Intra-Channel Collision of Dual-Power Law Optical Solitons

The intra-channel collision of optical solitons, with dual-power law nonlinearity, is studied in this paper by the aid of quasi-particle theory. The perturbation terms that are considered in this paper are the nonlinear gain and saturable amplifiers along with filters. The suppression of soliton-soliton interaction, in presence of these perturbation terms, is acheived. The numerical simulations support the quasi-particle theory. OCIS codes: 060.2310; 060.4510; 060.5530; 190.3270; 190.4370.     

Asymmetric lateral inhibitory neural activity in the auditory system: a magnetoencephalographic study

Background  

Decrements of auditory evoked responses elicited by repeatedly presented sounds with similar frequencies have been well investigated by means of electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography (MEG). However the possible inhibitory interactions between different neuronal populations remains poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effect of proceeding notch-filtered noises (NFNs) with different frequency spectra on a following test tone using MEG.     

Fabrication of textured KNNT ceramics by reactive template grain growth using NN templates

Lead-free non-stoichiometric (K_0.470Na_0.545)(Nb_0.55Ta_0.45)O₃ (KNNT) textured ceramics were prepared by a reactive templated grain growth method using NaNbO₃ (NN) templates. The Plate-like NaNbO₃ (NN) templates were synthesized from bismuth layer-structured Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈ (BNN) particles by a topochemical microcrystal conversion (TMC) method. Using 5 wt% of NN templates, textured KNNT ceramics were fabricated, and their crystal structure, microstructure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties were compared with non-textured KNNT ceramics prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method. The textured KNNT ceramics exhibited high grain orientation and high dielectric constant. In addition, piezoelectric properties of textured KNNT ceramics were improved, giving a high piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ = 390 pC/N and piezoelectric coupling coefficient k_p = 0.60.     

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) assisted single‐step synthesis of kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles by solvothermal process

Quaternary kesterite‐type Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by a single‐step solvothermal process. Semiconductor CZTS nanoparticles were obtained from ethylene glycol (EG) and CZTS precursor after solvothermal process at 180 °C for 30 h in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) medium. The synthesized CZTS NPs were further annealed at 450 °C in nitrogen atmosphere and used for further characterizations. The CZTS NPs were characterized using X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), micro Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical properties of the CZTS NPs were recorded by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The results showed that the synthesized CZTS nanoparticles are kesterite‐type CZTS, with good crystallinity and a stoichiometric composition. Moreover, the prepared nanoparticles have a size ranging from 5–7 nm and a band gap of ～1.5 eV.

     

Response of bilateral breasts to the endogenous hormonal fluctuation in a menstrual cycle evaluated using 3D MRI

The normal breast tissue responds to the fluctuation of endogenous hormones during a menstrual cycle (MC) and shows changes in breast density. The changes between left and right breasts of the same women were compared to evaluate the symmetrical response. Twenty-four healthy women were recruited in this study. Four weekly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were performed during one MC. A computer algorithm was used to segment the breast and the fibroglandular tissue to measure the fibroglandular tissue volume (FV) and three morphological parameters: circularity, convexity and irregularity. The coefficient of variation (CV) for each parameter measured among four MRI studies was calculated; also, the maximal percent change between two MRI studies that show the highest and the lowest FV was calculated. These parameters measured from left and right breasts were compared using Pearson correlation.     

A Classical Analog of Random Quantum States

We examine the statistical properties of a pure quantum state randomly chosen with respect to the uniform measure in a Hilbert space. Namely, we consider the distribution of outcomes of a fixed measurement performed on the random quantum state. We show that such distribution is completely analogous to the distribution of measurement outcomes of an a priori unknown classical random system. In particular, Shannon entropies of both distributions coincide. We study this correspondence between quantum and classical random systems and clarify its origin.     

Spatial firm competition in two dimensions with linear transportation costs: simulations and analytical results

Models of spatial firm competition assume that customers are distributed in space andtransportation costs are associated with their purchases of products from a small numberof firms that are also placed at definite locations. It has been long known that thecompetition equilibrium is not guaranteed to exist if the most straightforward lineartransportation costs are assumed. We show by simulations and also analytically that ifperiodic boundary conditions in a plane are assumed, the equilibrium exists for a pair offirms at any distance. When a larger number of firms is considered, we find that theirtotal equilibrium profit is inversely proportional to the square root of the number offirms. We end with a numerical investigation of the system’s behavior for a generaltransportation cost exponent.     

First-principles calculation of ZnS monolayer on Cu(111) surface

First-principles calculation is carried out on the interface of the ZnS(001) monolayerand Cu(111) surface. It is found that the ZnS monolayer significantly reconstructs aftergeometry optimization. The out-of-plane S atom has a positive displacement in thez directionwhile other atoms (Zn and S) have small displacements on the ZnS monolayer. The interfacestacking sequence has an influence on the flatness of the ZnS monolayer and the bindingenergy of the interface. There are two approaches for the ZnS monolayer to reach thelowest energy state which take place on the two kinds of S atoms in the ZnS monolayer andresult in the bulging feature. The van der Waals (vdW) interaction exists between ZnSmonolayer and Cu surface.     

Spinning Earth and its Coriolis effect on the circuital light beams: Verification of the special relativity theory

Bilger et al (1995), Anderson et al (1994) and Michelson–Gale assisted by Pearson (1925) measure / mention Sagnac effect on the circuital light /laser beams on the spinning Earth. But from the consideration of classical electrodynamics, the effect measured /mentioned by those experimenters is the Coriolis effect, not the Sagnac effect. A simple experiment is suggested here that can easily settle the problem.     

Pulse generation and compression using an asymmetrical porous silicon-based Mach–Zehnder interferometer configuration

We propose an asymmetrical Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) for efficient pulse generation and compression using porous silicon (PS) waveguide, fibre delay line and couplers. We show a pulse compression of about 0.4 ns at the output port with third-order super-Gaussian input pulse in ～2 ns time duration and ～40.3 W peak power level. Also, we show the possibility of obtaining compressed single- or double-pulse with judicious choice of various parameters like input peak power, delay time and input pulse width.