Polar optical phonons in semiconducting CdS nanocrystals

We have experimentally and theoretically studied IR-active optical phonons, which are spatially confined in the volume of semiconducting CdS nanocrystals of various shapes synthesized in a dielectric matrix (porous aluminum oxide). Within an approach admitting the mixing of all expected types of vibrations, the complete sets of phonon modes are determined for a spherical quantum dot (QD) and a cylindrical quantum wire (QW) in this matrix. Based on these results, the polarizability spectra of QDs and QWs, as well as the effective dielectric function of a composite material containing such nanoparticles, are calculated for the far-IR wavelength range. It is established that the spectrum of the dielectric function exhibits specific features in the region between the transverse and longitudinal optical phonon frequencies of the massive semiconductor material. These features explain the rather unusual structure of the IR spectra of the composite samples studied.     

Regioselective synthesis of 1,5-diaryl-1H-imidazoles by palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of 1-aryl-1H-imidazoles

[reaction: see text] A variety of 1,5-diaryl-1H-imidazoles have been regioselectively synthesized by direct coupling of 1-aryl-1H-imidazoles with aryl iodides or bromides in DMF in the presence of CsF as the base and a catalyst precursor consisting of a mixture of Pd(OAc)2 and AsPh3. The data obtained in this synthetic study support a reaction mechanism involving an electrophilic attack of an arylpalladium(II) halide species onto the imidazole ring. Interestingly, some imidazole derivatives synthesized in this study have been found to exhibit significant cytotoxic activity against human tumor cell lines.     

Sulla regolarità delle soluzioni deboli di una classe di sistemi ellittici quasi-lineari

Memoria presentata da J. C. C. Nitsche Lavoro eseguito nell'ambito dei Gruppi di Ricerca del C.N.R. nell'anno 1967–1968.     

Contrast reversal and shape changes of atomic adsorbates measured with scanning tunneling microscopy

Systematic, quantitative comparisons between scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments and first principles simulations of O(2 x 2)/Ru(0001) have been performed. The shape of the atomic adsorbates in the images depends strongly on the tunneling resistance and changes reversibly from circular (high resistance) to triangular (low resistance). In addition, after adsorption of oxygen on the STM tip we observe a contrast reversal on the surface, confirmed by extensive numerical simulations.     

Direct visualization of surface-plasmon bandgaps in the diffuse background of metallic gratings

When a surface plasmon propagates along a microrough grating, it interacts with the periodic plus the random roughness and emits light into the diffuse background, which can present intensity maxima called diffuse light bands. We reexamine previous studies on these bands within the framework of recent studies on photonic surfaces and show that the phenomenon of diffuse light provides an experimental technique for directly imaging the dispersion relation of surface plasmons, including the gap that, under appropriate circumstances, opens in the reciprocal grating space.     

Observation of self-trapping of light in walk-off-compensating tandems

We report the first experimental observation, to our knowledge, of the self-trapping of light in walk-off-compensating optical tandems. The experiment was conducted with picosecond light pulses in a ten-plate optically contacted tandem made of potassium titanyl phosphate prepared for phase matching along a special geometry featuring a huge local walk-off. The observation should open the door to the exploration of multicomponent soliton formation in new classes of materials and settings.     

Oxide/metal interface distance and epitaxial strain in the NiO/Ag(001) system

Geometric parameters of NiO films epitaxially grown on Ag(001) were determined using two independent experimental techniques and ab initio simulations. Primary beam diffraction modulated electron emission experiments determined that the NiO films grow with O on top of Ag and that the oxide/metal interface distance is d=2.3+/-0.1 A. Polarization-dependent x-ray absorption, at the Ni-K edge, determined the tetragonal strain (r( parallel )=2.046+/-0.009 A, r( perpendicular )=2.12+/-0.02 A) and d=2.37+/-0.05 A. Periodic slab model results agree with the experiments (d=2.40, r( parallel )=2.07, r( perpendicular )=2.10 A; the O-on-top configuration is the most stable).     

Dimerization induced by the RKKY interaction

We report the presence of spin dimerization in the ground state of the one-dimensional Kondo lattice model at quarter filling. The emergence of this new phase of the Kondo lattice can be traced to the form of the RKKY interaction between the localized moments and provides the first example of dimerization induced indirectly by itinerant electrons. We propose this dimer ordering as the driving mechanism of the spin-Peierls phase observed in the quasi-one-dimensional organic compounds (Per)2M(mnt)(2) (M=Pt, Pd). Moreover, this suggests that a richer phase diagram than the Doniach paradigm may be needed to accommodate the physics of heavy fermion materials.     

Quadratic soliton self-reflection at a quadratically nonlinear interface

The reflection of bulk quadratic solutions incident onto a quadratically nonlinear interface in periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate was observed. The interface consisted of the boundary between two quasi-phase-matched regions displaced from each other by a half-period. At high intensities and small angles of incidence the soliton is reflected.