Brine rejection from freezing salt solutions: a molecular dynamics study

The atmospherically and technologically very important process of brine rejection from freezing salt solutions is investigated with atomic resolution using molecular dynamics simulations. The present calculations allow us to follow the motion of each water molecule and salt ion and to propose a microscopic mechanism of brine rejection, in which a fluctuation (reduction) of the ion density in the vicinity of the ice front is followed by the growth of a new ice layer. The presence of salt slows down the freezing process, which leads to the formation of an almost neat ice next to a disordered brine layer.     

Forces between a single atom and its distant mirror image

An excited-state atom whose emitted light is backreflected by a distant mirror can experience trapping forces, because the presence of the mirror modifies both the electromagnetic vacuum field and the atom's own radiation reaction field. We demonstrate this mechanical action using a single trapped barium ion. We observe the trapping conditions to be notably altered when the distant mirror is translated across an optical wavelength. The well-localized barium ion enables the spatial dependence of the forces to be measured explicitly. The experiment has implications for quantum information processing and may be regarded as the most elementary optical tweezers.     

A possibility of parallel and anti-parallel diffraction measurements on neutron diffractometer employing bent perfect crystal monochromator at the monochromatic focusing condition

In a conventional diffractometer having single monochromator, only one position, parallel position, is used for the diffraction experiment (i.e. detection) because the resolution property of the other one, anti-parallel position, is very poor. However, a bent perfect crystal (BPC) monochromator at monochromatic focusing condition can provide a quite flat and equal resolution property at both parallel and anti-parallel positions and thus one can have a chance to use both sides for the diffraction experiment. From the data of the FWHM and the Δd/d measured on three diffraction geometries (symmetric, asymmetric compression and asymmetric expansion), we can conclude that the simultaneous diffraction measurement in both parallel and anti-parallel positions can be achieved.     

Braided differential operators on quantum algebras

We propose a general scheme of constructing braided differential algebras via algebras of “quantum exponentiated vector fields” and those of “quantum functions”. We treat a reflection equation algebra as a quantum analog of the algebra of vector fields. The role of a quantum function algebra is played by a general quantum matrix algebra. As an example we mention the so-called RTT algebra of quantized functions on the linear matrix group GL(m)$GL\left(m\right)$. In this case our construction essentially coincides with the quantum differential algebra introduced by S. Woronowicz. If the role of a quantum function algebra is played by another copy of the reflection equation algebra we get two different braided differential algebras. One of them is defined via a quantum analog of (co)adjoint vector fields, the other algebra is defined via a quantum analog of right-invariant vector fields. We show that the former algebra can be identified with a subalgebra of the latter one. Also, we show that “quantum adjoint vector fields” can be restricted to the so-called “braided orbits” which are counterparts of generic GL(m)$GL\left(m\right)$-orbits in gl^∗(m)$g{l}^{\ast }\left(m\right)$. Such braided orbits endowed with these restricted vector fields constitute a new class of braided differential algebras.     

Theoretical analysis of imaging properties of a pressure-actuated deformable mirror for adaptive compensation of rotationally symmetrical wavefronts

Our work presents a theoretical analysis of aberration properties of a simple single-channel deformable mirror from both the aspect of modeling the shape of the mirror reflecting surface and the mechanisms of wave-front correction using such mirror. The proposed mirror can be used for a compensation of rotationally symmetrical wavefronts, e.g. focusing of optical beams, adaptive change of resonator parameters in laser technology, phase shifting, etc. The detailed analysis of possibilities of wave-front correction was performed.     

Domain and Range of the Modified Wave Operator for Schrödinger Equations with a Critical Nonlinearity

We study the final problem for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation

$i{\partial }_{t}u+\frac{1}{2}\Delta u=\lambda|u|^{\frac{2}{n}}u,\quad (t,x)\in {\mathbf{R}}\times \mathbf{R}^{n},$

where\(\lambda \in{\bf R},n=1,2,3\). If the final data\(u_{+}\in {\bf H}^{0,\alpha }=\left\{ \phi \in {\bf L}^{2}:\left( 1+\left\vert x\right\vert \right) ^{\alpha }\phi \in {\bf L}^{2}\right\} \) with\(\frac{ n}{2} < \alpha < \min \left( n,2,1+\frac{2}{n}\right) \) and the norm\(\Vert \widehat{u_{+}}\Vert _{{\bf L}^{\infty }}\) is sufficiently small, then we prove the existence of the wave operator in L ². We also construct the modified scattering operator from H ^0,α to H ^0,δ with\(\frac{n}{2} < \delta < \alpha\).

     

Topological transition in coated wire medium

Employing nonlocal homogenization approach, we investigate the properties of a metamaterial consisting of parallel metallic wires with dielectric coating. We demonstrate that manipulation of dielectric contrast between wire dielectric shell and host material at fixed frequency results in dynamic switching of metamaterial dispersion regime from elliptic to the hyperbolic one, i.e. the topological transition takes place. It is proved that such transition can be induced by the variation of the metamaterial temperature. Our findings thus pave a way to the implementation of a tunable ‘elliptic‐hyperbolic’ metamaterial.     

Bi(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–O layers prepared by a new method of laser ablation in air

Bi(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–O layers were prepared by laser ablation in air, that is without using a vacuum chamber. At this method a much higher density of pulse energy of laser beam is required (10–30 J cm^–2) in comparison with the standard method (1–3 J cm^–2). The mentioned condition has specific effects on the nature of the transport of material from the target. As follows from the electron microprobe analysis of the layers, the starting composition of the transported material is identical with that of the superconducting phase sintered in the target; one exception represents Pb, the content of which in the transported material is lower. The image of the process is complemented by UV/VIS spectroscopy scans of the plasma plume.