The Role of a Specific Response of Media in the Vavilov-Cherenkov Effect

It is shown that the condition υ > υ_p (ω), which is necessary in order to trigger the Vavilov-Cherenkov effect, determines the interval of radiated frequencies and it alone cannot establish a strong restriction to the velocity of the particle. It is exhibited that it is possible to define a general lower bound for the velocity of the particle, which does not depend on the frequency when both, a specific response of the medium is taken into account and the mentioned condition is considered. The minimum value of the phase velocity of light in the medium determines the existence of such general lower bound.     

Normsets and determination of unique factorization in rings of algebraic integers

The image of the norm map from to (two rings of algebraic integers) is a multiplicative monoid . We present conditions under which is a UFD if and only if has unique factorization into irreducible elements. From this we derive a bound for checking if is a UFD.

     

The perturbative proton form factor reexamined

We recalculate the proton Dirac form factor based on the perturbative QCD factorization theorem, which includes Sudakov suppression. The evolution scale of the proton wave functions and the infrared cutoffs for the Sudakov re-summation are carefully chosen such that the soft divergences from large coupling constants are diminished and perturbative QCD predictions are stabilized. We find that the King–Sachrajda model for the proton wave function leads to results which are in better agreement with experimental data than those from the Chernyak–Zhitnitsky wave function. Received: 27 November 1998 / Published online: 7 April 1999     

Transport properties of Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 heterojunctions

Current–voltage (J–V) characteristics of epitaxial hetero-junctions composed of Pr_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ and Nb:SrTiO₃ were studied under forward and reversed bias conditions. Detailed analysis showed that the J–V characteristics of these heterojunctions can be well-fitted by the thermally-assisted tunnelling model. While the dielectric constant of Nb:SrTiO₃ extracted under the forward bias was about one order of magnitude smaller than that of bulk SrTiO₃, the value obtained under reverse bias was very close to that of the bulk SrTiO₃. The result can be explained by the existence of an interface layer on the Nb:SrTiO₃ substrate with a smaller effective dielectric constant. The current finding suggested that the properties of interface layer should be taken into account in order to accurately simulate the J–V characteristics of such heterojunctions.     

Reactive resonance in a polyatomic reaction

In the course of an extensive investigation aimed at understanding the detailed mechanisms of a prototypical polyatomic reaction, several remarkable observations were uncovered. To interpret these findings, we surmise the existence of a reactive resonance in this polyatomic reaction. The reaction of concern is F+CH4-->HF+CH3, and the abnormal attributes were revealed only near the reaction threshold. The discovery of reactive resonance in a polyatomic reaction is more than just an extension from a typical atom+diatom reaction. As shown here, it holds great promise to disentangle the elusive intramolecular vibrational dynamics of transient collision complex in the critical transition-state region.     

Analysis of the Abraham-Minkowski Controversy by Means of Two Simple Examples

Using a very simple example, H. M. Lai [1] argued in favor of Abraham's proposal for defining electromagnetic field momentum density. Later, using another simple device, Johnson et al. [2] argued in favor of Minkowski's proposal. This indicates that the Abraham-Minkowski controversy remains open. Both models consider nonmagnetic media ( = 1). In this work we analyze both models pointing out some weak points and extend the analysis to magnetic media ( 1). We show that in this case Minkowski's proposal is better than Abraham's. Our analysis throws some light on this very old controversy.     

Surface chemistry of alkyl and perfluoro ethers: a FTIR and ab initio study of adsorption and decomposition of CF3OCF3 on an Al2O3 surface

The adsorption and thermal decomposition of perfluorodimethyl ether, (CF₃)₂O, on a high-surface-area Al₂O₃ surface was investigated by FTIR under both vacuum and pressure conditions. IR spectra in the 4000-1050 cm⁻¹ range were collected and the spectral assignments were assisted by quantum chemical ab initio calculations. The spectral evidence indicated that (CF₃)₂O decomposed to form adsorbed fluoroformate, FCOO (ads). Increases of temperature (up to 525 K) caused the FCOO (ads) to convert to hydrogen formate, HCOO (ads). Surface hydroxyl groups participated in the decomposition of (CF₃)₂O and the conversion of FCOO (ads) to HCOO (ads). A decomposition mechanism is proposed.     

Optimisation of sensor positions in random linear arrays based on statistical relations between geometry and performance

Due to the widespread use of acoustic arrays, optimisation techniques for array design, focused on improving array performance, have been widely published. This paper exploits the statistical relation between different measures of sidelobe levels and the spacing of elements in random linear arrays made up of a small number of sensors. This paper defines the methodology to obtain maximum probability functions, associating array geometry and performance. These maximum probability functions allow a pre-selection of those array geometries that are more likely to be associated to specified sidelobe level values. This pre-selection results in a significantly reduced computational burden.     

Elastic instability of the nano-structured state as an intrinsic probe to study the early formation stages of sol–gel derived (Pb<Subscript>1-x</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>x</Subscript>)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

A novel method to investigate the early formation stages of polycrystalline (Pb_1-xCa_x)TiO₃ (PCT) perovskite films by means of traditional Brillouin and micro-Brillouin spectroscopy (BS, mBS) is described in the present work. The films were prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD) onto oxidized (100)Si substrates and treated at temperatures between 350–650 °C by rapid thermal processing (RTP). The elastic instability observed by Brillouin spectroscopy at the nano-structured state of the PCT films was used here to determine their crystallization temperatures. Coexistence of different nanocrystalline phases (e.g., pyrochlore, perovskite) in the films could also be detected by this technique. The reliability of these results is demonstrated by complementary information obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning force microscopy (SFM). The effects of the annealing temperature and of the Ca²⁺ content on the crystallization process of these films are also discussed. PACS 78.35.+c; 77.84.-s; 61.82.Rx     

Optical cavity coupled surface plasmon resonance sensing for enhanced sensitivity

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing system based on the optical cavity enhanced detection tech-nique is experimentally demonstrated. A fiber-optic laser cavity is built with a SPR sensor inside. By measuring the laser output power when the cavity is biased near the threshold point, the sensitivity, defined as the dependence of the output optical intensity on the sample variations, can be increased by about one order of magnitude compared to that of the SPR sensor alone under the intensity interrogation scheme. This could facilitate ultra-high sensitivity SPR biosensing applications. Further system miniaturization is possible by using integrated optical components and waveguide SPR sensors.