Near-field probing of active photonic-crystal structures

We report a study of the optical near field of an active integrated component operating near the 1.55-mum telecommunications wavelength. The device is based on a two-dimensional photonic crystal etched in a suspended InP membrane. Topographic as well as optical information is collected by use of a scanning near-field optical microscope in collection mode, providing information about the local distribution of the losses.     

Fragmentation of chitosan by ultrasonic irradiation

Kinetics of chitosan fragmentation by ultrasonic irradiation at frequency of 20 kHz, and the effects of experimental variables (power of ultrasound, chitosan concentration and solution temperature) on fragmentation were investigated. The kinetics studies were followed by measuring solution viscosity of the original and its fragments, and determining average number of chain scission of the fragments. The effects of ultrasonic power, chitosan concentration and solution temperature on fragmentation process were followed by viscometry and size exclusion chromatography. The chemical structure of the original chitosan and its fragments were examined by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The experimental results showed that the rate of fragmentation increased with an increase in power of ultrasound. Chain scission increased with an increase in power of ultrasound; and solution temperature, but a decrease in chitosan concentration. The chemical structure and polydispersity of the original and the fragments were nearly identical. A model based on experimental data to describe the relationship between chain scission and experimental variables (power of ultrasound; irradiation time; reduced concentration, c[eta]; and solution temperature) was proposed. It was concluded that ultrasonic irradiation is a suitable method to perform partial depolymerization and to obtain moderate macromolecules from large ones.     

Maxima and minima of the displacement components for the Lamb modes

This paper revisits the vanishing of the transverse component of the particle displacement vector in free surfaces of an isotropic homogeneous plate, for both symmetric and antisymmetric Lamb waves. Drawing on well-known analytical expressions from Viktorov's book [(1967) Rayleigh and Lamb Waves: Physical Theory Applications, Chap. II, pp. 67-121], two distinct frequency-thickness product expressions, in cases where this vanishing occurs, are derived: one for the symmetric modes and another for the antisymmetric modes. At these frequency-thickness products, phase and group velocities have appreciable values which are discussed herein. It appears that these velocities depend on the transverse bulk wave velocity only. This is the specific condition of the Lame? modes. Moreover, theoretical and experimental investigations of displacements in the surface of a plate in air have been carried out. The theoretical part shows that the normal and transverse displacements have, respectively, a local maximum and a local minimum in the vicinity of these frequency-thickness products. The experimental part corroborates the presence of the local maximum of the S(0) Lamb mode for various materials.     

Breit-Wigner formulas for the scattering phase and the total scattering cross-section in the semi-classical limit

In this paper we prove results in resonance scattering for the Schrödinger operatorP _v=–h ²+V, V being a smooth, short range potential onR ⁿ . More precisely, for energy near a trapping energy level ₀ for the classical system defined by the Hamiltonianp(x,)= ²+V(x), we prove that the scattering phase and the scattering cross sections associated to (P _v, P₀) have the Breit-Wigner form (Lorentzian line shape) in the limith0.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics of cavitation bubble clouds in a low frequency reactor: comparison between theoretical and experimental results.

The propagation of ultrasound through a liquid induces the growth of inceptions and germs into bubbles. In a low frequency reactor, fragmentary transient bubbles emerge due to the acoustic driving. They violently collapse in one cycle and fragment into many smaller bubbles than in turn cavitate. This violent collapse is responsible for the mechanical effects of ultrasounds effects. The latter bubbles gather in a ball-shaped cloud and migrate to pressure antinodes. During their migration, their nonexplosive collapses mainly contribute to activate chemical reactions by producing OH. radicals. Mathematical modelling is performed as a new approach to predict the bubbles field. Through numerical simulation, we determinate emergence sites of mechanically active cavitation bubbles. Calculus are compared with aluminium foil degradation. The modelling of bubble migration allow us to have an insight on the privileged sites of the chemical reactions. Validation of the modelling is made through direct comparison with chemiluminescence photo. All experiments and computations are made in a 28.2 kHz sonoreactor.     

Pair creation in QED-strong pulsed laser fields interacting with electron beams

QED effects are known to occur in a strong laser pulse interaction with a counterpropagating electron beam, among these effects being electron-positron pair creation. We discuss the range of laser pulse intensities of J≥5×10(22) W/cm2 combined with electron beam energies of tens of GeV. In this regime multiple pairs may be generated from a single beam electron, some of the newborn particles being capable of further pair production. Radiation backreaction prevents avalanche development and limits pair creation. The system of integro-differential kinetic equations for electrons, positrons and γ photons is derived and solved numerically.     

Efficient and Convenient Method for the Synthesis of N‐Arylhydrazones using a Palladium‐Catalyzed Bond‐Forming Reaction

A highly effective, convenient, and reproducible industrial process for palladium‐catalyzed carbon–nitrogen cross coupling has been developed and applied on a large scale. Thus various functionalized N‐arylhydrazones have been easily prepared and well characterized by conventional spectroscopic methods.     

Motion of charged particles in a NUTty Einstein–Maxwell spacetime and causality violation

We investigate the motion of electrically charged test particles in spacetimes with closed timelike curves, a subset of the black hole or wormhole Reissner–Nordström-NUT spacetimes without periodic identification of time. We show that, while in the wormhole case there are closed worldlines inside a potential well, the wordlines of initially distant charged observers moving under the action of the Lorentz force can never close or self-intersect. This means that for these observers causality is preserved, which is an instance of our weak chronology protection criterion.     

Super Kobayashi-Maskawa CP-violation

We argue that in the minimal SUSY extension of the standard model, CP-violation cannot be explained through SUSY phase alone. But SUSY graphs, especially with gluinos, can make important contributions to CP-violation through the Kobayashi-Maskawa phase.