Observation of higher-order solitons in defocusing waveguide arrays

We observe experimentally higher-order solitons in waveguide arrays with defocusing saturable nonlinearity. Such solitons can comprise several in-phase bright spots and are stable above a critical power threshold. We elucidate the impact of the nonlinearity saturation on the domains of existence and stability of the observed complex soliton states.     

SERS signal response and SERS/SERDS spectra of fluoranthene in water on naturally grown Ag nanoparticle ensembles

We present experimental results of the time‐dependent Raman signal response of fluoranthene adsorbed on a naturally grown Ag nanoparticle ensemble, which serves as surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. In addition, SERS characteristics such as the concentration‐dependent calibration curves and the limit of detection (LOD) for fluoranthene in distilled water will be shown. The SERS substrate was prepared by Volmer–Weber growth under ultrahigh vacuum condition and exhibits a plasmon resonance wavelength at 491 nm. For the measurement of SERS signal response and SERS/shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy spectra of fluoranthene in water, experimental Raman setup containing a microsystem light source with two emission wavelengths (487.61 nm and 487.91 nm) was used. We experimentally demonstrate that the maximum SERS intensity is achieved 9 min after changing the analyte concentration from 0 nmol/l to 600 nmol/l. This response time is explained by a time‐dependent adsorption of the probe molecules onto the nanoparticles. The LOD for fluoranthene in water was evaluated applying shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) at different molecule concentrations. For SERDS, two emission wavelengths of a prototype microsystem light source have been used for Raman excitation. The experimental results reveal that the LOD for the probe molecules is very low. Experimentally, we have detected a fluoranthene concentration of only 4 nmol/l, which is very close to our estimated LOD of 2 nmol/l. Thus, the presented Raman setup, with a SERS substrate, whose plasmon resonance coincides with the excitation wavelength for SERS measurements, is well suited for in‐situ trace detection of pollutant chemicals in water. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tailoring of high-Q-factor surface plasmon modes on silver microtubes

We investigate the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on silver tubes with finite-difference time-domain simulations. These surface plasmon polaritons exhibit azimuthal whispering gallery modes with quality factors in the hundreds. We show that the high quality factors arise from the coupling of the surface plasmon modes to photonic modes inside the tube. We examine the influence of a gain material on the quality factors and find that for material data of rhodamine 6G, the quality factors are enhanced significantly up to values of 3000.     

Particle ratios from a chiral SU(3) model

The measured particle ratios in central heavy-ion collisions are investigated within a chemical and thermal equilibrium chiral SU(3) σ?ω approach. Contrary to the commonly adopted non-interacting gas calculations, the chiral SU(3) model predicts modified effective hadron masses and effective chemical potentials in the medium and a transition to a chirally restored phase at high temperatures or chemical potentials. the influence of three different types of phase transitions is investigated. We show that the deduced freeze-out values considerably depend on the underlying model while the quality of the fit is approximately the same.     

Quantifying turbulence-induced segregation of inertial particles

Particles with different density from the advecting turbulent fluids cluster due to the different response of light and heavy particles to turbulent fluctuations. This study focuses on the quantitative characterization of the segregation of dilute polydisperse inertial particles evolving in turbulent flow, as obtained from direct numerical simulation of homogeneous isotropic turbulence. We introduce an indicator of segregation amongst particles of different inertia and/or size, from which a length scale r_{seg}, quantifying the segregation degree between two particle types, is deduced.     

Model based prediction of the trap limited diffusion of hydrogen in post‐hydrogenated amorphous silicon

The diffusion of hydrogen within an hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) layer is based on a trap limited process. Therefore, the diffusion becomes a self‐limiting process with a decreasing diffusion velocity for increasing hydrogen content. In consequence, there is a strong demand for accurate experimental determination of the hydrogen distribution. Nuclear resonant reaction analysis (NRRA) offers the possibility of a non‐destructive measurement of the hydrogen distribution in condensed matter like a‐Si:H thin films. However, the availability of a particle accelerator for NRR‐analysis is limited and the related costs are high. In comparison, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is also a common method to determine the total hydrogen content of an a‐Si:H layer. FTIR spectrometers are practical table‐top units but lack spatial resolution. In this study, an approach is discussed that greatly reduces the need for complex and expensive NRR‐analysis. A model based prediction of hydrogen depth profiles based on a single NRRA measurement and further FTIR measurements enables to investigate the trap limited hydrogen diffusion within a‐Si:H. The model is validated by hydrogen diffusion experiments during the post‐hydrogenation of hydrogen‐free sputtered a‐Si. The model based prediction of hydrogen depth profiles in a‐Si:H allows more precise design of experiments, prevents misinterpretations, avoids unnecessary NRRA measurements and thus saves time and expense. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ultimate state of thermal convection

The ultimate regime of thermal convection, the so-called Kraichnan regime [R. H. Kraichnan, Phys. Fluids 5, 1374 (1962)]], hitherto has been elusive. Here numerical evidence for that regime is presented by performing simulations of the bulk of turbulence only, eliminating the thermal and kinetic boundary layers and replacing them with periodic boundary conditions.     

Characterization of polymer thin films with small‐angle X‐ray scattering under grazing incidence (GISAXS)

FEMTO, a femtosecond (fs) X-ray source based on laser interaction with a relativistic electron beam, began operation in the fall of 2006. It is installed at the μXAS beamline of the Swiss Light Source (SLS) at the Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen. “Laser slicing” of an electron beam has first been proposed and demonstrated at the ALS [] and has recently been implemented at BESSY [2 Khan, S. 2006. Phys. Rev. Lett, 97: 074801[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]] to generate fs soft X-rays (1–2 keV) with variable polarization. FEMTO is the first undulator source providing tunable, fs hard X-rays in the range 4.5–12 keV for laser/X-ray pump-probe absorption and diffraction experiments.