Size-selected Ni catalyst islands for single-walled carbon nanotube arrays

Many properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) arrays are determined by the size and surface coverage of the metal catalyst islands from which they are nucleated. Methods using thermal fragmentation of continuous metal films frequently fail to produce size-uniform islands. Hybrid numerical simulations are used to propose a new approach to controlled self-assembly of Ni islands of the required size and surface coverage using tailored gas-phase generated nanocluster fluxes and adjusted surface temperatures. It is shown that a maximum surface coverage of 0.359 by 0.96–1.02 nm Ni catalyst islands can be achieved at a low surface temperature of 500 K. Optimized growth of Ni catalyst islands can lead to fabrication of size-uniform SWCNT arrays, suitable for numerous nanoelectronic applications. This approach is deterministic and is applicable to a range of nanoassemblies where high surface coverage and island size uniformity are required.

     

Rapid Method to Screen Unopened Bottles to Detect Concealed Drugs

A bottle screening method to detect smuggling drugs was developed based on a series of rapid and automated magnetic resonance measurements. Liquid alteration is detected by evaluating chemical and physical properties of the liquid, scanning the bottle with a compact, non-contact magnetic resonance probe. Chemical and molecular diffusion changes are detected by means of the magnetic resonance relaxation time. The inspection device automatically detects the presence of concealed powders dissolved in liquids in a second timescale. The non-ionizing, non-contact method effectively screens bottles, regardless of their shape, size, and color. The proposed system configuration does not require a large magnet generating uniform magnetic fields; rather it inspects the liquid using a compact probe positioned on the wall of the bottle. For a variety of samples tested, the screening does not require detailed information on the expected content of the bottle.     

Geometry of rank 2 distributions with nonzero Wilczynski invariants

In the famous 1910 “cinq variables” paper Cartan showed in particular that for maximally nonholonomic rank 2 distributions in ?⁵ with non-zero covariant binary biquadratic form the dimension of the pseudo-group of local symmetries does not exceed 7 and among such distributions he described the one-parametric family of distributions for which this pseudo-group is exactly 7-dimensional. Using the novel interpretation of the Cartan covariant binary biquadratic form via the classical Wilczynski invariant of curves in projective spaces associated with abnormal extremals of the distributions [4, 27, 28] one can generalize this Cartan result to rank 2 distributions in ?ⁿ satisfying certain genericity assumption, called maximality of class, for arbitrary n ≥ 5.

In the present paper for any rank 2 distribution of maximal class with at least one nonvanishing generalized Wilczynski invariants we construct the canonical frame on a (2n — 3)-dimensional bundle and describe explicitly the moduli spaces of the most symmetric models. The relation of our results to the divergence equivalence of Lagrangians of higher order is given as well.     

Optical vortex detector as a basis for a data transfer system: Operational principle,model, and simulation of the influence of turbulence and noise

The principle of determining the topological charge of an optical vortex is suggested based on measuring the light field intensity and designing the corresponding detector. A mathematical model of the performance of the detector of topological vortex charge is presented. Results of numerical experiments imitating the vortex recognition in the presence of turbulence or (amplitude or phase) noise in registered radiation as well as of the displacement of the optical beam source and detector axes are presented. Principles are formulated of designing the position finder for an optical vortex (that is, the detector of vortex coordinates) that allows us to consider its realization in the form of mathematical and numerical model. Conditions of reliable operation of the vortex detector and singular optical communication line constructed on its basis are estimated. Dependencies of the probability of error in data transfer on the turbulence intensity, photodetector noise amplitude, and displacement of the optical axes are investigated for different coding algorithms (absolute and differential with fixed or adaptive threshold). The data of modeling confirm the results of analytical calculations.     

Two-mode SU(2) coherent states for k-photon down conversion process with quantized pump

We analyze the statistical properties of the two-mode SU(2) coherent states associated with the process ofk-photon down conversion with quantized pump. We show that the modes exhibit sub-Poissonian photon statistics, anticorrelation and in some particular cases also squeezing. The influence of various initial number states on this effects is analyzed in detail.One of the authors I. J. would like to thank Professor M. Matsuoka for discussions.     

Isomorphism of two realizations of quantum affine algebraU_q (\widehat{\mathfrak{g}\mathfrak{l}{\text{(}}n{\text{)}}})

We establish an explicit isomorphism between two realizations of the quantum affine algebra given previously by Drinfeld and Reshetikhin-Semenov-Tian-Shansky. Our result can be considered as an affine version of the isomorphism between the Drinfield/Jimbo and the Faddeev-Reshetikhin-Takhtajan constructions of the quantum algebra .