A new experimental technique for measuring the local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals

A new experimental technique is described for the measurement of local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals. This technique consists in analyzing the local channeled spectra obtained by optical polarising microscopy.     

Two-Frequency Brillouin Fiber Laser Based on Bragg Grating Fabry-Perot Cavity

Abstract

A novel and simple two-frequency Brillouin fiber laser is presented. It is based on a fiber Fabry-Perot cavity with fiber Bragg gratings as reflectors. The model of stimulated Brillouin scattering in fiber grating–based Fabry-Perot resonator is investigated. The laser allows conversion efficiency of close to 100% and suppresses the higher-order Stokes waves. The theoretical prediction is presented and the experimental demonstration is realized.     

Doping dependence of charge order in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Abstract

In the recent studies of the unconventional physics in cuprate superconductors, one of the central issues is the interplay between charge order and superconductivity. Here the mechanism of the charge-order formation in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is investigated based on the t-J model. The experimentally observed momentum dependence of the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is qualitatively reproduced, where the scattering rate is highly anisotropic in momentum space, and is intriguingly related to the charge-order gap. Although the scattering strength appears to be weakest at the hot spots, the scattering in the antinodal region is stronger than that in the nodal region, which leads to the original electron Fermi surface is broken up into the Fermi pockets and their coexistence with the Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, this electron Fermi surface instability drives the charge-order correlation, with the charge-order wave vector that matches well with the wave vector connecting the hot spots, as the charge-order correlation in the hole-doped counterparts. However, in a striking contrast to the hole-doped case, the charge-order wave vector in the electron-doped side increases in magnitude with the electron doping. The theory also shows the existence of a quantitative link between the single-electron fermiology and the collective response of the electron density.     

Effect of surface elasticity on scattering of elastic P-waves from a nanofiber including an inhomogeneous interphase

Scattering of elastic P-waves from a nanofiber in a matrix is studied analytically throughout this paper. An inhomogeneous interphase region is considered between the nanofiber and the matrix. Dividing the interphase into homogeneous sublayers, surface elasticity effects are studied in the layers adjacent to matrix and nanofiber. Wave function expansion method is used to solve the corresponding equations in all three phases including fiber, interphase, and matrix. Dynamic stress concentration factors around the nanofiber are calculated and utilizing a parametric study, effects of different parameters, such as nanoscale interface, interphase thickness, and interphase rigidity are investigated. The results indicate that considering the effects of surface elasticity in wave scattering problems from inhomogeneous interphases show a major impact on the results. The dimensionless equations presented in this paper provide the possibility of further numerical studies.     

Effects of passage of 200 MeV Ag9+ ions in indium phosphide at different depths

Indium phosphide sample was irradiated with 200?MeV Ag⁹⁺ ions for the fluence of 2?×?10¹³?ions?cm^?2. The sample was chemically etched down up to 240?nm depth to investigate the distribution of defects at different regions. Raman scattering and glancing incidence X-ray diffraction spectra were recorded at different depths. The stress estimated from Raman shift was found to increase with depth up to 160?nm and thereafter it decreased and at a depth of 224?nm sample did not show any stress. Phonon coherence length estimated from the Phonon Confinement Model was found to vary between 43 and 18?nm with respect to depth. Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction results revealed the decrease in crystallite size from 16.12 to 1.00?nm in different depth regions.     

Vibrational properties of the F A (Li+) center in alkali halides

Abstract

The on- or off-axis behavior and the vibrational properties of the F _A (Li⁺) center are investigated in several alkali halides by means of polarized resonant Raman scattering. The observed Raman modes are interpreted and classified according to their nature and frequency. A comparison between on- and off-axis systems and between the vibrational modes of the isolated Li⁺ and the F _A (Li⁺) center reveals a displacement of the Li⁺ equilibrium position parallel to the F _A (Li⁺) defect axis and, due to the small impurity size, away from the adjacent F center.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect of gold nanoparticle arrays: The influence of annealing temperature,excitation power and array thickness

Gold nanoparticle arrays are fabricated for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and the effect of the annealing temperature, the thickness of nanoparticle array and the exciting power on the SERS signals are investigated. The particle distribution and particle size are dense and uniform on the glass substrate when the 10 nm gold film was annealed at 250 °C and strong SERS signals for Rhodamine 6G were achieved via a 532 nm excitation with a 10 mW power. The SERS signal at 1650 cm⁻¹ is enhanced more than 10 times as compared to that of the gold film without annealing. The strong SERS behavior of gold nanoparticle arrays may broaden the SERS applications in biomedical and analytical chemistry.     

7 T versus 3 T contrast-enhanced breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging of invasive ductulolobular carcinoma: First clinical experience

Purpose

Here we describe our first experience with contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI of breast cancer at 7 tesla (T), compared to 3 T and histopathology.

Materials and Methods

A 52 year old female patient with a mammographically suspicious breast mass (BI-RADS V) underwent 7 T CE-MRI. Results were described according to the BI-RADS-MRI criteria and compared to 3 T and histopathology.

Results

After contrast administration, a homogeneously enhancing, irregular spiculated mass was depicted at both 3 T and 7 T; sizes were identical. The most malignant kinetic curve was characterized by a rapid initial rise followed by a wash-out pattern in the delayed phase, i.e. a type 3 curve, at both field strengths. Even though T1-effects of contrast agents are suggested to be reduced at higher fields, quantification of contrast enhancement-to-noise ratio showed a ratio of 4.6 at 7 T and 2.8 at 3 T when comparing contrast-to-noise of the mass before and after contrast administration. Both examinations, using a single dose of gadolinium-based contrast agent, achieved good image quality. Final histopathological evaluation showed an invasive ductulolobular carcinoma with an intraductal component.

Conclusion

This initial experience suggests that clinical contrast-enhanced 7 T MRI of the breast is technically feasible and may allow BI-RADS-conform analysis.     

Soft X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering spectroscopy below 100 eV: probing first‐row transition‐metal M‐edges in chemical complexes

X‐ray absorption and scattering spectroscopies involving the 3d transition‐metal K‐ and L‐edges have a long history in studying inorganic and bioinorganic molecules. However, there have been very few studies using the M‐edges, which are below 100 eV. Synchrotron‐based X‐ray sources can have higher energy resolution at M‐edges. M‐edge X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering (RIXS) could therefore provide complementary information to K‐ and L‐edge spectroscopies. In this study, M_2,3‐edge XAS on several Co, Ni and Cu complexes are measured and their spectral information, such as chemical shifts and covalency effects, are analyzed and discussed. In addition, M_2,3‐edge RIXS on NiO, NiF₂ and two other covalent complexes have been performed and different d–d transition patterns have been observed. Although still preliminary, this work on 3d metal complexes demonstrates the potential to use M‐edge XAS and RIXS on more complicated 3d metal complexes in the future. The potential for using high‐sensitivity and high‐resolution superconducting tunnel junction X‐ray detectors below 100 eV is also illustrated and discussed.     

Challenges in uncovering the origin of the proton's spin

One of the most fascinating challenges facing modern strong interaction physics is to understand the origin of the spin of the nucleon in terms of the spin and orbital angular momentum of the quarks and gluons. We review recent progress on this problem as well as some of the uncertainties associated with state of the art lattice QCD simulations. In particular, we explain the importance of the corrections associated with chiral extrapolation and finite volume corrections, especially for the term B(0) extracted from the appropriate low moment of the deeply virtual Compton scattering amplitude.