Transient absorption and laser output of YAG : Nd

YAG : Nd grown under 98% Ar 2% H₂ protective atmosphere free of nitrogen or hydrocarbons showed after UV irradiation broad absorption peaked at 1·9×10⁴ cm^–1 which disappeared relatively slowly at room temperature. It was more intensive in oxygen treated samples than in those annealed in hydrogsn. Transient absorption suppresses laser output by the increase of absorption at 0·94×10⁴ cm^–1 (1064 nm) and, particularly in CW mode, by the anomalous rod deformation. YAG : Nd containing Fe ions (2·10^–4 wt%) showed no transient absorption.     

Parton-hadron duality in event generators

The validity of local parton-hadron duality within the framework of HERWIG and JETSET event generators is investigated. We concentrate one ⁺ e ^– annihilations in LEP 2 energy range as these interactions provide theoretically the cleanest condition for the discussion of this concept. We conclude that the concept of local parton-hadron duality is not valid in either of the two generators considered.     

Sturmian functions for nonlocal interactions

The problem of calculation of Sturmian functions (positive energy Weinberg states) for nonlocal (exchange) interactions is considered. It is shown that the method of continued fractions proposed by Horáek and Sasakawa makes the calculation of Sturmian eigenfunctions and eigenvalues feasible even for complicated nonlocal interactions. As an example Sturmian functions and Sturmian eigenvalues for the low energy electron-hydrogen scattering in the static exchange approximation are calculated. In addition a very general proof of convergence of the method of continued fractions is presented.Dedicated to the memory of Professor Jozef Kvasnica.     

Electric-field control of exchange bias in multiferroic epitaxial heterostructures

The magnetic exchange between epitaxial thin films of the multiferroic (antiferromagnetic and ferroelectric) hexagonal YMnO3 oxide and a soft ferromagnetic (FM) layer is used to couple the magnetic response of the FM layer to the magnetic state of the antiferromagnetic one. We will show that biasing the ferroelectric YMnO3 layer by an electric field allows control of the magnetic exchange bias and subsequently the magnetotransport properties of the FM layer. This finding may contribute to paving the way towards a new generation of electric-field controlled spintronic devices.     

Model study on steady heat capacity in driven stochastic systems

We explore two- and three-state Markov models driven out of thermal equilibrium by non-potential forces, to demonstrate basic properties of the steady heat capacity based on the concept of quasistatic excess heat. It is shown that large enough driving forces can make the steady heat capacity negative. For both the low- and high-temperature regimes we propose an approximative thermodynamic scheme in terms of “dynamically renormalized” effective energy levels.     

Analysis of spectral properties of acoustic noise produced during magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique enables non-invasive analysis of the human vocal tract during phonation. Creation of MR images of the vocal tract is accompanied by simultaneous recording of the produced speech. The paper analyzes and compares spectral properties of an acoustical noise produced by mechanical vibration of the gradient coils during scanning in the open-air MRI equipment working in a weak magnetic field with low B₀ up to 0.2 T. This noise exhibits harmonic character, so it is suitable to analyze its properties in the spectral domain. Obtained results of spectral analysis will be used to devise a new cepstral-based filtering method for noise suppression of recorded speech.     

Ultrasound promoted synthesis of thioesters from 2-mercaptobenzoxa(thia)zoles

An ultrasound-enhanced method has been developed for the synthesis of a variety of thioesters from benzoyl chlorides and 2-mercaptobenzoxa(thia)zoles. Applying this methodology, 14 compounds were synthesized in excellent yields.