Spectral properties of some problems in mechanics of strongly nonhomogeneous media

Spectral properties of the following three homogenized problems in the mechanics of strongly nonhomogeneous media are considered: the “double porosity” problem, the oscillation problem for a mixture of two viscous compressible liquids, and the oscillation of a medium consisting of an elastic frame and a viscous liquid. For all three cases results on the structure of the spectrum and on the existence of so-called “spectral gaps” are obtained.     

Spatial regularities in the effect of locking of photon echo signals and associative optical memory

The efficiency of suppression of the generation of a photon echo response depending on the mutual spatial orientation of gradients of external nonumform electric fields acting on a resonant medium is studied. The possibility of creating an associative memory where the mutual orientation of the gradients of external electric fields is an associative key is discussed.     

Illusions of vision: Interpretation within the framework of a holographic model

Several illusions of vision are considered on the basis of a neurophysiological holographic model of visual perception at the level of the eye’s and the retina. It is suggested that the eye’s optical system forms a spatial spectrum of the observed object rather than its image on the retina. The spectrum is encoded by active anisotropic quasi-crystalline structures of rod rhodopsins and cone iodopsins, and a complex Fourier hologram of the observed object consisting of two quadrature components is recorded. The holographic hypothesis is confirmed by the results obtained by digital simulation.     

Pit your wits against young minds!

This column is a place for those bits of contagious mathematics that travel from person to person in the community, because they are so elegant, suprising, or appealing that one has an urge to pass them on. Contributions are most welcome.     

Dynamics of fluorescence of solid solutions of quantum dots and the organic dye DODCI: Experiment and numerical simulation

The fluorescence of solid solutions of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots and the organic dye DODCI is investigated. It is shown that nonradiative transfer of electronic excitation energy to dye molecules, which with some probability lose their acceptor properties as a result of photoisomerization or photodegradation, is responsible for a significant increase in the fluorescence intensity of a donor. The degree of polarization of the donor fluorescence attains values exceeding 0.5, which is due to the difference in the fluorescence quantum yields of donors with different orientations of the oscillator with respect to the electric vector of an excitation light wave. A numerical simulation of the experimentally observed dependences is performed.     

Reaction of aroyl- and hetaroyltrifluoroacetones with acylhydrazines: Regioselectivity and tautomerism of the condensation products

Acylhydrazines react with 1,3-diketones of the general formula CF₃COCH₂COR (where R is an aryl or hetaryl group) at both carbonyl groups. The reaction at the trifluoroacetyl group is favored by donor substituents in the aromatic ring of the 1,3-diketone or by the 2-furyl and, especially, 2-thienyl group as a hetaryl substituent, as well as by elevated temperature. The condensation products at the carbonyl group contiguous to the aryl or hetaryl ring have the structure of 5-hydroxy-4,5-dihydropyrazoles and do not undergo tautomeric transformations in solution. The condensation products at the trifluoroacetyl group have either 5-hydroxy-4,5-dihydropyrazole or hydrazone structure and give rise to ring-chain tautomeric equilibrium in solution. Electron-withdrawing substituents in the aromatic ring of the 1,3-dicarbonyl fragment and CDCl₃ as solvent favor formation of the cyclic tautomer. The state of the tautomeric equilibrium is weakly sensitive to structural variations in the hydrazine component.     

Spatial macroscopic structure of a pulsed microsecond discharge in barrier-metal gaps with a nonuniform electric field distribution

Electric and spatial characteristics of a pulse-periodic microsecond barrier discharge are investigated in different geometries—triangular prism, plate, and corrugated electrode—that are in contact with a dielectric plate and form a dihedral angle with it. It is established that, in the space of the dihedral angle, the regions of discharge represent alternating cylindrical layers with the axes lying on the contact line. The first conducting layer is formed at some distance from the contact edge of the electrode. The number of layers and their localization are determined by the angle formed between an electrode and the dielectric plate. A physical model explaining the main features of the structure formation is proposed.     

Absorption of cnoidal electromagnetic waves by superlattice electrons in the process of impurity ionization

Absorption of cnoidal electromagnetic waves, which are the most general periodic solution to the sine-Gordon equation, by electrons of a one-dimensional quantum semiconductor superlattice in the process of impurity ionization is studied in terms of the semiclassical approximation. The dependence of the absorption coefficient on the electric field of an electromagnetic wave is found to be nonmonotone with a pronounced peak.