Coherent transients at dressed levels

Possibilities for the control of the parameters of free-polarization decay (FPD), optical nutation, and photon echo (PE) using the dressing field are studied. Coherent transients are generated with the Stark switching technique and are detected in the radiation of the probe field polarized orthogonally to the dressing field. The evolution-operator technique is employed in the calculations. The experiments are performed at the R(4, 3) transition of the 0 ? 1 v₃ ¹³CH₃F vibrational band with the radiation of a cw CO₂ laser. It is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that FPD and PE are suppressed upon an increase in the intensity of the dressing field. The observed shapes of the transient FPD and PE signals and their variations with the dressing field intensity are in qualitative agreement with the results of the calculations.     

On a class of operators related to second-order differential equations

In the present paper, we find a class of linear homogeneous differential equations of order n + 1 (n > 1) whose fundamental system of solutions is constructed from the fundamental system of solutions of a second-order differential equation. The spectral properties of differential operators generated by these differential expressions are investigated. In particular, sufficient conditions are obtained for the coefficients of a second-order differential equation under which the case of maximal deficiency indices is realized. Dedicated to the memory of B. M. Levitan     

Eye tissue structure and refraction alterations upon nondestructive laser action

A new approach to alterations in eye refraction upon nondestructive laser action on the sclera and cornea is studied. It is demonstrated in in vivo experiments on rabbit eyes that sequential laser irradiation of the sclera and cornea yields a significant alteration in the eye refraction. The collagen structure of the sclera and cornea is studied after the nondestructive laser action with noninvasive polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography. It is demonstrated that collagen fibers that provide for the cornea tension and applanation partially survive in the zone of the local denaturation of sclera. An irradiation mode that corresponds to an increase in the cornea’s plasticity and does not cause visible structural changes is chosen. The simplest theoretical model for alterations in the eye refraction upon the nonablative laser action on sclera is analyzed. The alteration in the cornea curvature upon stretching resulting from the local sclera coagulation and the corresponding decrease in its volume is calculated. The model makes it possible to approximately estimate the laser irradiation modes that provide the desired alterations in eye refraction.     

Sonogashira alkynylation of unprotected 8-brominated adenosines and guanosines: fluorescence properties of compact conjugated acetylenes containing a purine ring

A practical Sonogashira alkynylation protocol for the preparation of 8-alkynylated adenosines and guanosines has been developed. Protection of the sugar hydroxyl substituents is not required; protection hinders the purification of these products. A preliminary fluorescent study is reported, which shows that the presence of a substituent on the phenylene ring influences the fluorescent properties considerably, an outcome that could be utilized in biological applications.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of processing using AFM pin tool

A three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) model is utilized to investigate the effect of tool geometry on the deformation process of the workpiece and the nature of deformation process at the atomic-scale. Results show that different states exist between the atomic force microscope (AFM) pin tool and the workpiece surface, i.e. the non-wear state, the ploughing state, the state in which ploughing is dominant and the state in which cutting plays a key role. A relationship between the deformation process of the workpiece and the potential energy variation is presented. The potential energy variation of atoms in different deformed regions in the workpiece such as plastically deformed region, elastically deformed region and the mixed deformation region is different. The features of variations of potential energy are discussed.     

Three Electrons in a Two-Dimensional Parabolic Trap: The Relative Motion Solution

In agreement with the Kohn theorem the relative motion (rel) of three electrons in a two-dimensional parabolic trap separates from the centre-of-mass (CM) motion. By introducing new coordinates the Hamiltonian for relative motion in the approximation of non-interacting electrons can be taken to the normal form. The eigenstates of the normalized Hamiltonian are products of the Fock-Darwin states for normal modes. The energy levels for relative motion are obtained by diagonalizing the exact Hamiltonian in the eigenbasis for the non-interacting case. In this basis the interaction matrix elements can be obtained in the analytical form. Since the rank of the Hamiltonian matrix is significantly reduced, the calculations are faster and more accurate than those for the full (CM + rel) motion. This advantage is especially important for the calculations of excited states and the analysis of energy spectra.     

Khillah extract as inhibitor for acid corrosion of SX 316 steel

The inhibitive effect of the extract of khillah (Ammi visnaga) seeds, on the corrosion of SX 316 steel in HCl solution was determined using weight loss measurements as well as potentiostatic technique. It was found that the presence of the extract reduces markedly the corrosion rate of steel in the acid solution. The inhibition efficiency increases as the extract concentration is increased. The inhibitive effect of khillah extract was discussed on the basis of adsorption of its components on the metal surface. Negative values were calculated for the energy of adsorption indicating the spontaneity of the adsorption process. The formation of insoluble complexes as a result of interaction between iron cations and khellin, which present in the extract, was also discussed.     

A modified predictor–corrector scheme for the two-dimensional sine-Gordon equation

A three-time level finite-difference scheme based on a fourth order in time and second order in space approximation has been proposed for the numerical solution of the nonlinear two-dimensional sine-Gordon equation. The method, which is analysed for local truncation error and stability, leads to the solution of a nonlinear system. To avoid solving it, a predictor–corrector scheme using as predictor a second-order explicit scheme is proposed. The procedure of the corrector has been modified by considering as known the already evaluated corrected values instead of the predictor ones. This modified scheme has been tested on the line and circular ring soliton and the numerical experiments have proved that there is an improvement in the accuracy over the standard predictor–corrector implementation. This research was co-funded by E.U. (75%) and by the Greek Government (25%).     

Enantiodiscrimination of racemic electrophiles by diketopiperazine enolates: asymmetric synthesis of methyl 2-amino-3-aryl-butanoates and 3-methyl-aspartates

Enolates of (S)-N,N′-bis-(p-methoxybenzyl)-3-iso-propylpiperazine-2,5-dione exhibit high levels of enantiodiscrimination in alkylations with (RS)-1-aryl-1-bromoethanes and (RS)-2-bromoesters, affording substituted diketopiperazines containing two new stereogenic centres in high de. Deprotection and hydrolysis of the resultant substituted diketopiperazines provides a route to the asymmetric synthesis of homochiral methyl 2-amino-3-aryl-butanoates and 3-methyl-aspartates in high de and ee.