Laser dye stability,part 12. The pyridinium salts

Improved laser output is demonstrated in KrF and XeCl lasers with x-ray preionization. The influence of gas composition, preionization geometry, x-ray dose,E/p value and temporal delay between x-ray pulse and laser discharge is discussed. In XeCl lasing has been achieved with an x-ray dose of 0.2 mR whereas approx. 3 mR are required for KrF. For both systems, the highest output energy and the lowest possibleE/p ratio were observed with Ne buffered gas mixtures. Dissociative attachment to halogen molecules on a ns time scale supported by a relatively slow laser voltage rise is recognized as the main electron loss channel preventing a long lifetime of the preionization electrons. High preionization intensity is thus desirable at the moment of voltage breakdown.     

Pion-nuclear total cross sections near the 32, sol32 resonance

The π⁺ total nuclear cross sections for ⁹Be, ¹²C, ¹⁶O, and ²⁷Al have been measured in the energy range 114 to 210 MeV, while π^? data have been taken at 153 MeV. In the center-of-mass coordinate system the π-nucleus total cross sections reach their maximum value near the π-nucleon $\text{(}\text{3}\text{2}\text{,}\text{3}\text{2}\text{)}$ resonance (T_π^C.M.= 1.52 MeV) where they scale as $\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>2</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}$. The measured total cross sections exhibit considerable broadening with respect to the π-nucleon resonance.     

Changes in MR signal intensity and contrast enhancement of therapeutically irradiated soft tissue

Increased MR signal intensity was observed on T₂-weighted, STIR, and Gadolinium-DTPA-enhanced T₁-weighted images of subcutaneous and muscular soft tissue in 9 of 10 children treated with combination chemotheraphy and radiation therapy (RT) for malignancy in the pelvis or an extremity. Total radiation doses ranged from 59.5 to 65 Gy. Eight of the patients with these changes received hyperfractionated RT (seven for Ewing sarcoma and one for perineal rhabdomyosarcoma); one was treated for pelvic hemangiopericytoma with once-daily fractions. Evidence of soft tissue damage became apparent as early as the sixth week of RT and was seen for up to 69 wk post-RT. There was no clear MR evidence of RT-induced soft tissue damage in one patient, who underwent hyperfractionated RT for pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma. Other MR findings in this group included evidence of bladder wall thickening in three of the seven patients given pelvic RT and increased T₁-weighted signal of irradiated marrow in nine patients. All patients had clinical evidence of skin, soft tissue, or epithelial radiation effects. Increased MR signal intensity secondary to RT-induced damage can be differentiated from widespread tumor by geometric borders that conform to the margins of the radiation field.     

An efficient line search for nonlinear least squares

The line search subproblem in unconstrained optimization is concerned with finding an acceptable steplength which satisfies certain standard conditions. Prototype algorithms are described which guarantee finding such a step in a finite number of operations. This is achieved by first bracketing an interval of acceptable values and then reducing this bracket uniformly by the repeated use of sectioning in a systematic way. Some new theorems about convergence and termination of the line search are presented.Use of these algorithms to solve the line search subproblem in methods for nonlinear least squares is considered. We show that substantial gains in efficiency can be made by making polynomial interpolations to the individual residual functions rather than the overall objective function. We also study modified schemes in which the Jacobian matrix is evaluated as infrequently as possible, and show that further worthwhile savings can be made. Numerical results are presented.This work was supported by the award of a Syrian Ministry of Higher Education Scholarship.     

Characterizing laser dye performance

Several measures of laser performance are investigated for a generic dye laser operating under conditions where the input energy is limited by a maximum value and the output is required to be above some minimum value. Dimensionless expressions are developed that show the interrelationships between the efficiency, the number of laser pulses for a unit volume of dye solution, and the total laser output per volume of dye solution. For one of the performance measures, the total laser output per unit volume of dye solution, the initial slope efficiency divided by a parameter characteristic of the degradation process,k ₀/c, is identified as a reasonable figure of merit. It is readily evaluated from experimental degradation data and has reasonably simple properties relative to transfer between laser systems.     

Low temperature polarization effects in ice

When an initially unpolarized HF doped ice specimen is warmed at a constant rate in an applied electric field two peaks are observed in the current. The low temperature peak occurs near 100°K and the temperature at which this peak occurs is seen to increase as the HF concentration decreases. The second peak appears to occur randomly in the temperature range 125–135°K. These peaks are also observed if the sample is cooled in an applied electric field and then warmed at a constant rate with the field removed. It is suggested that the first peak is due to a dielectric relaxation process which is governed by the L defects released from the HF molecules. This release of L defects is shown to obey the law of mass action with an activation energy for liberation of an L defect of 0.12±0.06 eV and a dissociation constantk _o ^L≈10²⁹ m^?3. A simple theoretical model of ice is also developed which predicts the current reversal phenomenon observed by Dengelet al. [11] suggesting that it is due to dipole relaxation and not to ferroelectric ordering.     

A Dorodnitsyn finite element formulation for laminar boundary layer flow

The Dorodnitsyn boundary later formulation is given a finite element interpretation and found to generate very accurate and economical solutions when combined with an implicit, non-iterative marching scheme in the downstream direction. The algorithm is of order (Δ²u, Δx) whether linear or quadratic elements are used across the boundary layer. Solutions are compared with a Dorodnitsyn spectral formulation and a conventional finite difference formulation for three Falkner-Skan pressure gradient cases and the flow over a circular cylinder. With quadratic elements the Dorodnitsyn finite element formulation is approximately five times more efficient than the conventional finite difference formulation.     

Spectroscopic detection of free “lone-pair” groups or terminal methanol molecules in methanol solutions

When basic aprotic solvents are added to methanol they become hydrogen bonded, and there is a consequent growth in non-bonded lone-pairs, (LP)_free. Although corresponding non-bonded OH groups, (OH)_free, have been detected for alcohols and for water, using overtone infrared spectroscopy, no different spectroscopic evidence for (LP)_free groups has previously been reported. We have found that unique OH stretching bands develop when strongly basic solvents such as dimethylsulphoxide are added to methanol. Band maxima assigned to (LP)_free groups occur at 3440 cm^?1 in the fundamental and 6790 cm^?1 in the overtone region. These are at considerably higher frequencies than those for bulk methanol (3340 cm^?1 and 6600 cm^?1) showing that the hydrogen bond is weakened in this unit, as expected. Proton resonance shifts for the OH protons of methanol on adding basic aprotic cosolvents are reported, and explained in terms of these results.     

The synthesis and characterization of novel non-symmetric dimers with rod-like and disc-like mesogenic units

Theory predicts that a compound whose structure possesses both rod-like and disc-like characteristics should exhibit a biaxial nematic phase. With this in mind we have synthesized and characterized two new series of non-symmetric dimers containing rod-like and disc-like mesogenic units linked by a flexible spacer. The two series differ in that in one the perimeter of the disc-like unit is decorated with alkyl chains, whereas for the other it is not. The liquid crystalline properties of the two series were investigated both as pure systems and in their equimolar binary mixtures with an electron acceptor. The nematic phase formed by the equimolar binary mixtures is monotropic. However, a small entropy change at the nematic-isotropic transition could be determined. The nature and structure of the monotropic nematic phase is discussed.