Luminescence investigation of the surface states of η-alumina. Correlation with the infra-red study of the evolution of the surface hydroxyl groups

The two techniques of luminescence and of infra-red spectrophotometry have been used in an attempt to characterize surface states of η-alumina. Infra-red absorption bands of hydroxyl groups of different coordinations are observed, in agreement with previous results, and evolution of hydroxyl groups according to different treatments allows a luminescence at about 440–450 nm excited at 350–360 nm to be ascribed to these groups. Luminescence with an apparent maximum of 390 nm excited at 250 nm is attributed to internal vacancies, and luminescence with a maximum at 480–500 nm excited at 270–280 nm is attributed to surface vacancies.     

Water waves as a spatial dynamical system; infinite depth case

We review the mathematical results on traveling waves in one or several superposed layers of potential flow, subject to gravity, with or without surface and interfacial tension, where the bottom layer is infinitely deep. The problem is formulated as a "spatial dynamical system," and it is shown that the linearized operator of the resulting reversible system has an essential spectrum filling the real line. We consider three cases where bifurcation occurs. (i) The first case is when, in moving a parameter, two pairs of imaginary eigenvalues merge into one pair of double eigenvalues, and then split into four symmetric complex conjugate eigenvalues. (ii) The second case is when one pair of imaginary eigenvalues meet in 0, and disappear; (iii) the third case is when the phenomenon described in (ii) is superposed to the presence of another pair of imaginary eigenvalues sitting at finite distance from 0. We give a physical example for each case and more specially study the solitary waves and generalized solitary waves, emphasizing the differences, in the methods and in the results, between these cases and the finite depth case.     

High-resolution gamma-ray radiography produced by a laser-plasma driven electron source

An electron beam from a laser-plasma accelerator is converted into a gamma-ray source using bremsstrahlung radiation in a dense material. The gamma-ray beam has a pointlike source size because it is generated by a high quality electron beam with a small source size and a low divergence. Using this gamma-ray source, the radiography of complex and dense objects with submillimeter resolution is performed. It is the first evidence of a gamma-ray source size of a few hundreds micrometers produced with laser-driven accelerators. This size is consistent with results from Monte Carlo simulations.     

On the Maximal Scarring for Quantum Cat Map Eigenstates

We consider the quantized hyperbolic automorphisms on the 2-dimensional torus (or generalized quantum cat maps), and study the localization properties of their eigenstates in phase space, in the semiclassical limit. We prove that if the semiclassical measure corresponding to a sequence of normalized eigenstates has a pure point component (phenomenon of strong scarring), then the weight of this component cannot be larger than the weight of the Lebesgue component, and therefore admits the sharp upper bound 1/2.     

PtCl2-catalyzed cycloisomerizations of 5-en-1-yn-3-ol systems

5-En-1-yn-3-ol substrates bearing a free hydroxyl group or an acyl group are highly versatile partners for PtCl2-catalyzed cycloisomerizations. Electrophilic activation of the alkyne moiety triggers at wish a hydride or an O-acyl migration yielding at the end to regioisomeric keto derivatives. The efficient preparation of Sabina ketone, an important monoterpene precursor, has been worked out.     

Sectional bodies associated with a convex body

We define the sectional bodies associated to a convex body in and two related measures of symmetry. These definitions extend those of Grünbaum (1963). As Grünbaum conjectured, we prove that the simplices are the most dissymmetrical convex bodies with respect to these measures. In the case when the convex body has a sufficiently smooth boundary, we investigate some limit behaviours of the volume of the sectional bodies.

     

Femtosecond Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Detection of Trace Elements in Sophora Leaves

Sophora leaves from several areas in Beijing are analysed by femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （femto-LIBS）. Although the used spectral detection system is not time-resolved, the spectral lines of trace mineral elements are detected and analysed. It is proven that the femto-LIBS can be an efficient method to detect mineral trace elements contained in tree leaves which is a biomonitor for atmospheric pollution assessment or botanic studies. An interesting case of correlation between trace elements detected in tree leaves and the pollution of the concerned area is presented, for the first time to our knowledge.     

Thermo-cleavable polymers: Materials with enhanced photochemical stability

Photochemical stability of three thermo-cleavable polymers was investigated as thin films under atmospheric conditions. A significant increase in lifetime was observed once the side-chain was cleaved emphasizing the detrimental effect of solubilizing groups on the photochemical stability of conjugated polymers. In addition to their ease of processing, thermo-cleavable polymers thus also offer a greater intrinsic stability under illumination.