Numerical study of light correlations in a random medium close to the Anderson localization threshold

We applied a finite-difference time domain algorithm to the study of field and intensity correlations in random media. Close to the onset of Anderson localization, we observe deviations of the correlation functions, in both shape and magnitude, from those predicted by the diffusion theory. Physical implications of the observed phenomena are discussed.     

Stable soliton complexes in two-dimensional photonic lattices

We show that two-dimensional photonic Kerr nonlinear lattices can support stable soliton complexes composed of several solitons packed together with appropriately engineered phases. This may open up new prospects for encoding pixellike images made of robust discrete or lattice solitons.     

Shocks and cold fronts in galaxy clusters

The currently operating X-ray imaging observatories provide us with an exquisitely detailed view of the Megaparsec-scale plasma atmospheres in nearby galaxy clusters. At z<0.05$z<0.05$, the Chandra  's 1^″$1^{″}$ angular resolution corresponds to linear resolution of less than a kiloparsec, which is smaller than some interesting linear scales in the intracluster plasma. This enables us to study the previously unseen hydrodynamic phenomena in clusters: classic bow shocks driven by the infalling subclusters, and the unanticipated “cold fronts,” or sharp contact discontinuities between regions of gas with different entropies. The ubiquitous cold fronts are found in mergers as well as around the central density peaks in “relaxed” clusters. They are caused by motion of cool, dense gas clouds in the ambient higher-entropy gas. These clouds are either remnants of the infalling subclusters, or the displaced gas from the cluster's own cool cores.     

Directed random polymers via nested contour integrals

We study the partition function of two versions of the continuum directed polymer in 1+1$1+1$ dimension. In the full-space version, the polymer starts at the origin and is free to move transversally in R$\mathbb{R}$, and in the half-space version, the polymer starts at the origin but is reflected at the origin and stays in R₋${\mathbb{R}}_{-}$. The partition functions solve the stochastic heat equation in full-space or half-space with mixed boundary condition at the origin; or equivalently the free energy satisfies the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang equation.     

Nanomechanical magnetization reversal

The dynamics of the ferromagnetic order parameter in thin magnetic films is strongly affected by the magnetomechanical coupling at certain resonance frequencies. By solving the equation of motion of the coupled mechanical and magnetic degrees of freedom we show that the magnetic field induced magnetization switching can be strongly accelerated by the lattice and illustrate the possibility of magnetization reversal by mechanical actuation.     

Photooxidation of Histidine by 3,3′,4,4′-Benzophenone Tetracarboxylic Acid in Aqueous Solution: Time-Resolved and Field-Dependent CIDNP Study

The photooxidation reaction between 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid (TCBP) and l-histidine (His) has been investigated in neutral aqueous solution using the technique of chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP). Relative values of ¹³C isotropic hyperfine couplings in the TCBP and His radicals were obtained from the ¹³C-time-resolved CIDNP spectrum, recorded during the photoreaction of TCBP with His at natural abundance of the magnetic isotope ¹³C. Good agreement was found for the hyperfine coupling constants of the TCBP ketyl radical calculated using methods of density functional theory, and those obtained from the ¹³C-time-resolved CIDNP spectrum. The mechanism of the quenching reaction of triplet-excited TCBP by His in neutral aqueous solution was established. ¹H CIDNP field dependencies for the photoreaction of TCBP with His were obtained and the g-factor of the histidyl radical was found.