Electron-stimulated desorption of D (H) from condensed D2O (H2O) films

The electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) of D⁻ and H⁻ ions from condensed D₂O and H₂O films is investigated. Three low-energy peaks are observed in the ESD anion yield, which are identified as arising from excitation of ²B₁, ²A₁ and ²B₂ dissociative electron attachment (DEA) resonances. Additional structure is observed between 18 and 32 eV, which may be due to ion pair formation or to DEA resonances involving the 2a₁ orbital. The ion yield resulting from excitation of the ²B₁ resonance increases as the film is heated. We attribute the increase in the ion yield to thermally induced hydrogen bond breaking near the surface, which enhances the lifetimes of the excited states that lead to desorption.     

Parallel processing of remotely sensed data: Application to the ATSR-2 instrument

Massively parallel computational paradigms can mitigate many issues associated with the analysis of large and complex remotely sensed data sets. Recently, the Beowulf cluster has emerged as the most attractive, massively parallel architecture due to its low cost and high performance. Whereas most Beowulf designs have emphasized numerical modeling applications, the Parallel Image Processing Environment (PIPE) specifically addresses the unique requirements of remote sensing applications. Automated, parallelization of user-defined analyses is fully supported. A neural network application, applied to Along Track Scanning Radiometer-2 (ATSR-2) data shows the advantages and performance characteristics of PIPE.     

Vertical excitation as a transient phenomenon

For a particular model with two electronic states, each with two vibrations, the dipole correlation function governing electronic absorption is e ^?iωOt cosγt with spectrum ω ₀±γ. The function starts as e ^?iωOt (γ?ω ₀), with Fourier transform peaking around ω ₀ instead of ω ₀±γ, and this is associated with vertical excitation. After a time t～2/γ the spectrum goes over into the normal one. As a generalization, a procedure is outlined for characterizing the state reached first after interaction with light is initiated. Finally it is suggested that one can understand aspects of internal conversion by analogy with the case of vertical excitation.     

Electronic and vibrational second-order nonlinear optical properties of protein secondary structural motifs

A perturbation theory approach was developed for predicting the vibrational and electronic second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) polarizabilities of materials and macromolecules comprised of many coupled chromophores, with an emphasis on common protein secondary structural motifs. The polarization-dependent NLO properties of electronic and vibrational transitions in assemblies of amide chromophores comprising the polypeptide backbones of proteins were found to be accurately recovered in quantum chemical calculations by treating the coupling between adjacent oscillators perturbatively. A novel diagrammatic approach was developed to provide an intuitive visual means of interpreting the results of the perturbation theory calculations. Using this approach, the chiral and achiral polarization-dependent electronic SHG, isotropic SFG, and vibrational SFG nonlinear optical activities of protein structures were predicted and interpreted within the context of simple orientational models.     

Computer simulation studies of anisotropic systems. The influence of external fields on the nematic—isotropic transition

The results of Monte Carlo simulations are reported for a model nematogen in the presence of an intense magnetic field. The predictions of a molecular field theory for the system are found to be in reasonable accord with the simulations. It would appear therefore that the critical field for a real nematogen may be unobservably high.