Eye tissue structure and refraction alterations upon nondestructive laser action

A new approach to alterations in eye refraction upon nondestructive laser action on the sclera and cornea is studied. It is demonstrated in in vivo experiments on rabbit eyes that sequential laser irradiation of the sclera and cornea yields a significant alteration in the eye refraction. The collagen structure of the sclera and cornea is studied after the nondestructive laser action with noninvasive polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography. It is demonstrated that collagen fibers that provide for the cornea tension and applanation partially survive in the zone of the local denaturation of sclera. An irradiation mode that corresponds to an increase in the cornea’s plasticity and does not cause visible structural changes is chosen. The simplest theoretical model for alterations in the eye refraction upon the nonablative laser action on sclera is analyzed. The alteration in the cornea curvature upon stretching resulting from the local sclera coagulation and the corresponding decrease in its volume is calculated. The model makes it possible to approximately estimate the laser irradiation modes that provide the desired alterations in eye refraction.     

Picosecond stimulated Raman scattering in crystals

The comparative values of the peak and integral cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering and the optical dephasing time of molecular vibrations were determined for several oxide crystals by spontaneous Raman spectroscopy. The spectral, time, and energy parameters of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) were measured for ten crystals using picosecond YLF: Nd laser pumping with a radiation wavelength of 1047 nm. An analysis of the experimental dependence of the threshold energy of pumping SRS on the integral and peak cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering showed that the SRS gain increment explicitly depended on the integral cross section and was independent of the peak cross section of spontaneous Raman scattering as the ratio between the pumping pulse width (11 ps) and the time of optical dephasing of molecular vibrations changed from 0.42 to 9.3. The gain coefficients of steady-state stimulated Raman scattering under threshold stimulated Raman scattering conditions were determined for all the crystals studied on the basis of the measured threshold SRS pumping energies, the duration and width of the spectrum of pulses, the nonlinear interaction length, the intensity of pumping, and the theoretical dependences that relate the steady-state and transient SRS gain increments. The steady-state SRS gain coefficients obtained in this work fitted well a linear dependence on the peak cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering, which substantiated the correctness of our analysis and measurements.     

Study of Raman spectra in the processes of glass formation,crystallization, and melting of strontium diborate

The behavior of the Raman spectra of SrB₄O₇ (SBO) and Li₂B₄O₇ crystals upon melting and glass formation is studied by high-temperature Raman spectroscopy (HTRS). The character of formation of boron–oxygen fragments in different aggregate states of SBO is discussed based on an analysis of the Raman spectra in the crystalline, glassy, and molten states.     

Possibilities of structural engineering in multilayer vacuum-arc ZrN/CrN coatings by varying the nanolayer thickness and application of a bias potential

The possibility of attaining an superhard state in multilayer vacuum-arc ZrN/CrN coatings with a layer thickness of about 20 nm has been established. It has been shown that the application of a constant negative potential for structural engineering during deposition leads to the formation of solid solutions due to mixing of interfaces. The hardness of these systems exceeds 30 GPa. The application of a pulsed high-voltage bias potential at which the ordering of atoms stimulated by elevated mobility is observed makes it possible to suppress the mixing of the interfaces and to attain elevated hardness (up to 42 GPa) for nanometer layer thicknesses.     

Recrystallization and formation of spheroidal gold particles in amorphous-like AlN–TiB<Subscript>2</Subscript>–TiSi<Subscript>2</Subscript> coatings after annealing and subsequent implantation

The recrystallization of the structure of an X-ray amorphous AlN–TiB₂–TiSi₂ coating containing short-range order regions with characteristic sizes of 0.8–1.0 nm has been performed using a negative gold ion (Au^–) beam and high-temperature annealing. Direct measurements using methods of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectral (EDXS) microanalysis have demonstrated that thermal annealing at a temperature of 1300°C in air results in the formation of nanoscale (10–15 nm) phases AlN, AlB₂, Al₃O₃, and TiO₂, whereas the ion implantation of negative ions Au^– leads to a fragmentation (decrease in the size) of nanograins to 2–5 nm with the formation of spheroidal gold nanocrystallites a few nanometers in size, as well as to the formation of an amorphous oxide film in the depth (near-surface layer) of the coating due to ballistic ion mixing and collision cascades.     

Elastic π + p and π + π + scattering at LHC

We discuss the possibility of measuring leading neutron production at the LHC. These data could be used to extract from it π ⁺ p and π ⁺ π ⁺ cross sections. In this note we give some estimates for the case of elastic cross sections and discuss related problems and prospects.     

Investigation of the decay η′ → 3 π 0 with the GAMS-4π spectrometer

An experiment performed with the GAMS-4π spectrometer resulted in observing 235 ± 45 events of the decay η′ → 3π ⁰. The respective charge-exchange reaction at a momentum of 32.5 GeV/c was used as a source of η′ mesons. The decay branching ratio was found to be Br(η′ → 3π ⁰) = (1.8 ± 0.4) × 10^?3. The slope parameter of the square of the respective matrix element in the linear approximation proved to be β = ?0.59 ± 0.18.     

Singular solutions for second-order non-divergence type elliptic inequalities in punctured balls

We study the existence and non-existence of positive singular solutions of second-order non-divergence type elliptic inequalities of the form $\sum\limits_{i,j = 1}^N {a_{ij} (x)\frac{{\partial ^2 u}} {{\partial x_i \partial x_j }}} + \sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {b_i (x)\frac{{\partial u}} {{\partial x_i }} \geqslant K(x)u^p ,} - \infty < p - \infty , $ with measurable coefficients in a punctured ball B _R \{0} of ? ^N , N ≥ 1. We prove the existence of a critical value p* which separates the existence region from the non-existence region. We show that in the critical case p = p*, the existence of a singular solution depends on the rate at which the coefficients (a _{i j} ) and (b _i ) stabilize at zero, and we provide some optimal conditions in this setting.     

Comments on the implementation of the state standard “The pH scale of aqueous solutions”

The newly implemented State Standard Gost 8.134-98 is commented on, and the tabulated data on pH of standard solutions contained in this document are given.