FIR Laser Lines from CH3OD: A Review

The methanol isotopic species CH₃OD has also proved to be an efficient and powerful medium to generate radiation in the far infrared (FIR) region. After the critical review of 1994, six papers have been published dealing with new FIR laser lines from this molecule. As a consequence of the use of wide tunability waveguide CO₂ lasers as well as a new pulsed CO₂ laser operating at hot and sequential bands, as of optical pumping sources, the total number of the FIR laser lines increased from 122 in 1994 to 227 today. In this communication we present an updated and complete catalogue of FIR laser lines generated from CH₃OD. Information on wavelength, offset, relative polarization, intensity, and optimum operation pressure is generally available.     

A Markovian model market—Akerlof’s lemons and the asymmetry of information

In this work we study an agent based model to investigate the role of asymmetric information degrees for market evolution. This model is quite simple and may be treated analytically since the consumers evaluate the quality of a certain good taking into account only the quality of the last good purchased plus her perceptive capacity β. As a consequence, the system evolves according to a stationary Markov chain. The value of a good offered by the firms increases along with quality according to an exponent α, which is a measure of the technology. It incorporates all the technological capacity of the production systems such as education, scientific development and techniques that change the productivity rates. The technological level plays an important role to explain how the asymmetry of information may affect the market evolution in this model. We observe that, for high technological levels, the market can detect adverse selection. The model allows us to compute the maximum asymmetric information degree before the market collapses. Below this critical point the market evolves during a limited period of time and then dies out completely. When β is closer to 1 (symmetric information), the market becomes more profitable for high quality goods, although high and low quality markets coexist. The maximum asymmetric information level is a consequence of an ergodicity breakdown in the process of quality evaluation.     

The structure of the kinetoplast DNA network of Crithidia fasciculata revealed by atomic force microscopy

DNA is the biopolymer most studied by scanning probe methods, and it is now possible to obtain reliable and reproducible images of DNA using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM has been extensively used to elucidate morphological changes to DNA structure, such as the formation of knots, nicks, supercoiling and bends. The mitochondrial or kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) of trypanosomatids is the most unusual DNA found in nature, being unique in organization and replication. The kDNA is composed of thousands of topologically interlocked DNA circles that form a giant network. To understand the biological significance of the kinetoplast DNA, it is necessary to learn more about its structure. In the present work, we used two procedures to prepare kDNA networks of Crithidia fasciculata for observation by AFM. Because AFM allows for the examination of kDNA at high resolution, we were able to identify regions of overlapping kDNA molecules and sites where several molecules cross. This found support the earlier described kDNA structural organization as composed by interlocked circles. We also observed an intricate high-density height pattern around the periphery of the network of C. fasciculata, which appears to be a bundle of DNA fibers that organizes the border of the network. Our present data confirm that AFM is a powerful tool to study the structural organization of biological samples, including complex arrays of DNA such as kDNA, and can be useful in revealing new details of structures previously visualized by other means.     

Study of hyperfine interactions in pure and Co-doped CeO2 nanoparticles by PAC spectroscopy using 111Cd

In this work we have used the Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) technique to measure the hyperfine interactions in pure nanostructured (crystallite size around 70 nm) as well as doped with 3d transition metal Co (3 at. %) CeO₂ samples. The PAC measurements were performed at different temperatures between 23 and 527°C. The results did not reveal any evidence of hyperfine magnetic interactions. Spectra obtained presented three major frequencies related to substitutional sites in CeO₂, grain boundary sites and intrinsic defect related sites.     

Synchronization time in a hyperbolic dynamical system with long-range interactions

We show that the threshold of complete synchronization in a lattice of coupled non-smooth chaotic maps is determined by linear stability along the directions transversal to the synchronization subspace. We examine carefully the synchronization time and show that an inadequate observation of the system evolution leads to wrong results. We present both careful numerical experiments and a rigorous mathematical explanation confirming this fact, allowing for a generalization involving hyperbolic coupled map lattices.     

Localized magnetic excitations of coupled impurities in a Heisenberg ferromagnet: Optical defect modes

A Green's function method is used to obtain the spectrum of excitations of two neighboring impurities in a semi-infinite ferromagnet. The equations of motion for Green's functions are determined in the framework of the Heisenberg model. The energies of non-resonant localized modes are calculated as a function of the interaction parameters for the exchange coupling between impurity-spin pairs, host-spin pairs, and impurity-host neighbors, as well as the effective field parameter at the impurity sites. With two impurities the system is less symmetric and has more localized modes when compared with a single impurity case.     

Assessment of acoustic pressure holograms from membrane velocity measurements

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate experimentally the possibility of acquiring acoustic pressure holograms using a light membrane and a scanning laser vibrometer. The velocity of a light membrane placed in an acoustic field can be measured without contact by means of a laser vibrometer. The ideal membrane must be optically reflective, acoustically transparent (having as little mass as possible), impermeable, and mounted without tension. The measured velocity is equal for continuity reasons to the normal acoustic velocity, but differs from the acoustic velocity without the membrane because the membrane is never completely transparent to acoustic waves. The effect of the mass of the membrane can be taken into account to correct this difference. Then, acoustic pressure holograms can be deduced from velocity holograms using the 2D Discrete Fourier Transform. An experimental validation is carried out; acoustic pressures derived from laser measurements are compared with microphone measurements, with a very satisfying match over a wide frequency range.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Compressible Subsonic Turbulent Jet Starting From a Smooth Contraction Nozzle

Compressible subsonic turbulent starting jet with a relatively large Reynolds number of significant practical importance is investigated using large eddy simulation (LES), starting from a smooth contraction nozzle. The computational domain of truncated conical shape is determined through the comparison of the time-averaged numerical solution with the particle imaging velocimetry measurements for the steady jet. It is shown that the starting jet consists of a leading vortex ring followed by a quasi-steady jet, and the instantaneous velocity field exhibits contraction and expansion zones, corresponding to the high pressure (HP) and low pressure (LP) regions formed by the convecting vortex rings, and are related to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The thin boundary layer inside the smooth contraction nozzle evolves into a shear layer at the nozzle exit and develops with the downstream penetration of the jet. Using λ ₂ criterion, the formation and evolution of the vortical structures are temporally visualized, illustrating distortion of vortex rings into lobed shapes prior to break-down. Rib-shape streamwise vortex filaments exist in the braid region between a pair of consecutive vortex rings due to secondary instabilities. Finally, formation and dynamics of hairpin vortices in the shear layer is identified.