Design of specific gratings operating under surface plasmon-polariton resonance

We present a productive method of designing specific diffraction gratings that ensure some predetermined energy redistributions between outgoing waves. It is based on the analytical solution of the direct and reverse diffraction problems under surface plasmon-polariton resonance and is supported by strict numerical calculations.     

High quality resonances for terahertz radiation diffraction at periodically corrugated semiconductor interfaces

It is shown that the resonance features analogous to the well known optic Wood-type anomalies can be observed in the THz region for diffraction at periodically profiled semiconductor surfaces. The analytical theory of such resonance processes caused by excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is developed. It is shown that strong resonance effects such as total suppression of the specular reflection (TSSR) can be achieved for rather small inclinations of harmonic gratings. The analytical theory predictions are confirmed by strict numerical simulations. The analytical approach presented allows one to find parameters of the gratings so that the resonance diffraction results in specific redistributions of the reflected energy between different diffraction channels. As an example we demonstrate parameters of the InSb biharmonic grating responsible for the TSSR accompanied by 50% reflection in the minus first diffraction order when the SPP is excited in the plus first diffraction order.     

Stagnation-point polydisperse spray flame ignition

A theory of stagnation-point flow polydisperse spray flame ignition by an isothermal hot surface is presented for the first time. The configuration investigated consists of a mixture of fuel droplets and air flowing against an isothermal hot surface (such as a hot ignition probe). The polydisperse spray of droplets is modelled using the sectional approach. A single global chemical reaction is assumed for the case when ignition occurs. The mathematical analysis makes use of a small parameter that is exploited for an asymptotic approach. An analytical criterion for ignition is derived which includes effects of the flow field, the reactants and all the fuel spray-related parameters, including the initial size distribution of the spray's droplets. Numerical calculations disclose how the actual droplet size distribution impacts on the critical stagnation point temperature necessary to promote ignition. Additionally, the analytical estimates are compared with predictions of a numerical finite difference code with very satisfactory agreement.     

Neutron diffraction study of polycrystalline 4He in a porous medium

The elastic (diffraction) component of the neutron scattering cross section, which carries information on the atomic structure of solid helium confined in silica aerogel, has been studied. Analysis of the crystalline structure of solid helium in a porous medium, which is determined from the existing neutron diffraction data, indicates that the superfluid phase is localized inside a hexagonal close-packed phase and is not present in a body-centered cubic crystal. It has also been revealed that the addition of the ³He isotope changes the structure of solid helium and hardly affects the formation of a superfluid phase.     

Liquid-crystalline phases formed by DNA duplexes containing pyrophosphate groups

We have studied the interaction between synthetic DNA molecules containing pyrophosphate (PP) groups in various positions, which makes it possible to control the charge distribution along the DNA chain. The PP groups were either symmetrically arranged at the ends or at the center of DNA molecules or uniformly distributed along these molecules. It is shown that, similar to nonmodified DNA, the synthetic PP-modified DNA molecules can form cholesteric liquid crystals. Minima of the pair interaction potential are found, conditions of the symmetry of this potential are formulated, and the dependence of conformation angles on the effective charge is determined. The results of calculations show that the system exhibits polymorphism (i.e., several phases of cholesteric liquid crystals can exist in DNA solutions).     

Fluctuation shift of the nematic–isotropic phase transition temperature

A macroscopic counterpart to the microscopic mechanism of the straightening dimer mesogens conformations, proposed recently by S.M. Saliti, M.G. Tamba, S.N. Sprunt, C. Welch, G.H. Mehl, A. Jakli, and J.T. Gleeson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 217801 (2016)] to explain their experimental observation of the unprecedentedly large shift of the nematic–isotropic transition temperature is discussed. The proposed interpretation is based on singular longitudinal fluctuations of the nematic order parameter. Since these fluctuations are governed by the Goldstone director fluctuations, they exist only in the nematic state. External magnetic field suppresses the singular longitudinal fluctuations of the order parameter (similarly as is the case for the transverse director fluctuations, although with a different scaling over the magnetic field). The reduction of the fluctuations changes the equilibrium value of the magnitude of the order parameter in the nematic state. Therefore, it leads to additional (with respect to the mean field contribution) fluctuation shift of the nematic–isotropic transition temperature. Our mechanism works for any nematic liquid crystals, however the magnitude of the fluctuation shift increases with decrease in the Frank elastic moduli. Since some of these moduli supposed to be anomalously small for so-called bent-core or dimer nematic liquid crystals, just these liquid crystals are promising candidates for the observation of the predicted fluctuation shift of the phase transition temperature.     

The re-entrant cholesteric phase of DNA

The character of packing of double-stranded DNA molecules in particles of liquid-crystal dispersions formed as a result of the phase exclusion of DNA molecules from aqueous salt polyethylene glycol solutions has been estimated by comparing the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of these dispersions recorded at different osmotic pressures and temperatures. It is shown that the first cycle of heating of dispersion particles with hexagonally packed double-stranded DNA molecules leads to the occurrence of abnormal optical activity of these particles, which manifests itself in the form of a strong negative CD band, characteristic of DNA cholesterics. Moreover, subsequent cooling is accompanied by a further increase in the abnormal optical activity, which indicates the existence of the “hexagonal → cholesteric packing” phase transition, controlled by both the osmotic pressure of the solution and its temperature. The result obtained can be described in terms of “quasi-nematic” layers composed of orientationally ordered DNA molecules in the structure of dispersion particles. There are two possible ways of packing for these layers, which determine their hexagonal or cholesteric spatial structure. The second heating → cooling cycle confirms these results and is indicative of possible differences in the packing of double-stranded DNA molecules in the hexagonal phase, which depend on the osmotic pressure of the solution.