Passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 oscillator operating at an ultralow repetition rate

We demonstrate the operation of an ultralow-repetition-rate, high-peak-power, picosecond diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 passively mode-locked laser oscillator. Repetition rates lower than 1 MHz were achieved with the use of a new design for a multiple-pass cavity and a semiconductor saturable absorber. Long-term stable operation at 1.2 MHz with a pulse duration of 16.3 ps and an average output power of 470 mW, corresponding to 24-kW peak-power pulses, is reported. These are to our knowledge the lowest-repetition-rate high-peak-power pulses ever generated directly from apicosecond laser resonator without cavity dumping.     

Coherence scale of the kondo lattice

It is shown that the large- N approach yields two energy scales for the Kondo lattice model. The single-impurity Kondo temperature, T(K), signals the onset of local singlet formation, while Fermi-liquid coherence sets in only below a lower scale, T small star, filled. At low conduction electron density n(c) ("exhaustion" limit), the ratio T small star, filled/T(K) is much smaller than unity, and is shown to depend only on n(c) and not on the Kondo coupling. The physical meaning of these two scales is demonstrated by computing several quantities as a function of n(c) and temperature.     

Mean field theory of a quantum heisenberg spin glass

A full mean-field solution of a quantum Heisenberg spin-glass model is presented in a large- N limit. A spin-glass transition is found for all values of the spin S. The quantum critical regime associated with the quantum transition at S = 0 and the various regimes in the spin-glass phase at high spin are analyzed. The specific heat is shown to vanish linearly with temperature. In the spin-glass phase, intriguing connections between the equilibrium properties of the quantum problem and the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of classical models are pointed out.     

On Two Theorems about Symplectic Reflection Algebras

We give a new proof and an improvement of two Theorems of J. Alev, M.A. Farinati, T. Lambre and A.L. Solotar [1] : the first one about Hochschild cohomology spaces of some twisted bimodules of the Weyl Algebra W, and the second one about Hochschild cohomology spaces of the smash product G * W (G a finite subgroup of SP (2n)) and, as a consequence, we then give a new proof of a Theorem of P. Etingof and V. Ginzburg (Invent Math 147:243–348, 2002), which shows that the Symplectic Reflection Algebras are deformations of G * W (and, in fact, all possible ones). Dedicated to my friend J.-C. Cortet.     

Influence of camphorsulfonic acid in nitroxide‐mediated styrene miniemulsion polymerization

The rate‐accelerating effects of camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) on nitroxide‐mediated styrene miniemulsion polymerization were studied. Polymerizations were initiated with benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as an initiator and mediated with either 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (TEMPO) or 4‐hydroxy‐2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (OH‐TEMPO). Although CSA has been used to accelerate the rate in bulk nitroxide‐mediated polymerizations, it has not been well studied in emulsion/miniemulsion. With dispersed systems, the effectiveness of CSA is likely to be affected by partitioning between the aqueous and organic phases. In styrene miniemulsion experiments performed over a range of conditions, the effect of adding CSA varied from negligible to significantly increasing the final conversion and molecular weight, depending on the nitroxide:BPO ratio. At a ratio of nitroxide:BPO = 1.7, the effect of CSA addition is small, whereas the final conversion and molecular weight are dramatically enhanced by CSA addition when the nitroxide:BPO ratio is 3.6. CSA is most effective in enhancing the rate and molecular weight when the initial free‐nitroxide concentration is higher. The magnitude of the rate and molecular weight enhancement was similar for TEMPO and OH‐TEMPO despite their differences in water solubility. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2828–2841, 2002     

Modélisation de structures électromagnétiques périodiques – matériaux bianisotropes avec mémoire

In this Note we propose a rigorous justification of the limit constitutive law of a periodic bi-anisotropic electromagnetic structure with memory. This study is based on the periodic unfolding method, introduced by D. Cioranescu, A. Damlamian and G. Griso, and is applied on the time domain and on the frequency domain. To cite this article: A. Bossavit et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 338 (2004).     

Influence of the degree of coverage of C18-bonded stationary phases on the mass transfer mechanism and its kinetics

The influence of the degree of coverage of a silica surface with bonded C18 alkyl chains on the mass transfer mechanism in RPLC was investigated. Five packing materials were used, prepared with the same batch of silica particles (5 microm diameter, 90 A average pore size): one column was packed with the silica derivatized by trimethylchlorosilane (TMS) (C1, 3.92 micromol/m2), and the other four with the silica first derivatized with octadecyl-dimethyl-chlorosilane (C18, 0.42, 1.01, 2.03, and 3.15 micromol/m2), and then endcapped with TMS. A solution of methanol and water (25/75, v/v) was used as the mobile phase. The experimental HETP curves were acquired for each column by measuring the first moment and the second central moment of phenol and correcting them for the influence of the temperature increase due to the heat generated by the friction of the stream against the bed. The different kinetic parameters of the mass transfer in these packed chromatographic columns were identified (longitudinal diffusion, eddy diffusion, film mass transfer, and transparticle mass transfer) and quantified by fitting the experimental data to a new general HETP equation recently derived [F. Gritti, G. Guiochon, Anal. Chem., in press (AC-060203R).]. The agreement was excellent and allowed the comparison of the kinetic parameters among the six columns used. The highest column efficiency measured at conventional or fast flow rates (>0.5 ml/min) is obtained for the most retentive column, which has a surface coverage of 2.03 micromol/m2. The smallest HETP measured is as low as 10 microm, only twice the average particle diameter dp, due to the large contribution of surface diffusion (90%) to the particle effective diffusivity. However, no significant difference was observed between the efficiencies of the columns packed with C1 and C18 derivatized silica.     

Characterization and kinetic performance of 2.1 × 100 mm production columns packed with new 1.6 μm superficially porous particles

The overall kinetic performance of three production columns (2.1 mm × 100 mm format) packed with 1.6 μm superficially porous CORTECS‐C₁₈+ particles was assessed on a low‐dispersive I‐class ACQUITY instrument. The values of their minimum intrinsic reduced plate heights (h_min = 1.42, 1.57, and 1.75) were measured at room temperature (295 K) for a small molecule (naphthalene) with an acetonitrile/water eluent mixture (75:25, v/v). These narrow‐bore columns provide an average intrinsic efficiency of 395 000 plates per meter. The gradient separation of 14 small molecules shows that these columns have a peak capacity about 25% larger than similar ones packed with fully porous BEH‐C₁₈ particles (1.7 μm) or shorter (50 mm) columns packed with smaller core–shell particles (1.3 μm) operated under very high pressure (>1000 bar) for steep gradient elution (analysis time 80 s). In contrast, because their permeabilities are lower than those of columns packed with larger core–shell particles, their peak capacities are 25% smaller than those of narrow‐bore columns packed with standard 2.7 μm core–shell particles.     

Liquid-junction potential effects in measurements of sodium ion activity in unbuffered aqueous solutions

Measurements of pNa with the glass-membrane ion-selective electrode in unbuffered aqueous solutions require care in the constitution of the measuring cell, because of varialbe liquid-junction potentials at the salt bridge. Of the bridge electrolytes tested, with calomel or silver/silver chloride reference electrodes, 3 M ammonium chloride in agar-agar gel was most satisfactory. Calibration graphs were of almost theoretical slope in the range 10^?3?5 × 10^?1 M sodium ion.