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.     

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.     

Lateral field instability and six-wave mixing in a diode laser with broad active area

The electromagnetic field inside a nonlinear active medium of a laser is considered as a system of counterpropagating waves. Such an approach changes radically an earlier studied behavior of the lateral field instability due to self-deformaion (or self-focusing). In our calculations we used an expression for a laser field in the form of two “strong” counterpropagating waves whose complex amplitudes have weak perturbations. Amplitude perturbations of each of the “strong” waves can be presented by two spatial harmonics corresponding to two weak perturbation waves with wave vectors making some tilted angle ±φ with the cavity axis. Thus six waves would participate in the interaction: two counterpropagating strong waves and two pairs of weak waves. Using this approach, we have developed a theory for the propagation of four “weak” perturbation waves in a nonlinear amplifying medium in the presence of two counterpropagating “strong” waves. It is shown that perturbation waves with tilted angle φ⋍0.5–1.2° inside the active region, and respecively, with the side lobes of the far-field pattern at ∼1.7–4°, have the greatest growth increment. These perturbation waves produce lateral intensity modulation with period 10–30 μm for the 0.85 μm lasing wavelength. The appearance of such waves corresponds to the instability threshold of a homogeneous lateral distribution of optical power in a diode laser. The present theory makes it possible to investigate the stability of the homogeneous lateral optical intensity distribution in a diode laser of any design. This allows one to choose a suitable design of a laser with a homogeneous lateral distribution at high radiation power. Translated from Preprint No. 43 (1992) of the Lebedev Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences.     

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.     

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. Original Russian Text ? A.V. Korzhimanov, A.A. Gonoskov, A.V. Kim, A.M. Sergeev, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 662–669.     

Scattering of atoms in the field of counterpropagating light waves. Effect of initial conditions

The scattering of an atom in the field of counterpropagating light waves is studied under conditions such that the state of the atom is a superposition of the ground and excited states. For the case in which this superposition is created by the field of a traveling wave, the momentum distribution function of the atom after scattering by a standing wave is found analytically in the approximation of a short interaction time, when the atom’s motion can be neglected. Longer interactions of the atom with the field are studied numerically. We also consider the case of counterpropagating light waves consisting of Gaussian or supergaussian pulses. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 563–572 (February 1998)     

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.     

Two-level atoms moving in strong biharmonic and monochromatic counterpropagating fields

The polarization and power spectra of radiation of two-level atoms moving in a field of biharmonic and monochromatic counterpropagating waves are computer simulated. It is shown that, as the frequencies of the counterpropagating waves are scanned with respect to the central frequency of the Doppler contour in the intensity distribution of groups of atoms moving at velocities that satisfy the resonance conditions for multiphoton transitions between quasi-energy levels, apart from well-known sub-Doppler resonances, narrow peaks appear. Such resonances should also occur for the stimulated light pressure force.     

On the possibility of the nondegenerate parametric amplification of optical waves at low-frequency pumping

It is shown that parametric amplification at low-frequency pumping can be implemented in coupled nonlinear optical interactions in aperiodic nonlinear photonic crystals created by the method of the superposition of the modulation of the second-order susceptibility. In this process, the intensities of waves with frequencies higher than the pump frequency increase monotonically with the interaction length as in the case of the traditional process of parametric amplification at high-frequency pumping. The dependence of the gain factor on the coupling constants of interacting waves is obtained. The process under consideration makes it possible to ensure the tuning of the generated frequency in the ultraviolet range upon pumping in the visible range. Analysis of the process is performed on the example of aperiodic nonlinear photonic crystals of lithium niobate. Original Russian Text ? A.S. Chirkin, I.V. Shutov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 803–807.     

Reflection and refraction of light by a system of interfering atomic states

The boundary problem of nonlinear optics was investigated for a trial wave reflected (refracted) by an excited region of a nonlinear medium considered as a system of multilevel atoms in the spectrum of which there are two closely-spaced energy levels excited by a powerful quasi-resonant radiation. It is shown that under interference conditions of the atomic states in the field of the trial and resonance waves there exist three types of waves: an inverse wave and two polarization waves. By way of extension of the Ewald-Oseen procedure to this case a formula for the complex refractive index of a nonlinear medium for the three types of waves as well as a generalized extinction theorem have been obtained. It is shown that the trial wave can be amplified without inversion of the interfering atomic states and that the refractive index can be markedly changed at certain concentrations of atoms in the medium. General formulas for the amplitudes of the reflected and refracted waves have been obtained. Ul’yanovsk State University, 42, Tolstoi Str., Ul’yanovsk, 432700, Russia. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 568–575, July–August, 1998.     

Magnetorotational instability in a nonuniform magnetic field

It is shown that the characteristics of the magnetorotational instability noticeably change in the presence of the inhomogeneity of a magnetic field in which rotation occurs. A decrease in the magnetic field with an increase in the distance from the rotation center, which is typical for astrophysical objects, can lead to a significant decrease in the threshold velocity of the object medium rotation, as well as to mitigation of the requirements on a rotation velocity profile that are necessary for the development of instability. Other examples that demonstrate the indicated effects are given. Original Russian Text ? V.I. Ilgisonis, I.V. Khalzov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 815–818.     

Alternative method of the opening of cavities in small icosahedral electrolytic-metal particles

Results of an experiment on the opening of cavities in small icosahedral electrolytic-copper particles by means of an experimental technique alternative to the chemical etching of their surface are presented. This experimental technique is theoretically justified. Original Russian Text ? I.S. Yasnikov, A.A. Vikarchuk, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 699–701.     

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.     

Polarization effects during the interaction of counterpropagating waves in isotropic resonant media

Using the method of nonlinear polarization spectroscopy in the oppositely propagating laser beams of different power at a wavelength of 3.39 μm, we study, both theoretically and experimentally, the mechanisms of the formation of dichroism and birefringence during the interaction of arbitrarily polarized fields of resonant radiation with gaseous methane under conditions of low pressure of the gas in the cell and saturation of the operating transition F ₂ ⁽²⁾ by the field of a strong wave. Spectral forms of the polarization resonances of the test-wave intensity at the output of the polarization spectrometer are studied experimentally. Based on the vector theory of light interaction with matter, we present an exhaustive theoretical interpretation of the experimental data on the dependence of the polarization state of a weak wave on the intensity of a linearly or circularly polarized high-power counterpropagating wave. A new technique of measuring the induced nonlinear anisotropy for test-field waves and the macroscopic parameters of the resonant gas is developed. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 72–93, January 2007.     

On the simultaneous measurement of the energy and arrival time of a photon

The simultaneous measurement of the energy and arrival time of a single-photon packet, as well as the experimental implementation of such a measurement with the use of a parametric transformation upward in the energy (up conversion), is proposed. Original Russian Text ? S.N. Molotkov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 12, pp. 901–906.     

On the instability of a homogeneous state of a weakly interacting Bose gas under external cooling

The behavior of a weakly interacting Bose gas with a finite particle lifetime has been studied in the framework of hydrodynamic equations under the conditions of a constant mass and energy inflow in the presence of external cooling. A spatially homogeneous state of such a gas is shown to be unstable with respect to the formation of an inhomogeneous density structure. A possible connection of the present results with experiments [3, 4] is discussed. Original Russian Text ? R.B. Saptsov, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 10, pp. 779–784.     

Polarization method for controlling a sign of electromagnetically-induced transparency/absorption resonances

We propose a new easy method to control a sign of the subnatural resonances of electromagnetically-induced transparency and absorption in the Hanle configuration under counterpropagating light waves. The analytical results for a three-level atomic Λ-scheme are corroborated by numerical calculations for various atomic transitions. The results can be applied in nonlinear optics, optical communications and magnetometry.     

On twinning in smectic crystals

It is shown that mechanical twinning in smectic crystals is possible. The structure of the boundary of twins for a small disorientation of crystallites is determined. The periodic twin structure, which should appear at the tension of the smectic layer, is proposed. Original Russian Text ? V.I. Marchenko, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, p. 841.     

Forces exerted on atoms by stochastic laser fields

We present analytical results and numerical simulations for the force exerted on moving atoms in the fields of two counterpropagating waves whose amplitudes or phases are described as stochastic processes. We assume that one field repeats the other with some delay, as would occur when the two fields derive from a common source through a beam splitter and mirrors. We show that, just as with the force exerted by the field of two counterpropagating sequences of π-pulses, or two counterpropagating bichromatic or frequency-modulated waves, the force on an atom in counterpropagating stochastic waves may considerably exceed the force exerted by the field of a single running wave. For comparison we also discuss the interaction of an atom with two counterpropagating waves when one of them is monochromatic and the other one has a stochastic phase. In this case the force substantially exceeds the force exerted by the field of a single running wave but appreciably smaller then the radiative force in the counterpropagating waves in which one field repeats the other with some delay.