Chromatographic studies of corrosion sites in metallic materials

Many types of corrosion phenomena are controlled by the ionic composition of a small volume of solution at the surface. Localized corrosion and atmospheric corrosion are two examples in which < 1 μl of solution can cause dramatic damage. Ion chromatographic (IC) techniques have been used to analyze these solutions in order to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms which govern them. Two examples are presented. The presence of minor alloying elements at localized corrosion sites in two aluminum alloys has been demonstrated, indicating non-stoichiometric dissolution of the alloy during localized corrosion. In addition, IC analysis allowed the determination of the species responsible for the atmospheric corrosion failure of electrical connectors, including their likely origin.     

Temporal coherent control of superfluorescent pulses

We demonstrate that collective atomic interferences can be investigated by measuring the superfluorescence (SF) time delay. A pair of broadband (≈20 nm), ultrashort (≈80 fs), collinear pulses with a variable delay coherently excites rubidium (Rb) atoms. The generated superfluorescent pulses at 420 nm on the cascade transition are recorded by a picosecond streak camera. Both intensity and SF time delay of the 420 nm pulse are altered as the delay between input pulses varies. In particular, the SF time delay of the normalized 420 nm pulse exhibits oscillations with different periods. This can be understood in terms of atomic and quantum interferences due to two possible two-photon excitation pathways through the intermediate levels (Rb D-lines).     

Inhibition of decoherence due to decay in a continuum

We propose a scheme for slowing down decay into a continuum. We make use of a sequence of ultrashort 2pi pulses applied on an auxiliary transition of the system so that there is a destructive interference between the two transition amplitudes--one before the application of the pulse and the other after the application of the pulse. We give explicit results for a structured continuum. Our scheme can also inhibit unwanted transitions.     

Subject index to volume 26

The reflectivity of picosecond pulses from a Nd: glass laser on Ge has been measured. A marked increase (∽ 20%) has been found at excitation intensities just below the damage threshold. The effect is discussed in terms of the contribution to the dielectric constant of the crystal, arising from direct intraband transitions within the branches of the valence band. The relevance of these transitions to explain the “plateau” observed in the transmission experiment, is also briefly pointed out.     

Measurement of the Seperation between Atoms beyond Diffraction Limit

We propose a scheme to obtain the distance of two identical atoms placed inside the standing wave field by monitoring the collective resonance fluorescence spectrum emitted by the two particles. We find three different parameter ranges, depending on the distance of the atoms as compared to the transition wavelength. For large interparticle distances, dipole-dipole coupling is negligible, and the main system evolution arises from the interaction with the standing wave field. In the small-distance limit, the dynamics is dominated by the dipole-dipole interaction. Finally, in the intermediate region, a rich interplay of the various couplings arises, which however is lifted for strong driving laser fields. The present measurement procedure allows us to distinguish the three cases. In each of the cases, we show how to determine the distance of the two particles and their respective positions relative to the nodes of the standing wave field with fractional-wavelength precision.     

Quantum optical ramsey fringes and complementarity

An interferometer in which an atom traverses two identical micromaser cavities in succession is proposed. Depending on the preparation of the cavity fields, the probability for finding the atom in a definite final state displays Ramsey fringes or not. If the initial cavity fields are such that the state of the atom between the cavities can be determined, then the Ramsey fringes disappear, as is required by the principle of complementarity.     

Radiation trapping in coherent media

We show that the effective decay rate of Zeeman coherence, generated in a (87)Rb vapor by linearly polarized laser light, increases significantly with the atomic density. We explain this phenomenon as the result of radiation trapping. Our study shows that radiation trapping must be taken into account to fully understand many electromagnetically induced transparency experiments with optically thick media.     

Observation of electromagnetically induced transparency in cesium molecules

We have studied electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in diatomic cesium molecules in a vapor cell by using tunable diode lasers. We have observed a sub-natural Λ-resonance in absorption molecular band B ¹Π _u − X ¹Σ _g ⁺ at different cesium vapor pressures. The width of the EIT resonance shows a linear dependence on a cesium vapor pressure.