Electron-microscopy investigations of the damage of aluminium mirrors as a result of repeated powerful microsecond pulsed TEA-CO2 laser irradiation in air

Progressive damage of aluminium mirrors subjected to microsecond pulsed TEA-CO₂ laser irradiation in air, at incident intensity levels lower than the thresholds for melting induction and air breakdown ignition, was evidenced by electron microscopy investigations. A simple model was developed accounting for the results of our experimental studies.     

Diterpenoids fromStachys annua

Conclusions From Stachys annua L. have been isolated the diacetate and two monoacetates of a new diterpenoid C₂₀H₃₂O₃, which has been named stachysolone. It has been shown that stachysolone is a bicyclic ,-unsaturated ketone containing secondary and tertiary hydroxy groups.Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 7–10, 1969     

Local transient phenomena induced in an inert gas plasma by a short pulse

A microsecond periodic pulse was applied on thin probes in a positive column of a neon or helium glow discharge. The local transient phenomena provoked by this pulse were detected by a photomultiplier and presented in a time-distance display. They are qualitatively described and explained. The results are in good agreement with previous theories.     

Perturbations of subalgebras of type II1 factors

In this paper we consider two von Neumann subalgebras and of a type II₁ factor . For a map φ on , we define

     

Arresting wave collapse by wave self-rectification

We put forward a mechanism for tailoring, and even arresting, the collapse of wave packets in nonlinear media, whose dynamics is governed by nonlocal two-dimensional nonlinear Schr?dinger-like equations. The key ingredient of the scheme is the self-generation of nonlocal nonlinearities mediated by wave rectification.     

Spin-selective low temperature spectroscopy on single molecules with a triplet-triplet optical transition: Application to the NV defect center in diamond

The spin-selective photokinetics of a single matrix-isolated impurity molecule with a triplet-triplet optical transition, T ₀–T ₁, is considered and the manifestations of the photokinetics in the fluorescence excitation spectra and intensity autocorrelation functions g ⁽²⁾(τ) of the molecule undergoing narrow-band optical excitation is studied to resolve the fine structure of the transition. The rates of intersystem crossings (ISCs) T ₁→S→T ₀ to and from a nonradiating singlet state S of the molecule and the rate of population relaxation among the ground (T ₀) state sublevels can be obtained from the spectra and g ⁽²⁾(τ) using the analytical expressions obtained. New experiments on an individual NV defect center in nanocrystals of diamond, where, for the first time, the fine structure of its triplet-triplet ³ A-³ E zero-phonon optical transition (~637 nm) at 1.4 K was resolved, are interpreted. It is concluded that the rate of the ISC transition from the m _S =0 sublevel of the excited ³ E state to the singlet ¹ A state (~1 kHz) is much slower than the rates from the m _S =±1 substates, while the rates of ISC transitions to different m _S substates of the ground ³ A state are close to each other (~1 Hz). As a result, only the optical transition between m _S =0 sublevels in the ³ A-³ E manifold contributes strongly to the fluorescence. The experimentally observed double-exponential decay of the g ⁽²⁾(τ) function is explained by the two pathways available to the center for it to leave the S state: (i) the S→ T ₀(m _S )=0) transition and (ii) the S→T ⁰(m _S =±1) transitions followed by the slow spin-lattice relaxation T ₀(m _S =±1)→T ₀(m _S =0) (rate ~0.1 Hz). The work is important for studies where the NV center is used as a single photon source or for quantum information processing.     

Modules with the Direct Summand Sum Property

The present work gives some characterizations of R-modules with the direct summand sum property (in short DSSP), that is of those R-modules for which the sum of any two direct summands, so the submodule generated by their union, is a direct summand, too. General results and results concerning certain classes of R-modules (injective or projective) with this property, over several rings, are presented.     

Structural characterization and optical properties of ZnSe thin films

Zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin films (d = 0.11-0.93 μm) were deposited onto glass substrates by the quasi-closed volume technique under vacuum. Their structural characteristics were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experiments showed that the films are polycrystalline and have a zinc blende (cubic) structure. The film crystallites are preferentially oriented with the (1 1 1) planes parallel to the substrate surface. AFM images showed that the films have a grain like surface morphology. The average roughness, R_a = 3.3-6.4 nm, and the root mean square roughness, R_rms = 5.4-11.9 nm, were calculated and found to depend on the film thickness and post-deposition heat treatment.The spectral dependence of the absorption coefficient was determined from transmission spectra, in the range 300-1400 nm.The values of optical bandgap were calculated from the absorption spectra, E_g = 2.6-2.7 eV.The effect of the deposition conditions and post-deposition heat treatment on the structural and optical characteristics was investigated.     

Endpoint Fragmentation Index: A Method for Monitoring the Evolution of Microbial Degradation of Polysaccharide Feedstocks

We describe a simple method for tracking the course of microbial degradation of polysaccharide-rich feedstocks. The method involves determining total polysaccharides present in the feedstock, measured in glucose equivalents, relative to the fractional component of polysaccharides exhibiting 2,3-dinitrosalycylic acid aldehyde activity. The ratio of total polysaccharide to aldehyde activity, defined as the end-point fragmentation (EPF) index, is then calculated and tracked as it shifts as microbial degradation of polysaccharide-rich feedstock progresses. While degradation occurs, the EPF index falls. It bottoms out at an asymptotic limit marking the point in time where further degradation of the polysaccharide-rich feedstock has ceased. The EPF index can be used to follow the progressive breakdown of composting polysaccharide-rich waste. It may also have applicability as a means of tracking the turnover of polysaccharides in other complex environments including soil, sediments, wetlands, and peat bogs.