Temperature-dependent segregation of Pr3+ impurity ions in Y2SiO5:Pr3+ and YPO4:Pr3+ nanocrystals

Stationary and time-resolved spectroscopic methods are used to show that the impurity ions in Y₂SiO₅:Pr³⁺ and YPO₄:Pr³⁺ nanocrystals are distributed nonuniformly. This nonuniform distribution is found to be caused by the temperature-dependent segregation of Pr³⁺ ions near the surface of a nanocrystal. The motion of the activator ions from the bulk of a nanocrystal to the near-surface layer is traced when the activator concentration and the heat-treatment parameters are varied over wide ranges, and the main parameters of this effect (impurity redistribution intensity and time, diffusion coefficient) are estimated.     

Algorithmic boundedness-from-below conditions for generic scalar potentials

Checking that a scalar potential is bounded from below (BFB) is an ubiquitous and notoriously difficult task in many models with extended scalar sectors. Exact analytic BFB conditions are known only in simple cases. In this work, we present a novel approach to algorithmically establish the BFB conditions for any polynomial scalar potential. The method relies on elements of multivariate algebra, in particular, on resultants and on the spectral theory of tensors, which is being developed by the mathematical community. We give first a pedagogical introduction to this approach, illustrate it with elementary examples, and then present the working Mathematica implementation publicly available at GitHub. Due to the rapidly increasing complexity of the problem, we have not yet produced ready-to-use analytical BFB conditions for new multi-scalar cases. But we are confident that the present implementation can be dramatically improved and may eventually lead to such results.     

Gap soliton dynamics in a nonuniform resonant structure

A model for the propagation of coherent pulses along a one-dimensional, resonantly absorbing Bragg grating that includes localized inhomogeneous population inversion at its center is presented. The long-range coupling between the optical field and resonant atoms allows for controllable trapping of a gap soliton by the local inversion, thus opening new opportunities for control of signal transmission and localization of light.     

Measuring statistical heterogeneity: The Pietra index

There are various ways of quantifying the statistical heterogeneity of a given probability law: Statistics uses variance — which measures the law’s dispersion around its mean; Physics and Information Theory use entropy — which measures the law’s randomness; Economics uses the Gini index — which measures the law’s egalitarianism. In this research we explore an alternative to the Gini index-the Pietra index-which is a counterpart of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic. The Pietra index is shown to be a natural and elemental measure of statistical heterogeneity, which is especially useful in the case of asymmetric and skewed probability laws, and in the case of asymptotically Paretian laws with finite mean and infinite variance. Moreover, the Pietra index is shown to have immediate and fundamental interpretations within the following applications: renewal processes and continuous time random walks; infinite-server queueing systems and shot noise processes; financial derivatives. The interpretation of the Pietra index within the context of financial derivatives implies that derivative markets, in effect, use the Pietra index as their benchmark measure of statistical heterogeneity.     

Self‐Assembled Silver–Gold Nanoisland Films on Glass for SERS Applications

We present a study of resonant optical properties of gold‐protected silver nanoisland films. Silver nanoislands were grown on a glass substrate using out‐diffusion technique, the growth was followed by the deposition of nanometer‐thick gold coatings. Scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy were used to characterize morphology and extinction spectra of the grown combined silver–gold nanostructures. Micro Raman spectroscopy of the combined nanoislands has demonstrated their signal enhancement factor exceeding that one of the initial silver nanoislands.     

The 1:1 resonance in Hamiltonian systems

Two-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian systems with an elliptic equilibrium at the origin are characterised by the frequencies of the linearisation. Considering the frequencies as parameters, the system undergoes a bifurcation when the frequencies pass through a resonance. These bifurcations are well understood for most resonances $k:l$, but not the semisimple cases $1:1$ and $1:?1$. A two-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian system can be approximated to any order by an integrable normal form. The reason is that the normal form of a Hamiltonian system has an additional integral due to the normal form symmetry. The latter is intimately related to the ratio of the frequencies. For a rational frequency ratio this leads to $S^1$-symmetric systems. The question we wish to address is about the co-dimension of such a system in $1:1$ resonance with respect to left-right-equivalence, where the right action is $S^1$-equivariant. The result is a co-dimension five unfolding of the central singularity. Two of the unfolding parameters are moduli and the remaining non-modal parameters are the ones found in the linear unfolding of this system.     

Synthesis and structure of new composite hydrogels based on poly(N-vinyl caprolactam) with nanosized anatase

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Trimetallic NiCoM catalysts (M = Mn,Fe, Cu) for methane conversion into synthesis gas

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Efficient and stereoselective synthesis of (S)-α-propargylglycine derivatives from allenylboronic acid

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Structure and quantum chemical study of crystalline platinum(II) acetate

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