Spatio-temporal structure formation and self-diffraction in CdS using laser-induced thermal gratings

The semiconductor CdS is well known to show various kinds of photo-thermal and photo-electric optical nonlinearities. We present here to our knowledge first results of spatiotemporal structure formation using laser-induced thermal gratings in CdS. By the means of an optical multi-channel analyzer the spatial resolution of transverse dynamic switching processes was observed directly. Spatially and time resolved self-diffracted signals were measured in the far-field. The experimental results agree very well with calculations obtained by solving the heat-flow equation and using a fast Fourier transformation. The calculations verify the experimental parameters, in particular the thermal diffusivity D0.1 cm²/s at room temperature. To obtain a better transverse structuring, CdS samples were also investigated which were fixed on a sapphire substrate for longitudinal heat sinking.     

Phase conjugate wavefront generation by forced Rayleigh scattering

Phase conjugate wavefront generation with efficiency up to 4% at 355 nm has been demonstrated in liquid media containing nonsaturating absorbers. Experimental results are qualitatively consistent with a simple theory of transient forced Rayleigh scattering which predicts the efficiency to depend upon the solvent, the square of the pump intensity and upon the beam quality but not upon the absorbing species.     

New problems of particle transfer in ferrocolloids: Magnetic Soret effect and thermoosmosis

The paper deals with critical reviewing of the experiments on thermodiffusion in ferrocolloids. The observed magnetic Soret effect is much stronger than that predicted theoretically. It is shown that the main reason of that is the influence of the magnetic field on mass diffusion. Besides, some measurements are affected by uncontrolled thermal and solutal magnetic convection. In porous media, when macroscopic convection is suppressed, thermodiffusion is accompanied by thermoosmosis as well as by a microconvective mass transfer induced by particle magnetophoresis on filter grains.     

Evidence for diffusion-induced convection in ferrofluids from small-angle neutron scattering

Isothermal convection in ferrofluids has been induced by a gradient in particle concentration antiparallel to a magnetic field gradient. The deviation of local particle concentration from its equilibrium value produced by the convective motion of the whole fluid gives rise to a corresponding spatial variation of magnetization. This variation has been observed by magnetic neutron scattering in good agreement with expectations based on flow measurements with an anemometric method.     

Determinations of the transient thermal lensing effect in metal cluster Polymer {WS4Cu4I2(bpe)3}n solution by the use of the Z-scan

The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a novel cluster Polymer {WS₄Cu₄I₂(bpe)₃}_n solution are studied by using Z-scan technique with laser pulses of 4.5 ns pulse-width at a wavelength of 532 nm. The results show that the cluster solution possesses strong nonlinear absorption and refraction. Nonlinear refraction of the cluster is composed of third-order nonlinear refraction and transient thermal effect. The thermal effect is mainly due to the strong nonlinear absorption. Numerical simulations obtained by solving simultaneously photo-acoustic and electromagnetic wave equations, agrees basically with experimental results.     

Transient-state method for coupled evaluation of Soret and Fick coefficients,and related tortuosity factors,using free and porous packed thermodiffusion cells: Application to CuSO4 aqueous solution ( 0.25M)

The measurement of Soret coefficients in liquids is not easy and usually not very precise because the resulting concentration gradient is small and moreover can be perturbed by undesired convection currents. In order to suppress, or to drastically reduce these convection currents, the use of a porous medium is sometimes suggested. The question arises as to whether the Soret coefficient is the same in free fluid and in porous medium. This is the aim of this paper. To this end, for a given liquid mixture, the time evolution of the vertical concentration gradient is experimentally measured in the same thermodiffusion cell filled first with the free liquid and next with a porous medium followed by saturation by the liquid mixture. Both the isothermal diffusion (Fick) coefficient and the Soret coefficient can be deduced, providing that a correct working equation is used. The proposed equation results from integration of the general mass conservation equation with realistic boundary conditions (zero mass flux at the boundaries) and some simplifying assumptions rendering this equation more tractable than the one proposed some decades ago by Bierlein (J.A. Bierlein, J. Chem. Phys. 23, 10 (1955)). The method is applied here to an electrolytic solution (CuSO4, 0.25 M) at a mean temperature of 37^°C. The Soret coefficients in free and porous medium (zircon microspheres in the range of 250- 315 ^. 10^-6m) may be considered to be equal ( S_T = 13.2±0.5 ^. 10^-3 K^-1) and the tortuosity factors for the packed medium are the same relative to thermodiffusion and Fick coefficients ( = 1.51±0.02).     

I-scan thermal lens experiment in the pulse regime for measuring two-photon absorption coefficient

We present a new pump-probe mode-mismatched thermal lens method for pulse excitation aimed to the measurement of nonlinear absorption coefficient in optical materials. We develop a theoretical model based on the Fresnel diffraction approximation and their predictions are verified experimentally with samples of Rhodamine 6G and Rhodamine B in ethanol solution. The principal advantage of this technique is that it does not require any mechanical movement during measurement. Below we perform the new type of thermal lens experiment in the pulse regime for the measurement of nonlinear absorption coefficient in transparent samples and we demonstrate the validity of theoretical predictions using an alternative method to the classical thermal lens technique.     

Laser induced thermal profiles in thermally and optically thin films

The temperature field generated by the weak absorption of a gaussian laser beam in an optically and thermally thin film bounded by two transparent plates is discussed. An analytical solution of the problem is presented together with an algorithm for the numerical integration. The influence of the finite thermal conductivity of the plates is shown in an example.     

Complete classification of the direction loci for three-wave collinear quadratic parametric interactions in biaxial acentric crystals

One new topological classification of the phase-matching direction loci for sum/difference frequency generation in biaxial acentric crystals is presented. Based on nine fundamental axial wave constant mismatches, 12 locus indices are used to distinguish permissible direction loci. Totally 66 kinds of combined loci belonging to 30 main classes are found and categorized by a set of ternary-digit class symbols or equivalently by sequence numbers. They are well illustrated in a classification diagram, indicative of 170 possible transitions among the loci. By an analysis of the dispersion of refractive indices, the historic “optically well-behaved crystals” are redefined and improved with simplified classification diagrams and corresponding schematic stereographic projections.     

Saturation spectroscopy of coherent raman scattering in molecular gases

We present the theory of two-photon Raman saturation of a two-level Raman transition studied by an independent CARS process. The main goal here is to probe the saturated homogeneous Raman line shape. It is shown that there appears a saturation dip with a width determined by the relaxation timeT ₁. In the case of Doppler-broadened line the coherent Raman saturation spectroscopy may be used to determine both theT ₁ andT ₂ relaxation times.     

Wave mixing and amplified spontaneous emission in pure potassium and mixed sodium-potassium vapors

We report observations of several wave-mixing and stimulated processes in pure potassium and mixed sodium-potassium vapors which are excited by a pulsed laser operating in the range 680–800 nm. When the laser is tuned to the potassium two-photon 4S6S transition, we observe stimulated emission on the various cascade transitions as well as four- and six-wave mixing. When the laser is tuned over the range 747 to 753 nm, which is well away from all atomic transitions, we observe strong forward and weak backward emission at the potassium 3D _3/24P _1/2 transition wavelength (1.17 m). However, this latter emission is only observed in the mixed sodium-potassium vapor. We present data on the excitation spectrum, forward to backward asymmetry, temporal dependence, and the laser power dependence of this emission. We speculate that twophoton photodissociation of the NaK molecule is responsible for this emission.     

New parametric emissions in diatomic sodium molecules

By excitation of sodium vapor with an ultra-violet laser, tunable coherent emissions around 688 and 770 nm generated from diatomic sodium molecules have been observed for the first time. We demonstrate that the emission around 688 nm is due to an axially phase-matched four-wave-mixing process involving cascade emissions of 2.54 µm and 910 nm radiation from sodium dimers.     

Ultraviolet and soft X-ray photon-photon elastic scattering in an electron gas

We have considered the processes which lead to elastic scattering between two far ultraviolet or X-ray photons while they propagate inside a solid, modeled as a simple electron gas. The new ingredient, with respect to the standard theory of photon-photon scattering in vacuum, is the presence of low-energy, nonrelativistic electron-hole excitations. Owing to the existence of two-photon vertices, the scattering processes in the metal are predominantly of second order, as opposed to fourth order for the vacuum case. The main processes in second order are dominated by exchange of virtual plasmons between the two photons. For two photons of similar energy , this gives rise to a cross section rising like ² up to maximum of around 10^–32 cm², and then decreasing like ^–6. The maximal cross section is found for the photon wavevectorkk _F , the Fermi surface size, which typically means a photon energy in the keV range. Possible experiments aimed at checking the existence of these rare but seemingly measurable elastic photon-photon scattering processes are discussed, using in particular intense synchrotron sources.     

Universal Scaling Law for Atomic Diffusion and Viscosity in Liquid Metals

The recently proposed scaling law relating the diffusion coefficient and the excess entropy of liquid [Samanta A et al. 2004 Phys. Reu. Lett. 92 145901; Dzugutov M 1996 Nature 381 137], and a quasi-universal relationship between the transport coefficients and excess entropy of dense fluids [Rosenfeld Y 1977 Phys. Rev. A 15 2545],are tested for diverse liquid metals using molecular dynamics simulations. Interatomic potentials derived from the glue potential and second-moment approximation of tight-binding scheme are used to study liquid metals.Our simulation results give sound support to the above-mentioned universal scaling laws. Following Dzugutov,we have also reached a new universal scaling relationship between the viscosity coefficient and excess entropy.The simulation results suggest that the reduced transport coefficients can be expressed approximately in terms of the corresponding packing density.     

N2 laser frequency conversion by stimulated Raman scattering in H2

High-efficiency frequency conversion in H₂ of a nitrogen laser oscillator-amplifier system is described. The laser system provides about 1 MW output power with a very low intrinsic divergence. Up to 3 Stokes lines at 392, 468, and 581 nm and 3 Anti-Stokes at 296, 263, and 237 nm, respectively, have been observed at the output of the 60 cm long H₂ Raman cell. Peak power values of 500, 300, and 70 kW have been measured for the first 3 Stokes, respectively, corresponding to a 56% pump energy conversion efficiency.A comparison between free and guided propagation (in a hollow dielectric waveguide) is also reported, for various values of the pump intrinsic divergence.     

Nonlinear change in refractive index of Co2+:ZnSe at short-pulse single-beam 1.54-μm Z-scan probing

An experimental study and theoretical modeling of the nonlinear change in refractive index of a Co^{2 +}: ZnSe crystal at the short-pulse single-beam probing at the wavelength 1.54 μm is reported. In the experimental conditions of negligible contributions in the index non-linearity stemming from the Kerr-effect and inhomogeneous heating, the nonlinear change in refractive index in Co^{2 +}:ZnSe is shown to be caused by the resonant Co^{2 +} population-perturbation effect (i.e., by the Co^{2 +} ground-state absorption saturation). The Z-scan single-beam technique and novel theoretical approach addressing the resonant nonlinear refraction in a saturable doped medium are used, respectively, for an experimental and theoretical inspection of the phenomenon. For a set of Co^{2 +}:ZnSe samples with different concentrations of Co^{2 +} ions at the short-pulse (200 ns) mJ-range probing, we show that the maximal nonlinear change in refractive index is about of units of 10^{− 4} at the chosen wavelength.     

Transient oscillations in Soret-driven convection in a colloidal suspension

We present measurements of the transient stage of Soret-driven convective instability. The sample is a diluted colloidal suspension of silica spheres in water with an unusually large negative Soret coefficient S_T. A large temperature gradient (heating from above) is rapidly applied over the sample, while a shadowgraph imaging technique provides images of the convective flow. From the processing of the variance of the intensity of the images we are able to recover the time evolution of the overall intensity of the convective flow. A typical evolution of such signal exhibits, after a latency time, a peak followed by some damped oscillations leading to a steady-state value. Both the onset time _p (the temporal position of the first peak), and the oscillation period _osc show a power law dependence as a function of the solutal Rayleigh number R_s. The exponents found are compared with predictions from existing models.     

Nonstationary mass transfer under particle magnetophoresis in diluted ferrocolloids

Nonstationary mass transfer under nanoparticle magnetophoresis in diluted ferrocolloids is experimentally investigated. Measurements performed by using the real time holography technique indicate a difference between the concentration boundary layer parameters found in the experiment and those calculated by using the approximation of nonstationary magnetodiffusion of colloidal particles. We suppose that the final stationary concentration distribution in the boundary layer is caused by a magnetic convection. Approximative calculations of concentration magnetic convection give the mass transfer relaxation time close to the exprimentally determined one.Work is supported by the European Community, Grant ERB 3510PL92-5206     

Forced diffusion in magnetic fluids under the influence of a strong magnetic field gradient

We have investigated the forced diffusion of magnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier liquid under the influence of a magnetic field gradient. A cylindrical layer of the suspension was exposed to an azimuthal magnetic field with radial gradient. The radial distribution of the concentration of magnetic particles was determined for different times. The obtained experimental data are compared with a numerical solution of the diffusion equation and good agreement has been observed.     

Frequency dependence of third harmonic generation in polyacetylene

The frequency dependence of the third harmonic generation in trans-polyacetylene is quantitatively interpreted by considering the bands of finite chain and the damping of excitation. Our theory shows that there are two distinct peaks in the spectrum of the third harmonic generation. The first one around 0.6 eV comes from the three-photon resonant transition between the edges of the valence band and conduction band; the second one around 0.9 eV is produced by the two-photon interband transition. The excitation-dependent damping is essential to determine the position of the second peak. The theoretical results agree well with the experimental data.