Change in the spectral parameters of a laser plasma on a change to two-pulse irradiation of a dielectric in air

Translated from Zhurnal Prlkladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 564–571, October, 1989.     

Spectroscopy of four-wave mixing on a semiconductor surface

Spectra of scattering on surfaces of semiconductors are obtained using the four-wave scheme of laser beam interaction. A considerable difference in the shape of the scattered signal is observed when the circular polarization vector of the pump beam rotates in two opposite directions.     

Nonmonotonic concentration dependences of elastic light scattering and its fluctuations in aqueous solutions

A nonmonotonic bimodal dependence of elastic, Rayleigh scattering on the potassium phenosan concentration in an aqueous solution has been revealed. A similar dependence has been found, for the first time, for scattering amplitude fluctuations. The observed correlation is indicative of structural transitions in hydration shells of potassium phenosan, which are responsible for the increase and scatter of their size comparable with the wavelength (527 nm) of a laser spectrometer.     

Bimodal dependence of light scattering/fluctuations on the concentration of aqueous solutions

Two concentration ranges (from 10^?5 to 10^?9 and from 10^?13 to 10^?18 M) corresponding to enhanced fluctuations of Rayleigh and Raman scattering of second-harmonic (527 nm) pulses of YVO₄:Nd³⁺ laser are found for aqueous solutions of antioxidant potassium phenosan. A correlation is revealed between the rise in elastic Rayleigh scattering intensity and its fluctuations and the shift of the center of OH Raman band of water toward the ice component characteristic frequency (3200 cm^?1). The development of phase-equilibrium instabilities is analyzed based on the model of fluctuations of the number of hydrogen bonds on the assumption of formation/destruction of ordered hydration layer of phenosan molecules in water.     

Coincidence of rotational energy of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O ortho-para molecules and translation energy near specific temperatures in water and ice

A hypothesis of the quantum nature of the specific temperatures T _s of water and ice, whose values is not random, was formulated. It was found that the quantum energy hΩ _mn of closely located rotational transitions in the ortho and para spin isomers of H₂O molecules coincides with the translation energy kT near the well-known specific temperatures T _s in ice and water. On the basis of this fact it was suggested that ortho-para conversion occurs at temperatures close to T _s upon inelastic collisions and resonance energy exchange kT _s ↔ hΩ _mn in the rotation-translation-rotation (RTR) processes. Such conversion can induce rearrangement of the H-bond set structure and repacking of H₂O molecules. The coincidence kT _s ≈ hΩ _mn was checked for ice and water at 12 known T _s, as well as for heavy water D₂O near T _s = 11.2°C (maximum density) and −140°C (glassy transition). The previously observe strong deformation of the OH Raman band near T _s = 4, 19, 36, and 76°C (maximum density, maximum surface tension, minimum heat capacity, and maximum speed of sound, respectively) was interpreted as a manifestation of the water structure rearrangement induced by H₂O ortho-para conversion.     

Remote sensing of Arctic Fjords by Raman lidar: Heat transfer screening by layer of glacier’s relict water

West Spitsbergen fjords have been probed (on shipboard) by a compact Raman lidar (Wave Research Center, Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences), based on a pulsed diode-pumped Nd³⁺:YVO₄ laser with frequency doubling, in August, 2011. The evolution of lidar signal spectra (Raman, fluorescence, and elastic scattering) when approaching the Paulabreen glacier of the Rinders Fjord has been measured. A new phenomenon was discovered: the formation of an immiscible layer of relict thaw water from the glacier on the sea surface. An increase in the layer thickness (to 5?C10 cm near the glacier) was accompanied by a decrease in the layer temperature (which was determined by measuring the distortion of the OH Raman band) and the content of phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter to zero, with a simultaneous increase in the Rayleigh scattering amplitude and a change in the surface color from blue to gray. Smoothing of the rippled sea surface (covered by relict water) at the border of the wake trace (which it rolled down from) was observed for the first time, as far as we know. The mechanism of the formation of a supercooled (t ? 0°C) layer and screening the heat diffusion, which reduces the contribution of the relatively warm sea water (??3°C) to the thermal balance of Arctic and global climate, is discussed.     

Low frequency four-wave mixing spectroscopy of biopolymer hydration layers in aqueous solutions

Four-wave mixing (FWM) spectroscopy has been applied to detection of H₂O₂ molecules rotational resonances in both DNA and denatured DNA aqueous solutions in the range ±100 cm⁻¹. A considerable growth of rotational lines intensity of H₂O and H₂O₂ has been observed in comparison with distilled water. This fact was interpreted as an exhibition of specific property of a hydration layer formation at DNA/water and denatured DNA/water interfaces. The fitting of four-wave mixing spectra shows the increasing of the H₂O₂ rotational line’s amplitude by a factor of ∼3 in DNA solutions due to denaturizing. The shifting of FWM Brillouin resonances in opposite way in protein solution and SWNT (single wall carbon nanotube) suspension to comparison with water was observed and discussed.     

Effect of Surface Plasma on Nanosecond Laser Ablation

For the first time, the effect of target surface plasma on nanosecond laser ablation is studied. Surface plasma was generated by a high-power cw fiber laser beam incident on an iron target. A comparison of laser ablation by nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses (1064 nm, 5 ns) was performed upon exposure to the cw laser and during its short-term (5 ms) turn off. It was found that the emission intensity twofold increases in the presence of surface plasma. The temperature and electron density of the laser plume induced by the nanosecond laser also increased.     

High-Frequency (MHz) Ignition of Commercial Flash Lamps for Solid State Lasers

Doklady Physics - A multiple (from 20 to 3 kV) decrease in the ignition threshold of commercial flash lamps for solid-state lasers under HF pumping at a megahertz frequency has been detected. It...     

Brillouin scattering in a medium with inhomogeneous distribution of the interatomic interaction potential

Stationary Brillouin scattering in an elastic medium with spatially inhomogeneous distribution of the interatomic interaction potential is considered in the one-dimensional approximation. Frequency dependence of the optical signal on the acoustic inhomogeneity parameters is obtained. The experiments were carried out in distilled water and aqueous solution of the α-chymotrypsin protein using spectroscopy of coherent four-photon light scattering in the range 0 to 1 cm⁻¹ with the resolution of 0.06 cm⁻¹. Several Brillouin resonances corresponding to different types of microinclusions were observed in both media.