Dynamics and spectra of excited states of water-micellar suspensions of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The dynamics of the photoinduced differential absorption and excited-state bleaching spectra of single-walled carbon nanotubes suspended in a micellar solution were studied in the spectral range from 40 to 1000 nm within a time interval from 70 fs to 150 ps under excitation by 50-fs pulses with photon energies 2 and 4 eV. The bleaching and absorption bands were observed in the spectra; the positions of the bleaching peaks were independent of the photon energy of the exciting femtosecond pulse in the range 2–4 eV. It was established that, for delay times shorter than 1 ps, the shape of the differential spectrum of excited nanotubes coincided with the shape of the second derivative of the absorption spectrum of unexcited nanotubes in the frequency range of exciting pulse above 18000 cm^?1 (the range of absorption bands of metallic nanotubes). In the frequency range below 16000 cm^?1 (the range of absorption peaks of semiconducting nanotubes), the bleaching peaks in the differential spectrum of excited nanotubes undergo a high-frequency shift of 200–300 cm^?1 with respect to the second-derivative spectrum of unexcited nanotubes. The excited-state relaxation rate constants were measured. They are well approximated by the exponential dependences and depend on the probe-pulse wavelength. An assumption was made about the nature of the observed spectra of excited nanotubes and about the excitation relaxation.     

Effect of the structure of smooth copper surfaces on the accuracy of determination of the optical constants of copper

The accuracy of determination of the optical constants of smooth copper surfaces produced by different technologies is analyzed, with particular attention paid to the consideration of the influence of scattered radiation (which is ignored by many authors) on the retrieval of the optical constants of copper surfaces from reflected radiation. The neglect of scattered radiation can lead to errors as high as 50% in determining the optical constants for bulk copper. For thin films, the errors are much lower. The influence of surface oxidation during measurements in air and surface features of studied objects on the parameters to be determined is analyzed as well. It is shown that errors in determination of the constants are maximal in the plasma resonance region of copper.

     

Selective photorefractive scattering in LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Rh crystals

Photorefractive scattering occurs in rhodium-doped lithium niobate crystals irradiated by coherent light. The photorefractive scattering has both wide-angle and selective components. The results of experimental investigation of selective photorefractive scattering in LiNbO₃:Rh crystals and calculation of the spatial structure of scattering are reported. The selective scattering is regarded as a kind of a frequency-degenerate fourwave vector interaction.     

Synthesis of broadband interference filters: II. Suppression of high reflection bands of the fourth,fifth, and sixth orders

The spectral properties of multilayer interference systems formed by multiple replication of the symmetric ternary period ABCBA are investigated. The problem of synthesis of structures with suppression of adjacent bands of high reflection of the fourth, fifth, and sixth orders among their spectral characteristics is solved. It is shown that there are only six variants of selection of the optical thicknesses of layers in a period. When the high reflection bands of the fourth, fifth, and sixth orders are suppressed, the high reflection band of the first order remains in only four cases. The values of refractive indices of layers for which the problem hasa solution are found. The refractive indices of layers in all six cases are described by different relations determining the dependence of the refractive index of one of the components on arbitrarily selected refractive indices of the other two components.     

Dielectric investigations of associate formation process in thin nitrobenzene interlayers formed between metal substrates

Studies of thickness and temperature dependencies of the dielectric susceptibility of nitrobenzene interlayers formed on conductive substrates were carried out. The obtained data were processed under the assumption of the existence of dimers (with opposite directions of molecular dipole moments) in orientationally ordered wall-adjacent layers. The results were treated on the basis of Lifshits theory.     

Puzzles in astrophysics in the past and present

About 400 years have passed since the great discoveries by Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, but astronomy still remains an important source of discoveries in physics. They start with puzzles, with phenomena difficult to explain, and phenomena which in fact need new physics for explanation. Do such puzzles exist now? There are at least three candidates: absence of absorption of TeV gamma radiation in extragalactic space (violation of Lorentz invariance?), absence of GZK cutoff in the spectrum of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (new particle physics?), tremendous energy (up to 10⁵⁴ erg) released in gamma ray bursts on a time scale of a second (collapsing stars or sources of a new type?). Do these puzzles really exist? A critical review of these phenomena is given.