Optical limiting of ultrashort pulses by carbon black suspension

This work reports on the performance of a carbon black suspension (CBS) working as an optical limiter at the sub-nanosecond regime. Although this material is known to be inefficient at this time scale, we show that its limiting action can be enhanced with a multipass configuration due to the accumulative effect that is provided when the laser beam is repeatedly focused inside the nonlinear medium. We also show that the focusing produced by the self-phase modulation of femtosecond pulses is deleterious to the accumulative process and the limiting is not as good as for picosecond pulses. PACS PACS 42.65.-k; 42.65.Sf; 78.40.Dw     

Biased bilayer graphene: semiconductor with a gap tunable by the electric field effect

We demonstrate that the electronic gap of a graphene bilayer can be controlled externally by applying a gate bias. From the magnetotransport data (Shubnikov-de Haas measurements of the cyclotron mass), and using a tight-binding model, we extract the value of the gap as a function of the electronic density. We show that the gap can be changed from zero to midinfrared energies by using fields of less, approximately < 1 V/nm, below the electric breakdown of SiO2. The opening of a gap is clearly seen in the quantum Hall regime.     

Standstill Electric Charge Generates Magnetostatic Field under Born-Infeld Electrodynamics

The Abelian Born-Infeld classical non-linear Electrodynamic has been used to investigate the electric and magnetostatic fields generated by a point-like electric charge at rest in an inertial frame. The results show a rich internal structure for the charge. Analytical solutions have also been found. Such fields configurations have been interpreted in terms of vacuum polarization and magnetic-like charges produced by the very high strengths of the electric field considered. Apparently non-linearity is responsible for the emergence of an anomalous magnetostatic field suggesting a possible connection to that created by a magnetic dipole composed of two magnetic charges with opposite signs. Consistently in situations where the Born-Infeld field strength parameter is free to become infinite, Maxwell’s regime takes over, the magnetic sector vanishes and the electric field assumes a Coulomb behavior with no trace of a magnetic component. The connection to other monopole solutions, like Dirac’s and ’tHooft’s Poliakov’s types are also discussed. Finally, some speculative remarks are presented in an attempt to explain such fields.     

Electro-oxidation of ethanol using PtSnRh/C electrocatalysts prepared by an alcohol-reduction process

PtRh/C (90:10), PtRh/C (50:50), PtSn/C (50:50), and PtSnRh/C (50:40:10) electrocatalysts were prepared by an alcohol-reduction process using ethylene glycol as solvent and reduction agent and Vulcan Carbon XC72 as supports. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry chronoamperometry at room temperature and on a single cell of a direct ethanol fuel cell at 100 °C. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry experiments showed that PtSnRh/C and PtSn/C electrocatalysts have similar performance for ethanol oxidation at room temperature, while the activity of PtRh/C electrocatalysts was very low. At 100 °C on a single cell, PtSnRh/C showed superior performance compared to PtSn/C and PtRh/C electrocatalysts.     

Evidence of shear-dependent boundary slip in newtonian liquids

The European Physical Journal E - The flow of Newtonian fluids was studied by directly measuring the hydrodynamic drainage force acting on a sphere approaching a flat surface. Our force...     

Experimental evidence for a light and broad scalar resonance in D(+) --> pi(-)pi(+)pi(+) decay

From a sample of 1172 +/- 61 D(+)-->pi(-)pi(+)pi(+) decays, we find gamma(D(+)-->pi(-)pi(+)pi(+))/gamma(D(+)-->K-pi(+)pi(+)) = 0.0311 +/- 0.0018(+0.0016)(-0.0026). Using a coherent amplitude analysis to fit the Dalitz plot of these decays, we find strong evidence that a scalar resonance of mass 478(+24)(-23) +/- 17 MeV/c(2) and width 324(+42)(-40) +/- 21 MeV/c(2) accounts for approximately half of all decays.     

Temperature dependence of the director reorientation of dye-doped nematic liquid crystals subjected to an optical field and its relation with the non-linear absorption coefficient

The temperature behaviour of the torque amplification factor η in the E48-D4 dye-host/liquid crystal-guest dyed system illuminated by a laser beam has been investigated using a single beam Z-Scan experimental technique. A plot of η versus temperature showed a monotonic aspect, different from other anthraquinone dyed liquid crystals. This behaviour, in our case, is consistent with the monotonic dependence on temperature of the linear α_o and non-linear β optical absorption coefficients. In particular, the non-linear optical absorption coefficient related to the reorienting process is negative and of the order of-0.25 mm W^-1. The temperature dependence of η seems to be directly correlated to β and not to α_o. Since drastic conformational modifications on dye molecules are not expected on passing from the ground to the excited state, the role of the electronic structure seems to be dominant in the reorienting process in dyed nematics.     

The role of nanocellulose fibers, starch and chitosan on multipolysaccharide based films

Thin nanocomposite films of thermoplastic starch, chitosan and cellulose nanofibers (bacterial cellulose or nanofibrillated cellulose) were prepared for the first time by solvent casting of water based suspensions of the three polysaccharides. The role of the different bioploymers on the final properties (thermal stability, transparency, mechanical performance and antimicrobial activity) of the films was related with their intrinsic features, contents and synergic effects resulting from the establishment of interactions between them. Thermoplastic starch displays an important role on the thermal stability of the films because it is the most stable polysaccharide; however it has a negative impact on the mechanical performance and transparency of the films. The addition of chitosan improves considerably the transparency (up to 50 % transmittance for 50 % of chitosan, in respect to the amount of starch), mechanical performance and antimicrobial properties (at least 25 % of chitosan and no more than 10 % of cellulose nanofibers are required to observe bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity) but decrease their thermal stability. The incorporation of cellulose nanofibers had the strongest positive impact on the mechanical properties of the materials (increments of up to 15 and 30 MPa on the Young′s modulus and Tensile strength, respectively, for films with 20 % of BC or NFC). Nonetheless, the impact in thermal stability and mechanical performance of the films, promoted by the addition of chitosan and cellulose nanofibres, respectively, was higher than the expected considering their percentage contents certainly because of the establishment of strong and complex interactions between the three polysaccharides.     

A Landau‐Lifshitz‐Gilbert‐Type equation and torsion effects on the dynamics of magnetization

Based on the non‐relativistic regime of electrons described by a Dirac equation coupled to a torsion pseudo‐vector, we study the dynamics of magnetization and how it may be affected by the presence of this (background) torsion field. The latter describes some anisotropy of the bulk and it may be accounted for in two ways: by means of a minimal coupling in a covariant derivative endowed with spin connection and a gauge magnetic field; in addition, through a non‐minimal interaction term with the spin density. We show, within this framework, that it is possible to attain a version of the Landau‐Lifshitz equation in presence of the torsion background where its effects are included, re‐enforcing that torsion corresponds to a geometric anisotropy with relevant unfolds on the spin coupling mechanism. We also conclude that the torsion terms can open up two important landscapes in the magnetization dynamics: one of them, related with a damping effect; the other, related with the screw dislocation that gives us a global effect like a sharped‐helix damping. The whole effort here is then to pursue an investigation of torsion in connection with the precession dynamics of the magnetization.