Uniqueness of the inversive plane of order 7

A search has shown that any inversive plane of order 7 must be isomorphic with the Miquelian plane. The method used was explicitly set out in a companion paper, which was concerned with a plane of order 5.     

Quantitative aspects of internal reflection spectroscopy: Polymer surface composition measurement

The use of band-ratioing techniques in internal reflection spectroscopy (IRS) for a wide variety of polymer surface composition and orientation measurements is discussed. It is shown that quantitative data can be obtained under a wide range of experimental conditions. The effects of variations in sample contact, internal reflection element, and angle of incidence are considered in detail. The applicability and limitations of calibration procedures for the determination of surface composition under various experimental conditions are considered. The requirements for obtaining quantitative results by IRS are shown to be far more lenient than is typically assumed.     

Efficient laser action of Yb:LSO and Yb:YSO oxyorthosilicates crystals under high-power diode-pumping

We report here on the efficient laser action of a new Yb-doped crystal Yb³⁺:Lu₂SiO₅ (Yb:LSO) under high power diode-pumping (15 W). Its performances were compared to another Yb-doped crystal belonging to the oxyorthosilicate family: the Yb:YSO. For both crystals, more than 7 W of laser radiation around 1 m was obtained under 14.4 W of incident pump power at 978 nm, leading to high optical conversions of more than 50%. Finally, both crystals demonstrate little sensitivity to pump wavelength drift and exhibit broad tunability at a multiwatt level (more than 4 W over 50 nm and 60 nm, respectively for Yb:LSO and Yb:YSO). PACS 42.55.Xi; 42.60.Pk; 42.70.Hj     

Acoustic radiation from a fluid-filled, subsurface vascular tube with internal turbulent flow due to a constriction

The vibration of a thin-walled cylindrical, compliant viscoelastic tube with internal turbulent flow due to an axisymmetric constriction is studied theoretically and experimentally. Vibration of the tube is considered with internal fluid coupling only, and with coupling to internal-flowing fluid and external stagnant fluid or external tissue-like viscoelastic material. The theoretical analysis includes the adaptation of a model for turbulence in the internal fluid and its vibratory excitation of and interaction with the tube wall and surrounding viscoelastic medium. Analytical predictions are compared with experimental measurements conducted on a flow model system using laser Doppler vibrometry to measure tube vibration and the vibration of the surrounding viscoelastic medium. Fluid pressure within the tube was measured with miniature hydrophones. Discrepancies between theory and experiment, as well as the coupled nature of the fluid-structure interaction, are described. This study is relevant to and may lead to further insight into the patency and mechanisms of vascular failure, as well as diagnostic techniques utilizing noninvasive acoustic measurements.     

All-optical switching in silicon photonic crystal waveguides by use of the plasma dispersion effect

Silicon photonic crystals offer new ways of controlling the propagation of light as well as new tools for the realization of high-density optical integration on monolithic substrates. However, silicon does not possess the strong nonlinearities that are commonly used in the dynamic control of optical devices. Such dynamic control is nevertheless essential if silicon is to provide the higher levels of functionality that are required for optical integration. We demonstrate that the combination of the refractive index change caused by the presence of photoexcited carriers, or so-called plasma dispersion, and photonic crystal properties such as photonic bandgaps, constitutes a powerful tool for active control of light in silicon integrated devices. We show close to 100% modulation depth near the photonic crystal band edge.     

Shear viscosity of langmuir monolayers in the low-density limit

We have measured the shear viscosity in the liquid phase of several Langmuir monolayers with an accuracy better than 30%. The method is based on the optical monitoring of the Brownian diffusion of submicron latex spheres floating at the air-water interface. The values are between 1 and 11x10(-10) N s m(-1), which is 10 to 100 times lower than previous data on similar systems. For N-palmitoyl-6-n-penicillanic acid and L-alpha-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, the variation of the shear viscosity with surface density agrees with a classical free area model, whereas for pentadecanoic acid we observe a compensation effect.