UV and VUV spectroscopic study of Na0.4Y0.6F2.2 crystals doped with rare-earth ions

The short-wavelength transmission spectra of Na_0.4 R _0.6F_2.2 crystals with R = Y, Yb, or Lu have been investigated. For these crystals, the VUV transmission cutoffs are 78750, 58820, and 75200 cm^?1, respectively. The 4f ⁿ–4f ^n?15d absorption and excitation spectra of Na_0.4Y_0.6F_2.2 crystals activated with Ce³⁺, Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺, and Yb³⁺ ions have been analyzed in the range 30000–80000 cm^?1. The energy positions of the lowest levels of the 4f ^n?15d configurations of these ions in the fluorite crystal matrix Na_0.4Y_0.6F_2.2 are determined. The absorption band in the spectral range 60600–70000 cm^?1 in Na_0.4(Y, Yb)_0.6F_2.2 crystals is due to the charge transfer from F^? to Yb³⁺. It is shown that the environmental symmetry of Ce³⁺ ions in Na_0.4R_0.6F_2.2 (R = Y, Yb, Lu) crystals is almost identical.     

Standardization of transmission quality measurements

The problems of evaluating the phonetic quality of speech and the characteristic features of a speaker’s articulatory base from the data of acoustic-phonetic measurements are considered. The evaluation is recommended to be performed using the GOST 50840-95 standard “Speech Transmission over Varied Communication Channels: Techniques for Measurement of Speech Quality, Intelligibility, and Voice Identification,” which was put into effect in Russia in 1997. Examples of experimental evaluation measurements in speech communication and criminalistic expertise are presented.     

Long-wavelength magnetic excitations in the Zn0.55Mn0.45Fe2O4 ferrite

The small-angle neutron scattering energy spectra of the Zn_0.55Mn_0.45Fe₂O₄ ferrite are analyzed at different temperatures (both below and above T _C ? 390 K) and scattering angles. The thermal expansion coefficient α(T) is measured in the temperature range 80–600 K. It is revealed that inelastic neutron scattering is governed not only by spin waves of the Holstein-Primakoff type but also by the substantial contribution of additional long-wavelength magnetic excitations. The physical nature of these low-energy magnetic excitations is discussed.     

Propagation of an ultrashort laser pulse in a waveguide of rectangular cross section

The propagation of a spikelike ultrashort laser pulse in a mirror waveguide of rectangular cross section with perfectly conducting walls is considered. An algorithm for the calculation of the propagation of a field pulse in such a waveguide is designed. The general approach is illustrated by calculation of the propagation of a p-polarized field pulse shorter than the dimensions of the waveguide cross section.     

Pulsed dephotolysis in emulsion nanocrystals of silver halides: I. Recombination processes at early stages of photolysis

Early stages of formation of few-atom clusters of photolytic silver in AgBr nanocrystals are studied using the pulsed dephotolysis technique. It is shown that dephotolysis is characterized by a clearly pronounced dependence on the pulse duration of nonactinic and actinic radiations, the highest efficiency of dephotolysis being achieved for nanosecond pulses. The rate constant of recombination of free electrons with captured holes is determined (κ_p = (6 ± 1) × 10^?9 cm³ s^?1) and the dependence of the recombination rate on the level of excitation is found. The maximum recombination rate for the highest excitation level is found to be V _p ^max = 10⁹ s^?1 and the surface concentration of recombination centers is determined to be N _r = (2 ± 0.5) × 10¹¹ cm^?2.     

Comparative analysis of spatial organization of laccases from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cerrena maxima</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coriolus zonatus</Emphasis>

Laccase (oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.10.3.2) belongs to the multicopper oxidase family. The main function of this enzyme is to perform electron transfer from the oxidized substrate through the mononuclear copper-containing site T1 to the oxygen molecule bound to the site T3 in the trinuclear T2/T3 cluster. The structures of two new fungal laccases from C. maxima and C. zonatus were solved on the basis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data. Both laccases show high structural homology with laccases from other sources. The role of the carbohydrate component of laccases in structure stabilization and formation of ordered protein crystals was demonstrated. In the structures of C. maxima and C. zonatus laccases, two water channels of functional importance were found and characterized. The structural results reported in the present study characterize one of the functional states of the enzyme fixed in the crystal structure.     

Optical and luminescence properties of CdWO4 and CdWO4:Mo single crystals

Luminescence properties of a pure CdWO₄ crystal and a CdWO₄:Mo crystal doped with molybdenum in different concentrations have been investigated. The effect of molybdenum impurity on the intrinsic luminescence of CdWO₄ has been found, and the role of the impurity in the formation of new luminescence centers has been investigated. The features of the formation of the intrinsic and impurity luminescence excitation spectra of CdWO₄ and CdWO₄:Mo crystals in the fundamental-absorption region have been considered. The reflection spectra of the CdWO₄ crystal have been investigated taking into account the crystal structure anisotropy.     

Detecting the ejection of particles from the free surface of a shock-loaded sample

The details of the ejection of 20- to 200-µm particles with a velocity of 1.0-1.5 km/s from the surfaces of lead and steel samples with a roughness of 5-40 µm (Rz 5-Rz 40) when shock waves with an amplitude of 15 and 27 GPa reach them are visualized with a high-speed streak camera with a CCD matrix and pulsed laser illumination at a pulse duration of 4 ns. The size and velocity distributions of the particles are obtained.