On longitudinal mode spacing of laser cavities with pairs of gratings

It has recently been suggested that a laser cavity formed by a pair of gratings would show anomalously large longitudinal mode spacing which should favor single-longitudinal-mode emission. An experimental verification of that prediction with a TEA-CO₂ laser is presented. The repeatedly negative results obtained under various conditions are given a tentative explanation, based on the well-known analysis of a closely related problem: the grating-pair pulse compression scheme.     

A new route to aristocularine alkaloids: total synthesis of aristoyagonine

A short and efficient synthesis of aristocularines, involving the sequential construction of phosphorylated 4-alkoxyisoindolinones, Horner-type reaction, and ultimate cyclization by diaryl ether coupling, is disclosed. The success of this new conceptual approach is demonstrated by the total synthesis of the aristocularine alkaloid aristoyagonine.     

Total synthesis of amaryllidaceae alkaloid buflavine

A concise synthesis of the amaryllidaceae alkaloid buflavine (1) and its regioisomer (2) involving sequential Meyers' biaryl coupling, enecarbamate formation, and hydrogenation followed by ultimate intramolecular reductive amination is presented.     

A concise total synthesis of the azaphenanthrene alkaloid eupolauramine.

A six-step total synthesis of the azaphenanthrene alkaloid eupolauramine 1 has been achieved using combinational metalation-cyclization tactics. The synthetic route involved first the construction of the azaisoindolinone 9 by aryne-mediated cyclization of he phosphorylated pyridocarboxamide 7 and subsequent dephosphorylation. Metalation of 9 followed by connection of the hydroxybenzyl appendage and E(1)CB anti-elimination allowed the formation of the halogenoarylmethylene azaisoindolinone 4 in the exclusive E-form. Oxidative radical cyclization gave rise to the azaphenanthrene skeleton and regioselective bromination of 3 induced the incorporation of the bromine atom at the 6-position of the azaphenanthrene lactam. Ultimate replacement of the bromine atom of 2 by the methoxy functionality by sequential transmetalation, in situ oxidation, and O-methylation of the phenolic derivative 14 completed the synthesis of the target natural product eupolauramine.     

Stereoselective photoinduced electrocyclic ring closure of aromatic enehydrazides. Asymmetric synthesis of 3-aryl dihydroisoquinolones and tetrahydroisoquinolines

A flexible route for the stereoselective synthesis of a variety of 3-aryl dihydroisoquinolones and tetrahydroisoquinolines has been developed. The key step is a diastereoselective photoinduced 6π-electrocyclic ring closure of enantiopure aromatic enehydrazides via a 1,4-remote asymmetric induction. N–N bond cleavage to release the chiral appendage from the preliminary annulated compounds and/or concomitant reduction of the lactam carbonyl group completed the synthesis of the title compounds.     

Optical absorption spectra of an aqueous frozen solution of neodymium chloride at various temperatures and pressures

A dilute aqueous solution of neodymium chloride NdCl₃ has been taken through two thermodynamic cycles along transformations with varying pressure (between 1 bar and 3.3 kbar) and temperature (between 300 K and 77 K). The characteristic optical line absorption spectrum which shows a Stark splitting of the Nd³⁺ electronic levels due to a quasi-crystalline surrounding of the ions appears only in that part of the cycles where pure ice I_h phase would be present. In any other part of the cycles where pure ice phases II, III, IX and I_C would be present such a phenomenon does not exist. It is shown that ice I_h may constitute a frame for neodymium aquo-ions.     

Anomalous magnetic moment of theW-bosons and non-standardZ 0 W + W − coupling in polarizede − e + collisions

We study quantitatively the reactions \(e^ + e^ - \to W^ + e\bar \nu _e \) ,e _R ^? e ⁺ and the rare decay \(Z^0 \to W^ \pm l^ \mp \mathop {\nu _e }\limits^{( - )} \) forl=e, μ and τ, as a test for anomalous γW ⁺ W ^? andZ ⁰ W ⁺ W ^? structure. If κ denotes the anomalous magnetic moment of theW-boson and ω its anomalous coupling to theZ ⁰, values of |ω|>2.5 and |κ|>1.5 can be ruled out at LEP and SLC rather easily. This will put constraints on composite model building.     

First total synthesis of cichorine and zinnimidine

The first total synthesis of the phytotoxins cichorine and zinnimidine is described. The synthetic tactics involve the sequential connection of the dense and diverse functionalities on the aromatic nucleus followed by a Parham cyclization process, giving rise to the lactam unit embedded in the title compound framework.     

EOT or Kretschmann configuration? Comparative study of the plasmonic modes in gold nanohole arrays

The debate is still ongoing on the optimal mode of interrogation for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. Comparative studies previously demonstrated that nanoparticles exhibiting a localized SPR (LSPR) have superior sensitivity to molecular adsorption processes while thin Au film-based propagating SPR is more sensitive to bulk refractive index. In this paper, it is demonstrated that nanohole arrays (1000 nm periodicity, 600 nm diameter and 125 nm depth), which support both LSPR and propagating SPR modes, exhibited superior sensitivity to bulk refractive index and improved detection limits for IgG sensing by using the Kretschmann configuration. The greater sensitivity to IgG detection in the Kretschmann configuration was obtained despite the shorter penetration depth of nanohole arrays excited in the enhanced optical transmission (EOT) configuration. The decay length of the electromagnetic field in EOT mode was estimated to be approximately 140 nm using a layer-by-layer deposition technique of polyelectrolytes (PAH and PSS) and was confirmed with 3D FDTD simulations, which was lengthen by almost a factor of two in the Kretschmann configuration. Spectroscopic data and field depth were correlated with RCWA and FDTD simulations, which were in good agreement with the experimental results. Considering these analytical parameters, it is advantageous to develop sensors based on nanohole arrays in the Kretschmann configuration of SPR.