Role of Bulk Vaporization in the Dynamics of Laser-Induced Erosion Plumes of Metals

In different regimes of exposure of metals to pulsed laser radiation, we show the role played by the liquid-drop phase formed from the target material in a laser-induced erosion plume due to bulk vaporization, in the dynamics of this plume. For some metals, the ranges of power densities of the acting laser radiation, at which the condensed-phase particles influence the passage of laser radiation to the target surface, have been determined experimentally. The mechanism of realization of a low-threshold breakdown has been revealed.     

Modification of Paving Asphalts with Sulfur

Sulfur dissolved in oil components of asphalt is a binder, filler, and chemical co-reagent at once. The structure of sulfur-extended asphalt depends on its formula and heating temperature. Road pavement based on sulfur-extended asphalt demonstrates higher durability as compared to that with the conventional binders.     

An algebra of meromorphic corner symbols

Operators on manifolds with corners that have base configurations with geometric singularities can be analysed in the frame of a conormal symbolic structure which is in spirit similar to the one for conical singularities of Kondrat'ev's work. Solvability of elliptic equations and asymptotics of solutions are determined by meromorphic conormal symbols. We study the case when the base has edge singularities which is a natural assumption in a number of applications. There are new phenomena, caused by a specific kind of higher degeneracy of the underlying symbols. We introduce an algebra of meromorphic edge operators that depend on complex parameters and investigate meromorphic inverses in the parameter-dependent elliptic case. Among the examples are resolvents of elliptic differential operators on manifolds with edges.     

Dynamics of two-mode radiation in optical waveguides with strong mode coupling

Amplitude equations, as well as the effective dispersion and nonlinearity parameters, which define the dynamics of a wave packet formed by two strongly coupled modes, are derived with allowance for the frequency dependence of the linear mode coupling coefficient. These equations are used to study the onset of the modulation instability of the two-mode wave packet, soliton-like pulses, and compression modes. Unlike single-mode systems, the last two effects in optical waveguides may arise for both a negative and positive disper-sion of the waveguide material.     

New insights on amorphous silicon-nitride microcavities

All amorphous silicon-nitride planar optical microcavities operating in the visible range have been grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The luminescence intensity of the N-rich silicon-nitride layer from a microcavity with 6 period distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) is two order of magnitude higher than that of the luminescent layer without the cavity. Moreover, a strong directionality of the microcavities emission can be observed. Such results can be ascribed to the anisotropic optical density of states induced in the Fabry–Perot structure. The quality factors of the resonators are strictly correlated to the number of periods of the DBRs.     

Study of removal processes of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs from the atmosphere

In order to understand better the way in which radioactive contamination may be transferred from the atmosphere to other ecological compartments it is necessary to obtain information of the deposition mechanisms of radionuclides. Concentration and speciation of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be in the atmospheric aerosol and deposition were studied. The mixed deposition velocities of water-soluble and insoluble ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be were determined. The relation between activity concentrations of insoluble ⁷Be in the atmosphere and its amount in deposition was observed. It is supposed that in the deposition process of radiocesium the precipitation plays an important role in scavenging of water-soluble radiocesium by falling raindrops, in contrast to insoluble ¹³⁷Cs where the dry deposition becomes predominant.     

Asymptotics of collision integral matrix elements in the isotropic case

The method of nonlinear moments, when used to solve the Boltzmann equation, necessitates the calculation of collision integral matrix elements. The matrix elements are hard to calculate numerically, especially at large indices. The asymptotics of the matrix elements are constructed. In terms of the model of pseudopower particle interaction, a formula free of summation is derived. This makes it possible to find the asymptotic behavior of linear and nonlinear elements when two indices are large. For an arbitrary interaction cross section, asymptotic expansions of linear and nonlinear matrix elements in one index are obtained. For Maxwellian molecules, asymptotic formulas are derived for three large indices.     

Quantum-Chemical Study of Structural and Energy Characteristics of Benzonitrile Dimers

Ab initio MP2 calculations with several basis sets proved the existence of a stable benzonitrile dimer with a planar structure and a short contact between the H atom of one molecule and the N atom of another. The structure is greatly stabilized by attraction between the neighboring oppositely directed dipoles and donor-acceptor interaction between the orbital of the lone electron pair of the N′ atom and the vacant antibonding orbital localized on the C-H bond.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by O. V. Sizova, E. P. Sokolova, V. I. Baranovskii, D. A. Rozmanov, and O. A. Tomashenko__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 807–815, September–October, 2004.     

Comment on: “Confined states in two-dimensional flat elliptic quantum dots and elliptic quantum wires” [Physica E 11 (2001) 345]

We argue that the two-dimensional elliptic quantum dot problem with finite barrier cannot be exactly solved, contrary to a recent assertion (van den Broek and Peeters, Physica E 11 (2001) 345. We also prove it explicitly by numerically calculating the correct energy spectrum.     

Relationships between Electrodynamic and Quantum-Mechanical Parameters in the Theory of Quantum Transitions

Relationships between the electrodynamic (wave propagation constants) and quantum-mechanical parameters (probability of induced transitions) of interaction between energy quanta and particles of the medium are derived for dipole and paramagnetic interaction types. It is demonstrated that quantum-mechanical parameters are generally complex.