Near-field radiative heat transfer between macroscopic planar surfaces

Near-field radiation allows heat to propagate across a small vacuum gap at rates several orders of magnitude above that of far-field, blackbody radiation. Although heat transfer via near-field effects has been discussed for many years, experimental verification of this theory has been very limited. We have measured the heat transfer between two macroscopic sapphire plates, finding an increase in agreement with expectations from theory. These experiments, conducted near 300?K, have measured the heat transfer as a function of separation over mm to μm and as a function of temperature differences between 2.5 and 30?K. The experiments demonstrate that evanescence can be put to work to transfer heat from an object without actually touching it.     

Exact solution for coherent backscattering of polarized light from a random medium of Rayleigh scatterers

We discuss a rigorous vectorial theory as a model to represent the enhanced backscattering of polarized light from a random medium. The theory is based on the well known relation between the contributions of the ladder and cyclical diagrams to the intensity which allows to express these contributions in terms of radiative transfer theory. The tensor transfer equation for the electromagnetic field in a half-space occupied by point-like scatterers is explicitly solved with the aid of the Wiener-Hopf method. For the case of normal incidence the angular distribution of the backscattered intensity and the enhancement factor are found for arbitrary angles between the incident and detected linear polarizations and the scanning plane. To describe spatial anisotropy of the backscattering cone the half width at half maximum of the intensity is calculated as a function of these angles. Coherent backscattering of circularly polarized light is also considered.     

Beyond the diffusing-wave spectroscopy model for the temporal fluctuations of scattered light

We extend the theory of diffusing-wave spectroscopy using a random-walk approach and a numerical solution of the radiative transfer equation. The theory is not restricted to the diffusive regime and allows one to describe the crossover between the single-scattering and the diffusive regimes, which has been observed experimentally. It also predicts a lower bound of the scattered-field correlation time at long paths. This extended theory should have broad experimental applications in the field of imaging through biological tissues.     

Information Network Modeling for U.S. Banking Systemic Risk

In this work we investigate whether information theory measures like mutual information and transfer entropy, extracted from a bank network, Granger cause financial stress indexes like LIBOR-OIS (London Interbank Offered Rate-Overnight Index Swap) spread, STLFSI (St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index) and USD/CHF (USA Dollar/Swiss Franc) exchange rate. The information theory measures are extracted from a Gaussian Graphical Model constructed from daily stock time series of the top 74 listed US banks. The graphical model is calculated with a recently developed algorithm (LoGo) which provides very fast inference model that allows us to update the graphical model each market day. We therefore can generate daily time series of mutual information and transfer entropy for each bank of the network. The Granger causality between the bank related measures and the financial stress indexes is investigated with both standard Granger-causality and Partial Granger-causality conditioned on control measures representative of the general economy conditions.     

An approximate analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation in hydrometeors accounting for scattering effects

An iterative method for the radiative transfer equation solution is suggested for the scattering hydrometeors. The method allows to find the layer scattering indicatrix. The method is shown to be more general as compared with the four-flux theory or the perturbation method and differs strongly from these ones because even in the case of the first iteration it gives the results which are very close to ones obtained by numerical methods for all rain scattering angles.     

Heat transfer between elastic solids with randomly rough surfaces

We study the heat transfer between elastic solids with randomly rough surfaces. We include both the heat transfer from the area of real contact, and the heat transfer between the surfaces in the non-contact regions. We apply a recently developed contact mechanics theory, which accounts for the hierarchical nature of the contact between solids with roughness on many different length scales. For elastic contact, at the highest (atomic) resolution the area of real contact typically consists of atomic (nanometer) sized regions, and we discuss the implications of this for the heat transfer. For solids with very smooth surfaces, as is typical in many modern engineering applications, the interfacial separation in the non-contact regions will be very small, and for this case we show the importance of the radiative heat transfer associated with the evanescent electromagnetic waves which exist outside of all bodies.     

Efficient non-resonant intermolecular vibrational energy transfer

Molecular excited vibrational states are metastable states and we incorporate their finite lifetimes into the theory of vibrational energy transfer between weakly interacting molecules, i.e., at internuclear distances at which they do not have a chemical bond. Expressions for the effective lifetime of an initially vibrationally excited molecule in the presence of a neighbouring molecule are derived in closed form. These expressions allow one to analyse the physics behind the energy transfer. It is shown that due to different finite lifetimes of the isolated excited molecules, a very efficient vibrational energy transfer can take place between them even if their energies are rather off-resonance. Examples are discussed.     

Long range and temperature-dependent interaction between an alkali atom and a metallic surface; application to surface ionization

For explaining some long range and temperature dependent charge transfer involved in surface processes dealing with particles leaving a surface, we extend the usual chemisorption theory to larger distances. Treating the interaction of an alkali atom (lithium and sodium) on a metal surface (rhenium) in the chemisorption model, we introduce the temperature in the expression for the effective charges of the adsorbed atom. These effective charges are shown to be very sensitive to the temperature for atom-surface distances larger than 5 Bohr radii. The Coulomb repulsion effect between opposite spin electrons on the adsorbed particle allows us to describe the effective charges of both the positive and negative adsorbed ions. We apply our treatment to the positive surface ionization of thermal particles and give a new expression of the degree of ionization which asymptotically tends to the values of the Saha-Langmuir law. We found that the surface ionization process occurs at distances slightly decreasing with increasing temperatures, which are of the order of 13 Bohr radii for lithium on rhenium and of 15 Bohr radii for sodium on rhenium.     

Selective valence electron transfer in alkali atom-alkali ion collisions

Charge exchange reactions between alkali atoms and ions are studied. It is shown that the use of spin-polarised alkali atoms allows the experimental separation of valence electron and core electron transfer. Parameters are defined which are exactly independent of any core contributions. It is discussed in detail how these parameters, which allow an unambigious comparison between theory and experiment, can be measured.     

Influence of deformations of a polymer matrix on the characteristics of dual fluorescence of 3-hydroxyflavone

The possibility of considerably changing the conditions for the proton transfer reaction in 3-hydroxyflavone molecules in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer matrices by stretching deformations is demonstrated. Samples of this kind are traditionally used to obtain ensembles of fluorophore molecules oriented along a chosen axis and for polarization measurements. The fluorescence spectrum of 3-hydroxyflavone in PVA has two characteristic bands in the violet and green spectral regions, which indicates excited-state proton transfer. Stretching leads to a strong reduction in the violet band, whose contribution in undeformed samples is comparable to the contribution of green fluorescence. Even twofold stretching of PVA films strongly decreases the violet band intensity, which is more pronounced in the case of sixfold stretching. In the latter case, the fluorescence spectrum behavior is very close to the pattern observed in nonpolar and aprotic solvents, in which the violet fluorescence intensity is very low. The data obtained indicate that mechanical stretching allows one to eliminate the main intermolecular factors that slow down the proton transfer between the active groups in PVA.     

Periodic structures in the Franck-Hertz experiment with neon: Boltzmann equation and Monte-Carlo analysis

A new experimental technique for the measurements of the total cross section for electron scattering from atoms and molecules at very low energy is described. Momentum transfer cross sections for scattering from Ar, Kr and Xe at very low energies were carefully derived using the modified effective range theory from the recently measured total cross sections, which were obtained with a new experimental technique utilizing the threshold photoelectron source. A significant discrepancy between the momentum cross sections derived from the present analysis and those determined in the previous electron swarm studies was found at energies below 100 meV. The findings emphasize the need of further high precision experiments in the very low energy region as well as re-analysis of the previous swarm data.     

Dielectronic resonance method for measuring isotope shifts

Long standing problems in the comparison of very accurate hyperfine-shift measurements to theory were partly overcome by precise measurements on few-electron highly charged ions. Still the agreement between theory and experiment is unsatisfactory. In this Letter, we present a radically new way of precisely measuring hyperfine shifts, and demonstrate its effectiveness in the case of the hyperfine shift of 4s1/2 and 4p1/2 in 207Pb53+. It is based on the precise detection of dielectronic resonances that occur in electron-ion recombination at very low energy. This allows us to determine the hyperfine constant to around 0.6 meV accuracy which is on the order of 10%.     

Effects of kinematical constraints in nuclear muon capture

Muon capture is discussed in the framework of linear response theory. This approach allows a general discussion of the role played by kinematical constraints in determining which features of nuclear dynamics are actually probed in the capture event. It is argued that the muon momentum spread can increase the capture rate at large energy transfer.     

On the theory of nuclear heavy-ion direct transfer reactions

We review the distorted-wave approach to direct transfer reactions and draw attention to some of the shortcomings of current theories. We show that a reformulated form of the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) for transfer can lead to important simplifications of the theory, which are valid for nuclear heavy-ion induced reactions at energies ? 10 MeV/nucleon. In particular, in the semiclassical limit, it leads to a new and simple formula for the transfer t-matrix which includes all the essential physics while offering several important advantages over standard “full-recoil finite-range” DWBA. One such advantage is that the new formula is more transparent in that it is amenable to interpretation and analytical manipulation. At high-energy it is shown to reduce to one earlier deduced using eikonal-DWBA.The conditions for the validity of the new theory are discussed in detail. They are shown to be generally well satisfied for small-mass transfer between heavy-ions at energies at or above those which particularly favour transfer (? 10 MeV/nucleon for transfer of valence nucleons). The restriction to small mass is not due to any recoil approximation; in fact, it is only a necessary restriction at certain energies. The theory treats recoil exactly.Consideration of the optimum dynamical conditions for transfer leads to a set of matching conditions. The presence of hitherto neglected absorption, arising from dynamical effects of poor matching, is suggested and qualitatively discussed. Conditions under which such absorption may be neglected are derived. Results of numerical calculations are presented showing that the theory is capable of good agreement with standard full-recoil finite-range DWBA, and that it is capable of giving at least as good an account of experimental data for nucleon-transfer between heavy-ions at energies ～10 MeV/nucleon.     

Visualization and determination of local mass transfer at solid walls in liquid flow

A method for visualization and determination of local and integral mass transfer coefficients at solid walls in liquid flow is presented. The method is based on chemisorption of a dye at a surface coated with polyamide. This results in a colour intensity distribution which corresponds to the local mass transfer: a high mass transfer rate results in a high colour intensity and vice versa. Chromatographic foils and polyamide membranes are used for the coating of the surface. This method allows the investigation of surface flow phenomena in channels with wall suction by using membranes. The experimental method based on convective mass transfer in liquid flow allows the investigation of flow phenomena near the wall in various apparatuses for heat and mass transfer. There are new possibilities for research of mass transfer in gas-liquid flow and systems with free surfaces, for example stirred reactors. The method can also be used for the analysis of mixing behaviour and residence time distribution. The quantification of the local mass transfer coefficient is made by optical measurements of the resulting colour intensity distribution. This is made by remission photometry or digital image processing. The application of different CCD-cameras and scanning systems is explained. The correlation between the optical measurement and the transferred mass is evaluated in simple but effective calibration experiments. Some examples of investigations show the practicability of the method.     

Geometric Theory of Time-Dependent Singular Lagrangians

The geometry of jet bundles is used for obtaining a geometric approach to time-dependent Lagrangian systems, both in the regular and singular case. Generalized symmetries are introduced as being given by vector fields along the projection π_1,0. This approach is shown to be very useful for giving a one-to-one correspondence between symmetries and constants of motion and allows a geometric version of the Second Noether Theorem. The theory is illustrated by several examples in which the gauge symmetries are explicitly found.     

Photoinduced charge transfer across the interface between organic molecular crystals and polymers

Photoinduced charge transfer of positive and negative charges across the interface between a single-crystal organic semiconductor and a polymeric insulator is observed in electric field-effect experiments. Immobilization of the transferred charge by deep traps in the polymer results in a shift of the threshold of field-induced conductivity along the semiconductor-polymer interface, which allows for direct measurements of the charge transfer rate. The transfer occurs when the photon energy exceeds the absorption edge of the semiconductor. The direction of the transverse electric field at the interface determines the sign of the transferred charge; the transfer rate is controlled by the field magnitude and light intensity.     

Orbital ordering in charge transfer insulators

We discuss a new mechanism of orbital ordering, which in charge transfer insulators is more important than the usual exchange interactions and which can make the very type of the ground state of a charge transfer insulator, i.e., its orbital and magnetic ordering, different from that of a Mott-Hubbard insulator. This purely electronic mechanism allows us to explain why orbitals in Jahn-Teller materials typically order at higher temperatures than spins, and to understand the type of orbital ordering in a number of materials, e.g., K2CuF4, without invoking the electron-lattice interaction.     

Correlation effects on core level spectra of adsorbates

The spectrum of core levels in adsorbates is calculated for a model which allows the transfer of screening charge to the adsorbate. Spin degeneracy and the Coulomb interaction of the valence electrons is included. The core level spectrum is calculated within a time dependent Hartree-Fock scheme for broad resonances and from a perturbation expansion for the core hole self-energy in the case of a very narrow valence resonance.