Optical amplification of photoinduced polarizability gratings in phosphate glasses

It is experimentally demonstrated that second-order polarizability gratings preliminarily recorded using bichromatic light in a phosphate glass can be amplified under the action of monochromatic radiation. The amplification effect takes place irrespective of the polarization and direction of propagation of the amplifying radiation and is achieved at various wavelengths. The phenomenon is related to the asymmetry of optical transitions between local centers in an isotropic medium in the presence of electric field. It is theoretically shown that this system may feature the formation of alternating electric field domains with dimensions depending on the grating amplitude.     

High accuracy description of radiative return production of low-mass muon and pion pairs at <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>−</Superscript> colliders

The process of muon (pion) pair production with small invariant mass in electron-positron high-energy annihilation, accompanied by emission of a hard photon at large angles, is considered. We find that the Drell-Yan picture for the differential cross section is valid in the charge-even experimental setup. Radiative corrections both for the electron block and for the final-state block are taken into account.     

Thermodynamically stable fractal-like domain structures in magnetic films

A fractal-like structure of the domain boundaries was revealed in “overcritical” uniaxial Permalloy magnetic films. The fractal dimension of domain boundaries at the film surfaces was determined as a function of the film thickness. It is shown that the phase transition between the two possible types of fractal-like structures is accompanied by a jump in fractal dimension.

     

Optical third-harmonic generation in coupled microcavities based on porous silicon

The resonance features of the third-harmonic generation have been observed in 1D coupled microcavities consisting of three Bragg reflectors and two identical half-wave layers of mesoporous silicon. The third-harmonic intensity increases by a factor of about 10³ in the resonance of fundamental radiation with each of the modes of coupled microcavities. It has been shown that the resonance positions in the angular spectra of the third-harmonic intensity depend on the coupling between microcavities that is determined by the transmission of the intermediate Bragg reflector. In the framework of the transfer-matrix method with nonlinear sources, it has been shown that the basic mechanism of the enhancement of the third-harmonic generation in coupled microcavities based on porous silicon is the constructive interference of the partial third-harmonic waves that are generated by near-surface layers.     

Probing structural relaxation in complex fluids by critical fluctuations

Complex fluids, such as polymer solutions and blends, colloids, and gels, are of growing interest in fundamental and applied soft-condensed-matter science. A common feature of all such systems is the presence of a mesoscopic structural length scale intermediate between the atomic and macroscopic scales. This mesoscopic structure of complex fluids is often fragile and sensitive to external perturbations. Complex fluids are frequently viscoelastic (showing a combination of viscous and elastic behavior), with their dynamic response depending on the time and length scales. Recently, noninvasive methods to infer the rheological response of complex fluids have gained popularity through the technique of microrheology, where the diffusion of probe spheres in a viscoelastic fluid is monitored with the aid of light scattering or microscopy. Here, we propose an alternative to traditional microrheology that does not require doping of probe particles in the fluid (which can sometimes drastically alter the molecular environment). Instead, our proposed method makes use of the phenomenon of “avoided crossing” between modes associated with the structural relaxation and critical fluctuations that are spontaneously generated in the system.     

A stable static universe?

Starting from the assumption that general relativity might be an emergent phenomenon showing up at low energies from an underlying microscopic structure, we reanalyze the stability of a static closed universe filled with radiation. In this scenario, it is sensible to consider the effective general-relativistic configuration as in a thermal contact with an “environment” (the role of the environment can be played, for example, by a higher-dimensional bulk or by the trans-Planckian degrees of freedom). We calculate the free energy at a fixed temperature of this radiation-filled static configuration. Then, by looking at the free energy, we show that the static Einstein configuration is stable under the stated condition.     

On the sigma-model structure of type IIA supergravity action in doubled field approach

In this letter, we describe how to string together the doubled field approach by Cremmer, Julia, Lü, and Pope with the Pasti-Sorokin-Tonin technique to construct the sigma-model-like action for type IIA supergravity. The relation of the results with those obtained in the context of searching for superstring/M-theory hidden symmetry group is discussed.     

Terahertz spectroscopy with a Josephson oscillator and a SINIS bolometer

The voltage response of a thin-film normal-metal hot-electron bolometer based on a SINIS (superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor) structure to the radiation of a high-temperature Josephson junction in the terahertz frequency region was measured. Bolometers were integrated with planar log-periodic and double-dipole antennas, and Josephson junctions were integrated with log-periodic antennas. Measurements showed that the Josephson junction at a temperature of 260 mK was overheated by the transport current, so that its electron temperature exceeded 3 K at a bias voltage of 1 mV. The maximum response of a bolometer with a double-dipole antenna was observed at a frequency of 300 GHz, which agreed well with the calculated value. The Josephson radiation was observed at frequencies up to 1.7 THz. The voltage response of a bolometer reached 4×10⁸ V/W, and the total noise-equivalent power reached 1.5×10^?17 W/Hz^1/2.     

On a collective attack on the key in quantum cryptography on two nonorthogonal states

A “collective” attack on the key is considered, and its connection with the classical capacity of a quantum communication channel is analyzed. It has been shown that the allowable error probability for legitimate users to which the secure key can be extracted is less than half the value for “translucent” eavesdropping and individual measurements.     

Spatial-temporal ion structures in the earth’s magnetotail: Beamlets as a result of nonadiabatic impulse acceleration of the plasma

The properties of high-energy ion beams (beamlets) observed in the boundary layer of the plasma sheet of the Earth’s magnetotail during short time intervals (1–2 min) have been considered. Beamlets are induced by nonlinear impulse accelerating processes occurring in the current sheet of the far regions of the geomagnetic tail. Then, moving toward the Earth along the magnetic field lines, they are detected in the magnetotail (in the plasma sheet boundary layer) and in the high-latitude part of the auroral zone in the form of short bursts of high-energy ions (with energies of several tens of keVs). The size of the localization region of the beamlets in the magnetotail and auroral zone has been determined by the epoch-superposition method, and it has been shown that beamlets are concentrated in a narrow region near the plasma sheet boundary, whose latitude size is no more than 0.8δ. This conclusion corroborates the theoretical prediction that the nonadiabatic resonant acceleration of ions occurs in a spatially localized region near the separatrix separating the open magnetic field lines and closed field lines, which contain the hot and isotropic plasmas of the plasma sheet. Based on the CLUSTER multisatellite measurements, the spatial structure of beamlets is analyzed and it has been found that the Alfvén wave arises due to the excitation of fire-hose instability at the instant of the exit of the ion beam from the current sheet to the high-latitude region of the far tail of the Earth’s magnetosphere. The longitudinal (along the magnetic field) and transverse sizes of a beamlet are estimated. It has been found that the beamlet is a dynamic plasma structure whose longitudinal size is several hundred times larger than its transverse size.