Absorption and emission dynamics in concentrated optical ensembles under laser excitation

A new theoretical model describing the emission and absorption dynamics in an ensemble of molecules under intense coherent pulsed pumping is developed on the basis of the concepts of cooperative light-induced luminescence (CLIL). The CLIL development is described within the framework of formalism of the system density matrix in the space of photon wave functions. It is shown that the fast growth of CLIL relates to the development of coherent states of the quantum field in the area of efficient cooperative interactions of molecules (coherence volume). A system of equations for the calculation of CLIL energy, population of excited states, and optical absorption of the system in dependence on the laser pump energy density is solved. The theoretical results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

The influence of hyperpolarisability and field-gradient polarisability on field adsorption binding energies for He on W(111)

The effects of imaging-gas hyperpolarisability and field-gradient polarisabuity terms on field-adsorption binding energies have been explored. At best image fields for the noble imaging gases and molecular hydrogen, the correction to long-range binding energy is at most a few percent and may be neglected. At the tungsten evaporation field the correction is significant in the cases of Ar, Kr, H₂, and especially Xe. The system He on W(111) has been used as a paradigm in the investigation of short-range binding energy. The largest correction here is due to one of the field-gradient polarisabuity terms. In the field range of most relevance to the field-ion techniques the total correction is about 15–20%, and should not be neglected in detailed treatments.     

Effects of oxidation and cluster distribution on thermal and magnetotransport properties of mechanically alloyed Co–Cu powders

Thermal and magnetotransport properties of mechanically alloyed Co₃₀Cu₇₀ powders of three different milling times are studied. Both milling and annealing bring about oxidation of the samples. The powders show exothermic behaviors corresponding to the lattice-recovery process. Different milling times and annealing temperatures give rise to different exothermic peaks because of oxidation and the cluster distribution. At room temperature, the compressed powders show, on average, up to 11% giant magnetoresistance (GMR) under 10 kOe with sharp switching. The results may be understood in terms of spin-dependent scattering across Co/oxide/Cu interfaces. Annealing reduces the resistance but does not promote the GMR. By annealing at 400 °C, the GMR is entirely suppressed as the magnetic content is largely replaced by oxides. PACS 72.15.Eb; 75.47.De; 75.47.Np     

Optical spectroscopy of Yb/Er codoped NaY(WO4)2 crystal

Erbium and ytterbium codoped double tungstates NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals were prepared by using Czochralski (CZ) pulling method. The absorption spectra in the region 290-2000 nm have been recorded at room temperature. The Judd-Ofelt theory was applied to the measured values of absorption line strengths to evaluate the spontaneous emission probabilities and stimulated emission cross sections of Er³⁺ ions in NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals. Intensive green and red lights were measured when the sample were pumped by a 974 nm laser diode (LD), especially, the intensities of green upconversion luminescence are very strong. The mechanism of energy transfer from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ ions was analyzed. Energy transfer and nonradiative relaxation played an important role in the upconversion process. Photoexcited luminescence experiments are also fulfilled to help analyzing the transit processes of the energy levels.     

MULTI-MODE TRIMMING OF IMPERFECT THIN RINGS USING MASSES AT PRE-SELECTED LOCATIONS

This paper presents a practical method for trimming the natural frequencies of an initially imperfect ring to simultaneously eliminate certain of the frequency splits present. Compared with previous work, the novel feature of this method is that the trimming masses are positioned at pre-selected locations on the ring. The basis for the proposed method is the concept of equivalent imperfection mass, which allows any imperfect ring to be considered as a perfect ring with equivalent imperfection masses attached. By considering this trimming problem it is deduced that it is possible to trim N pairs of modes simultaneously by removing (a minimum of) 2 N trimming masses at particular locations around the ring. By positioning the trimming masses at pre-selected locations, it is shown that a simple set of trimming masses can be calculated easily, and from this set an infinite number of solution sets can be found. Methods for generating these sets are outlined for the trimming of both a single and a dual pair of modes. In practice, it is likely that the trimming masses will be spaced regularly. For this special case, it is found that it is not possible to trim all single- and dual-mode pairs with any arrangement of masses. Validation of the derived simple solution set and the proposed procedure to generate further sets is achieved by studying a number of theoretical examples.     

Observation of hydrogen induced intermediate borides in PrFeB based alloys by Mössbauer effect spectroscopy

In the present work, a quantitative analysis of the phase compositions by Mössbauer effect spectroscopy of solid and conventional hydrogen disproportionated Pr_13.7Fe_80.3B_6.0 and Pr_13.7Fe_63.5Co_16.7Zr_0.1B_6.0 alloys was carried out. Significant amounts of intermediate borides t-Fe₃B and Pr(Fe, Co)₁₂B₆ were detected after solid hydrogen disproportionation treatment in Pr_13.7Fe_80.3B_6.0 and Pr_13.7Fe_63.5Co_16.7Zr_0.1B_6.0 alloys, respectively. After conventional hydrogenation–disproportionation–desorption–recombination treatment these phases were not detected and in no case residual Pr₂Fe₁₄B-phase was found. It was observed that the amount of intermediate borides after disproportionation can be correlated with the degree of texture after recombination at various temperatures.     

Assigning patients to nurses in neonatal intensive care

An intensive care nursery provides health care for critically ill newborn infants. During a typical shift, infants range from those needing only occasional care to those requiring constant attention. At the beginning of each shift, the head nurse groups the patients for assignment to staff nurses. Typically each nurse cares for one group of infants throughout the shift. The large variation in infant conditions along with several complicating side constraints makes it difficult to develop balanced nurse work loads. We develop a mathematical programming approach for achieving better workload balance. We first develop a detailed neonatal acuity system that quantifies the nursing workload of each patient. We then develop an integer linear program that assigns patients to nurses while balancing nurse workloads. Because this model is computationally intractable, we develop a heuristic that exploits the fact that most nurseries are divided into a number of physical zones. We use ten case studies taken from a major university hospital to benchmark the performance of this heuristic. We also perform a designed experiment using randomly generated problems that examines the effect of nursery parameters on heuristic performance.     

Industrial noise and its effects on human hearing

The effects of industrial noise on hearing loss of workers in Cyprus was studied over the period from 1996 to 1999. Measurements of the noise exposure doses of more than 200 workers from 90 Cypriot industries, ranging from timber to food and beverage were evaluated. Audiometric examinations of the studied workers showed that 27.8% suffered some hearing damage while 7.7% suffered serious hearing loss.