Diffraction by a Corrugated Interface. Complete Transformation of an Incident Wave to the Diffraction Lobe

Using the simplest (sinusoidal) corrugation profile in the approximation of absence of losses in the material as an example, we study the regimes of complete transformation of an incident wave to the diffraction lobe by a corrugated metal surface or a corrugated interface of two dielectric media. A numerical-intuitive pattern of appearance and evolution of such regimes with increasing corrugation amplitude is revealed. It is shown that the regimes of complete transformation of an incident wave to the diffraction lobe are possible in both the case of autocollimation and the case of a considerable deviation from it. The examination is based on a numerical method of solving the integral equation by means of a specially created interactive processing system in Visual Fortran.     

Micromachining of circular ring microstructure by femtosecond laser pulses

In this paper, integration of interference phenomenon into femtosecond laser micromachining was reported as the femtosecond laser pulses were reshaped spatially to perform ablation. The generation of circular interference pattern was demonstrated by overlapping infrared femtosecond laser pulses. The interference pattern was subsequently focused on a copper substrate to ablate microstructures of concentric circular rings. The present technique is expected to open up new applications in the areas of rapid fabrication of micro-Fresnel lenses, hybrid microlenses and lens arrays.     

Approximate inverse computation using Frobenius inner product

Parallel preconditioners are presented for the solution of general linear systems of equations. The computation of these preconditioners is achieved by orthogonal projections related to the Frobenius inner product. So, min_M∈??∥AM?I∥ _F and matrix M₀∈?? corresponding to this minimum (?? being any vectorial subspace of ??_n(?)) are explicitly computed using accumulative formulae in order to reduce computational cost when subspace ?? is extended to another one containing it. Every step, the computation is carried out taking advantage of the previous one, what considerably reduces the amount of work. These general results are illustrated with the subspace of matrices M such that AM is symmetric. The main application is developed for the subspace of matrices with a given sparsity pattern which may be constructed iteratively by augmenting the set of non‐zero entries in each column. Finally, the effectiveness of the sparse preconditioners is illustrated with some numerical experiments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pulse radiolysis study of the initial steps of the polymerization of cyclohexyl acrylate and cyclohexyl methacrylate

Pulse radiolysis with kinetic spectroscopic detection was applied to study the kinetics of the first steps of radiation induced polymerization of cyclohexyl acrylate and cyclohexyl methacrylate in cyclohexane solvent. The reactions were initiated by cyclohexyl radicals produced in the radiolysis of the solvent. The transient absorption spectra of the -carboxyalkyl type radicals produced in addition reaction show maxima around 300 nm. This shifts to longer wavelength with time after the pulse. This phenomenon was explained by the oligomerization reaction. From the kinetic curves average rate coefficients of termination for the oligomer radicals (2k_t) were determined as a function of time elapsed after the electron pulse. The values obtained were compared with those calculated for other (acrylate and methacrylate type) monomers.     

Structure and stability of 0° domain walls localized at defects in a (001)-crystal plate with combined anisotropy

An analysis is made of the conditions of formation and the stability region of static-soliton-type magnetic nonuniformities in a (001)-crystal plate with combined anisotropy. It is shown that if demagnetizing fields in the plate are taken into account, static solitons can localize at certain defects for appropriate parameters of the material. The soliton stability region was found to be bounded by two extreme values of the material parameters, namely, those at which the soliton is unstable against collapse and at which it expands. It was also found that the soliton stability region differs considerably from that predicted theoretically in the model disregarding the finite size of the sample and the presence of defects. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1498–1502 (August 1998)     

Parameters for the inclined-path sensing of molecular hydrogen in the atmosphere by lidar with a YAG:Nd laser

The lidar equation for the vibrational backscattering of neodymium laser radiation and its harmonics by hydrogen molecules is solved numerically. Inclined paths in the atmosphere are investigated with the aim of selecting the transmitter wavelength for detecting the lowest concentrations of hydrogen. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 20–22 (January 1998)     

Mössbauer study of Martian regolith analogues

Terrestrial basalt rocks considered to be a good analogues of the Martian regolith were studied by using the Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The weathering of basalts was followed by the changes of the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio. The basalt rock undergoes alteration from primary mineral composition (olivine+pyroxene+plagioclase) through smectite to kaolinite clay with oxides and hydroxides with the increase of the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio.     

FORECASTING MINERAL SUPPLY FROM MINERAL RENT DATA

An optimal control model of exhaustible resources is used to clarify the long run relationship between mineral rent and depletion cost at the industry level. A standard first order condition of the time rate of change of rents is reformulated to reveal that rent data may be used to help forecast the rise in extraction costs resulting from resource depletion. This application of the theory of exhaustible resources is illustrated using historical mineral industry rent and extraction cost data. A forecast of U.S. coal extraction costs, following the method proposed in this paper, suggests that future rates of extraction cost increases will be similar to rates experienced in the past.     

129Xe NMR study of the homogeneity and the size distribution of small sodium metal particles in NaY zeolite

NaY zeolite samples loaded with sodium metal by vapor phase deposition have been investigated using¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy. At low sodium concentration, the¹²⁹Xe NMR spectrum showed three resonance lines which clearly indicate the existence of distinct domains in the zeolite sample. Such an observation suggests that the diffusion of the xenon atoms into each domain only occurs with respect to the NMR time scale (2.9 ms). As the sodium concentration increases, observation of a single broad line indicate a macroscopic homogenization of the system. The shift of this line is explained in part due to a paramagnetic interaction between the xenon atoms and the unpaired electrons of particles containing an odd number of sodium atoms. The linewidth is due to the distribution of the local magnetic fields partially averaged by the rapid motion of the xenon atoms and to the statistical distribution of the sodium particles in the supercage cavities. The paramagnetic interaction vanishes with the oxidation of the sample leading to a narrowing and a shift of the line to higher magnetic fields.