Polarization control of optical transmission of a periodic array of elliptical nanoholes in a metal film

The spectral dependences of polarized optical transmission of a metal film with a periodic array of elliptical nanoholes have been studied. Such nanostructured metal films exhibit enhanced broadband optical transmission that one can control by selecting the polarization of incident and (or) transmitted light.     

Phase analysis of quantum oscillations in graphite

The quantum de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations measured in graphite were decomposed by pass-band filtering onto contributions from three different groups of carriers. Generalizing the theory of dHvA oscillations for 2D carriers with an arbitrary spectrum and by detecting the oscillation frequencies using a method of two-dimensional phase-frequency analysis which we developed, we identified these carriers as (i) minority holes having a 2D parabolic massive spectrum p(2)(perpendicular)/2m(perpendicular), (ii) massive majority electrons with a 3D spectrum and (iii) majority holes with a 2D Dirac-like spectrum +/-vp(perpendicular) which seems to be responsible for the unusual strongly-correlated electronic phenomena in graphite.     

Variations on the warped deformed conifold

The warped deformed conifold background of type IIB theory is dual to the cascading SU(M(p+1))×SU(Mp) gauge theory. We show that this background realizes the (super-)Goldstone mechanism where the U(1) baryon number symmetry is broken by expectation values of baryonic operators. The resulting massless pseudo-scalar and scalar glueballs are identified in the supergravity spectrum. A D-string is then dual to a global string in the gauge theory. Upon compactification, the Goldstone mechanism turns into the Higgs mechanism, and the global strings turn into ANO strings. To cite this article: S.S. Gubser et al., C. R. Physique 5 (2004).

Résumé

La configuration de fond pour la théorie de type IIB donnée par le conifold voilé déformé est duale à la cascade de théorie de jauge SU(M(p+1))×SU(Mp). Nous montrons que cette configuration donne une réalisation du mécanisme de (super-)Goldstone où la symètrie baryonique U(1) est brisée par la valeur moyenne dans le vide des opérateurs baryoniques. Les boules de glue pseudo-scalaires et scalaires de masse nulle résultantes sont identifiées dans le spectre de supegravité. Une D-corde est alors duale à une corde globale dans la théorie de jauge. Après compactification, le mécanisme de Goldstone devient un mécanisme de Higgs, et une corde globale devient une corde ANO. Pour citer cet article : S.S. Gubser et al., C. R. Physique 5 (2004).     

Optimized t-expansion method for the Rabi Hamiltonian

A polemic arose recently about the applicability of the t-expansion method to the calculation of the ground state energy E₀ of the Rabi model. For specific choices of the trial function and very large number of involved connected moments, the t-expansion results are rather poor and exhibit considerable oscillations. In this Letter, we formulate the t-expansion method for trial functions containing two free parameters which capture two exactly solvable limits of the Rabi Hamiltonian. At each order of the t-series, E₀ is assumed to be stationary with respect to the free parameters. A high accuracy of E₀ estimates is achieved for small numbers (5 or 6) of involved connected moments, the relative error being smaller than ¹⁰−4 (0.01%) within the whole parameter space of the Rabi Hamiltonian. A special symmetrization of the trial function enables us to calculate also the first excited energy E₁, with the relative error smaller than ¹⁰−2 (1%).     

Gaussian-beam propagation in generic anisotropic wave-number profiles

The propagation characteristics of a scalar Gaussian beam in a homogeneous anisotropic medium are considered. The medium is described by a generic wave-number profile wherein the field is formulated by a Gaussian plane-wave distribution and the propagation is obtained by saddle-point asymptotics to extract the Gaussian beam phenomenology in the anisotropic environment. The resultant field is parameterized in terms of e.g., the spatial evolution of the Gaussian beam's curvature, beam width, which are mapped to local geometrical properties of the generic wave-number profile.     

Simulation of front motion in a reacting condensed two phase mixture

The computational technique is developed in order to provide the scale capturing for numerical simulation of the thermal processes. The thermal front motion and gas flow dynamics as well as the rate of particle growth during the Carbon Combustion Synthesis of Oxides (CCSO) were predicted using the numerical simulation. In CCSO the exothermic oxidation of carbon nanoparticles generates a self-sustained thermal reaction front that propagates through the solid reactant mixture converting it to the desired complex oxides. The combusted carbon is emitted from the sample as carbon dioxide and its high rate of release increases the product porosity and friability. It was shown that the complicated finger front instability can be developed during the carbon combustion synthesis. This phenomenon results from a vortex gas flow in the reaction zone fed by the carbon dioxide co-flow and oxygen counter-flow filtration.     

Extreme outages caused by polarization mode dispersion

We study the dependence on fiber birefringence of the bit-error rate (BER) caused by amplifier noise in a linear optical fiber telecommunication system. We show that the probability-distribution function of the BER obtained by averaging over many realizations of birefringent disorder has an extended tail that corresponds to anomalously large values of BER. We specifically discuss the dependence of the tail on such details of pulse detection at the fiber output as setting the clock and filtering procedures.     

Unusual thermodynamic properties and nonergodicity in ferroelectric superlattices

The properties of [Pb(Zr(1-x(1))Ti(x(1)))O(3)](n)/[Pb(Zr(1-x(2))Ti(x(2)))O(3)](n) superlattices, with a 2n period, are simulated using an ab initio based approach. The x(1) and x(2) compositions are chosen to be located across the morphotropic phase boundary of the corresponding disordered alloys, while the (x(1)+x(2))/2 average composition lies inside this boundary. These superlattices exhibit an unusual thermodynamic phase transition sequence, including a triclinic ground state. They also have the kind of peculiar free-energy landscape yielding nonergodicity. The effects responsible for these anomalies are discussed.     

Smectic membranes in motion: approaching the fast limits of x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy

The dynamics of the layer-displacement fluctuations in smectic membranes have been studied by x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS). We report transitions from an oscillatory damping regime to simple exponential decay of the fluctuations, both as a function of membrane thickness and upon changing from specular to off-specular scattering. This behavior is in agreement with recent theories. Employing avalanche photodiode detectors and the uniform filling mode of the synchrotron storage ring, the fast limits of XPCS have been explored down to 50 ns.