=2.3 W/cm², T=249–388 K). The diffusion length of photocarriers in polypyrrole nanowires is also estimated: L _D=0.18 μm.     

Table-top kHz hard X-ray source with ultrashort pulse duration for time-resolved X-ray diffraction

The interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with solid state targets is studied concerning the production of short X-ray pulses with photon energies up to about 10 keV. The influence of various parameters such as pulse energy, repetition rate of the laser system, focusing conditions, the application of prepulses, and the chirp of the laser pulses on the efficiency of this highly nonlinear process is examined. In order to increase the X-ray flux, the laser pulse energy is increased by a 2nd multipass amplifier from 750 μJ to 5 mJ. By applying up to 4 mJ of the pulse energy a X-ray flux of 4×10¹⁰ Fe K _α photons/s or 2.75×10¹⁰ Cu K _α photons/s are generated. The energy conversion efficiency is therefore calculated to η _Fe≈1.4×10⁻⁵ and η _Cu≈1.0×10⁻⁵. The X-ray source size is determined to 15×25 μm². By focusing the produced X-rays using a toroidally bent crystal a quasi-monochromatic X-ray point source with a diameter of 56 μm×70μm is produced containing ≈10⁴ Fe K _α1 photons/s which permits the investigation of lattice dynamics on a picosecond or even sub-picosecond time scale. The lattice movement of a GaAs(111) crystal is shown as a typical application.     

Spectral properties of backward stimulated scattering in liquid carbon disulfide

The spectral structure of backward stimulated scattering from a 10 cm-long CS₂-liquid cell is investigated by using Q-switched 10-ns and 532-nm laser pulses with different spectral linewidths. Under a narrow spectral line (∼0.1 cm⁻¹) pump condition, very strong sharp lines near the pump wavelength (λ ₀) position and the first-order stimulated Raman scattering (λ _s1) position can be observed. However, under a wide line (≈1 cm⁻¹) pump condition, only a strong and superbroadening spectral band can be observed mainly in the red-shift side of the pump wavelength. The different spectral features under these two conditions can be explained by a competition between stimulated Brillouin, Raman, and Rayleigh-Kerr scattering. Under both pump conditions, the broadening spectral distributions are not consistent with the predictions given by stimulated Rayleigh-wing scattering theories, but can be interpreted well utilizing the theoretical model of stimulated Rayleigh-Kerr scattering. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1563–1573 (November 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Magnetism,exchange and crystal field parameters in the orbitally unquenched Ising antiferromagnet FePS3

FePS₃ is a layered antiferromagnet (T _N=123 K) with a marked Ising anisotropy in magnetic properties. The anisotropy arises from the combined effect of the trigonal distortion from octahedral symmetry and spin-orbit coupling on the orbitally degenerate⁵ T _2g ground state of the Fe²⁺ ion. The anisotropic paramagnetic susceptibilities are interpreted in terms of the zero field Hamiltonian, ℋ=Σ_i [δ(L _iz ² −2)+|λ|L _i .S _i ]−Σ _ij J _ij S _i .S _j . The crystal field trigonal distortion parameter Δ, the spin-orbit coupling λ and the isotropic Heisenberg exchange,J _ij, were evaluated from an analysis of the high temperature paramagnetic susceptibility data using the Correlated Effective Field (CEF) theory for many-body magnetism developed by Lines. Good agreement with experiment were obtained for Δ/k=215.5 K; λ/k=166.5 K;J _nn k=27.7 K; andJ _nnn k=−2.3 K. Using these values of the crystal field and exchange parameters the CEF predicts aT _N=122 K for FePS₃, which is remarkably close to the observed value of theT _N. The accuracy of the CEF approximation was also ascertained by comparing the calculated susceptibilities in the CEF with the experimental susceptibility for the isotropic Heisenberg layered antiferromagnet MnPS₃, for which the high temperature series expansion susceptibility is available.     

Doppler-free optical double resonance spectroscopy using a single-frequency laser and modulation sidebands

Principles and applications are described for a form of Doppler-free optical double resonance spectroscopy which uses amplitude modulation sidebands (v _L ±v) imposed on a single laser frequency (v _L ). The sidebands are generated by passing the carrier radiationv _L through an electro-optic modulator, driven at a radiofrequency ν, which enables the intensity and polarization characteristics of the emerging radiation to be varied for enhancement of selected double-resonance processes. The technique has been applied to infrared-infrared double-resonance studies of the Stark effects of a variety of molecules—¹³CH₃F,¹²CH₃F, PH₃,¹⁵NH₃, GeH₄, SiH₄, and CH₃D—for which physical results are presented and discussed. These results include determination of extremely small electric dipole moments (10⁻³–10⁻⁵ debye) for GeH₄ and CH₃D and, for the dipole moment of PH₃, a vibrational state dependence which is extremely small (Δμ=0.0028(5) debye for ∣Δv ₂∣=1) and a rotational state dependence which is of an unexpected sign. The spectra recorded in some cases display unusual polarization and optical saturation effects which deviate markedly from the predictions of a simple three-wave polarization theory.     

Measurement of the spindependent relative conversion coefficients in α-Fe and α-Fe2O3

The relative differences δ _ns (n=1, 2, 3) of the spindependent conversion coefficients were measured for α-Fe and α=Fe₂O₃. In contrast to theoretical predictions of δ_1s≃−10⁻⁵ we found δ_1s≃−1.0(4)x10⁻² for both α-Fe and α-Fe₂O₃. As a possible source for this difference we consider a dynamic coupling with the atomic spin during the conversion process.     

Multi-Hamiltonian structure of kdv hierarchy by Drienfeld-Sokolov formalism

Conserved quantities and the multi-Hamiltonian structure for the integrable coupled kdv system which is associated with the isospectral flow [(∑ _i=0 ^N−1 ε _i λ ⁱ )∂² + ∑ _i=0 ^N−l V ₁λ ⁱ ]φ=λ ^N φ are deduced by the Drienfeld-Sokolov formalism.     

Temperature dependence of surface impedance of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8−δ and YBa2Cu3O6.95 single crystals measured in the microwave band

The real part R _s and the imaginary part X _s of the surface impedance Z _s=R _s+ iX _s of Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O_8−δ and YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 single crystals have been measured with high precision at frequency ω/2π=9.4 GHz in the temperature range 0<T<140 K. In the Tl₂Ba₂CaCu₂O_8−δ crystal a linear temperature dependence R _s(T) has been found for T⩽50 K, and the magnetic field penetration depth λ(4.2 K)=X _s(4.2 K)/ω μ ₀≈3760 Å has been measured. Along with well known features of the function Z _s(T) in high-quality YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 single crystals, such as the linearity of λ(T) and R _s(T) for T<T _c/3 and a maximum of R _s(T) at T∼T _c/2, the linearity range of λ(T) extends to T≃50 K, and this curve has a plateau in the range 60<T<85 K. The curve of R _s(T) in both the superconducting and normal states of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 is well described by a two-fluid model with the electron-phonon mechanism of quasiparticle relaxation. A formula describing the curve of λ ²(0)/λ ²(T) throughout the studied temperature range is also given. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 2210–2222 (December 1997)     

Aerosol deposition of detonation nanodiamonds used as nucleation centers for the growth of nanocrystalline diamond films and isolated particles

The aerosol deposition of detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) on a silicon substrate is comprehensively studied, and the possibility of subsequent growth of nanocrystalline diamond films and isolated particles on substrates coated with DNDs is demonstrated. It is shown that a change in the deposition time and the weight concentration of DNDs in a suspension in the range 0.001–1% results in a change in the shape of DND agglomerates and their number per unit substrate surface area N _s from 10⁸ to 10¹¹ cm⁻². Submicron isolated diamond particles are grown on a substrate coated with DND agglomerates at N _s ≈ 108 cm⁻² using microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. At N _s ≈ 10¹⁰ cm⁻², thin (∼100 nm) nanodiamond films with a root-mean-square surface roughness less than 15 nm are grown.     

A new numerical method for inverse Laplace transforms used to obtain gluon distributions from the proton structure function

We recently derived a very accurate and fast new algorithm for numerically inverting the Laplace transforms needed to obtain gluon distributions from the proton structure function F₂^gp(x,Q²)F_{2}^{\gamma p}(x,Q^{2}). We numerically inverted the function g(s), s being the variable in Laplace space, to G(v), where v is the variable in ordinary space. We have since discovered that the algorithm does not work if g(s)→0 less rapidly than 1/s as s→∞, e.g., as 1/s ^β for 0<β<1. In this note, we derive a new numerical algorithm for such cases, which holds for all positive and non-integer negative values of β. The new algorithm is exact if the original function G(v) is given by the product of a power v ^β−1 and a polynomial in v. We test the algorithm numerically for very small positive β, β=10⁻⁶ obtaining numerical results that imitate the Dirac delta function δ(v). We also devolve the published MSTW2008LO gluon distribution at virtuality Q ²=5 GeV² down to the lower virtuality Q ²=1.69 GeV². For devolution, β is negative, giving rise to inverse Laplace transforms that are distributions and not proper functions. This requires us to introduce the concept of Hadamard Finite Part integrals, which we discuss in detail.     

Effect of a magnetic field on the rate of etching of silicon dioxide in a CF4 + O2 plasma

A near-electrode nonuniform magnetic field crossed with an electric field is found to strongly affect the rate of etching of silicon dioxide on glass substrates in a CF₄ + O₂ plasma when the Larmor frequency (≈10⁹ s⁻¹) is much higher than the frequency of collisions of an electron with surrounding plasma particles (≈10⁶ s⁻¹) and the frequency of the applied rf electric field (≈10⁷ s⁻¹). The confinement of electrons by the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the substrate surface to be treated increases the rate of generation of chemically active particles, which increases the etching rate of silicon dioxide.     

The Muonic Hydrogen Lamb Shift Experiment at PSI

A measurement of the 2S Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen (μ⁻p) is being prepared at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The goal of the experiment is to measure the energy difference ΔE(2⁵ P _3/2−2³ S _1/2) by laser spectroscopy (λ≈6μm) to a precision of 30 ppm and to deduce the root mean square (rms) proton charge radius with 10⁻³ relative accuracy, 20 times more precise than presently known. An important prerequisite to this experiment is the availability of long-lived μp_2S -atoms. A 2S-lifetime of ∼1 μs – sufficiently long to perform the laser experiment – at H₂ gas pressures of 1–2 hPa was deduced from recent measurements of the collisional 2S-quenching rate. A new low-energy negative muon beam yields an order of magnitude more muon stops in a small low-density gas volume than a conventional cloud muon beam. A stack of ultra-thin carbon foils is the key element of a fast detector for keV-muons. The development of a 2 keV X-ray detector and a 3-stage laser system providing 0.5 mJ laser pulses at 6 μm is on the way. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Equation of state of fluid helium at high temperatures and densities

Helium, hydrogen, and their isotopes are the simplest monoatomic and diatomic molecules. It is relatively easy to describe their properties using the basic principles of quantum mechanics. In condensed matter physics, hydrogen and helium serve as the models for the condensed matter properties at extreme conditions so that both experi- mental and theoretical physicists pay much attention to the study of their properties[1], especially the insulator-metal transition of hydrogen[2]. The aim to st…     

Rare t-quark decays t → clj+lk? and t → c?jvk induced by doublets of scalar leptoquarks within the minimal four-color-symmetry model

The rare t-quark decays t → cl _j ⁺ l _k ⁻ and t → cṽ _j k _k induced by scalar-leptoquark doublets are considered within the minimal model involving four-color quark-lepton symmetry and the Higgs mechanism of quark and lepton mass splitting. The partial widths with respect to the decays being considered and the total widths Γ(t → cl ⁺′l ⁻) = Σ_j,k Γ(t → cl _j ⁺ l _k ⁻ ) and Γ(t → cl ⁺′l ⁻) = Σ_j,kΓ(t → cṽ _j v _k ) with respect to, respectively, the charged leptonic and neutrino modes are calculated. It is shown that, at scalar-leptoquark masses higher than the t-quark mass (m _S > m _t), the branching ratios for these modes are Br(t → cl ⁺′l ⁻) ≈ (3.5−0.4) × 10⁻⁵ and Br(t → cṽ′v) ≈ (7.1−0.8) × 10⁻⁵ at m _s = 180–250 GeV and an appropriate value of the leptoquark-mixing angle (sin β ≈ 0.2) and can increase for m _S < m _t to Br(t → cl ⁺′l ⁻) ≈ 0.03−0.002 and Br(t → cl ⁺′l ⁻) ≈ 0.46−0.05 for the charged mode at m _S = 150–170 GeV for sin β ≈ 1 and sin β ≈ 0.2, respectively. In the cases being considered, t-quark decays to pairs of charged leptons can be accessible to detection at LHC. In the last case, these decays could manifest themselves (for example, in dilepton events) at the Tevatron as well. Original Russian Text ? P.Yu. Popov, A.D. Smirnov, 2006, published in Yadernaya Fizika, 2006, Vol. 69, No. 6, pp. 1006–1016.     

Dephasing in the semiclassical limit is system-dependent

Dephasing in open quantum chaotic systems has been investigated in the limit of large system sizes to the Fermi wavelength ratio, L/λ_F 〉 1. The weak localization correction g ^wl to the conductance for a quantum dot coupled to (i) an external closed dot and (ii) a dephasing voltage probe is calculated in the semiclassical approximation. In addition to the universal algebraic suppression g ^wl ∝ (1 + τ_D/τ_ϕ)⁻¹ with the dwell time τ_D through the cavity and the dephasing rate τ _ϕ ⁻¹ , we find an exponential suppression of weak localization by a factor of ∝ exp[− /τ_ϕ], where is the system-dependent parameter. In the dephasing probe model, coincides with the Ehrenfest time, ∝ ln[L/λ_F], for both perfectly and partially transparent dot-lead couplings. In contrast, when dephasing occurs due to the coupling to an external dot, ∝ ln[L/ξ] depends on the correlation length ξ of the coupling potential instead of λ_F. The text was submitted by the authors in English.