Global Analysis of the Flows of Fluids with Pressure-Dependent Viscosities

 To describe the flows of fluids over a wide range of pressures, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the viscosity of the fluid depends on the pressure. That the viscosity depends on the pressure has been verified by numerous careful experiments. While the existence of solutions local-in-time to the equations governing the flows of such fluids are available for small, special data and rather unrealistic dependence of the viscosity on the pressure, no global existence results are in place. Our interest here is to establish the existence of weak solutions for spatially periodic three-dimensional flows that are global in time, for a large class of physically meaningful viscosity-pressure relationships. (Accepted May 1, 2002) Published online November 15, 2002 Communicated by S. S. ANTMAN     

Spatial distribution of piezoinduced change in the optical pathlength in lithium niobate crystals

For the first time, the “indicative” surfaces of the constants of the piezooptic effect and their stereographic projections have been constructed with due regard for crystal elasticity for lithium niobate crystals described by the symmetry class 3m. The comparative analysis of these surfaces and the corresponding surfaces of the true piezooptic effect has been performed.     

Automated interferometric technique for express analysis of the refractive indices in isotropic and anisotropic optical materials

This paper deals with the technique for the refractive index measurements based on the interferometry of a rotated parallel plate (IRPP). The device consists of the Michelson interferometer, the sample rotation system and the optoelectronic registration system. A refractive index of parallel plates is determined by their rotation through measuring simultaneously a shift of interference fringes. Although the IRPP technique is known from long ago [Shumate MS. Appl Opt 1966;5:327] several considerable improvements have been done in order to improve the accuracy of the method. The measuring process is completely automated. The method has been tested on the model crystals of the lithium niobate giving the magnitudes for ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices as n₀=2.2865±0.0007 and n_e=2.2034±0.0007. A considerable increase of accuracy is reached in our case by an automation of the measuring procedure, development of a new software as well as implementing the interferometric method for a precise determination of a sample zero position. The automated refractometer is offered for use in research laboratories and industry.     

Guided modes of integrated optical guides. A mathematical study

A waveguide in integrated optics is defined by its refractiveindex. The guide is assumed to be invariant in the propagationdirection while in the transverse direction it is supposed tobe a compact perturbation of an unbounded stratified medium.We are interested in the modes guided by this device, whichare waves with a transverse energy confined in a neighbourhoodof the perturbation. Our goal is to analyse the existence of such guided modes. Underthe assumptions of weak guidance the problem reduces to a two-dimensionaleigenvalue problem for a scalar field. The associated operatoris unbounded, selfadjoint, and bounded from below. Its spectrumconsists of the discrete spectrum corresponding to the guidedmodes and of the essential spectrum corresponding to the radiationmodes. We present existence results of guided modes and an asymptoticstudy at high frequencies, which shows that contrarily to thecase of optical fibers, the number of guided modes can remainbounded. The major tools are the min-max principle and comparisonof results between different eigenvalue problems. The originalityof the present study lies in the stratified character of theunbounded reference medium.     

Interaction of the mu-opioid receptor with GPR177 (Wntless) inhibits Wnt secretion: potential implications for opioid dependence

Background  

Opioid agonist drugs produce analgesia. However, long-term exposure to opioid agonists may lead to opioid dependence. The analgesic and addictive properties of opioid agonist drugs are mediated primarily via the mu-opioid receptor (MOR). Opioid agonists appear to alter neuronal morphology in key brain regions implicated in the development of opioid dependence. However, the precise role of the MOR in the development of these neuronal alterations remains elusive. We hypothesize that identifying and characterizing novel MOR interacting proteins (MORIPs) may help to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in the development of opioid dependence.     

High precision delta(17)O isotope measurements of oxygen from silicates and other oxides: method and applications

The use of infrared laser-assisted fluorination to release oxygen from milligram quantities of silicates or other oxide mineral grains is a well-established technique. However, relatively few studies have reported the optimisation of this procedure for oxygen-17 isotope measurements. We describe here details of an analytical system using infrared (10 μm) laser-assisted fluorination, in conjunction with a dual inlet mass spectrometer of high resolving power ( approximately 250) to provide (17)O and (18)O oxygen isotope measurements from 0.5-2 mg of silicates or other oxide mineral grains. Respective precisions (1) of typically 0.08 and 0.04 per thousand are obtained for the complete analytical procedure. Departures from the mass-dependent oxygen isotope fractionation line are quantified by Delta(17)O; our precision (1) of such measurements on individual samples is shown to be +/-0.024 per thousand. In turn, this permits the offset between parallel, mass-dependent fractionation lines to be characterised to substantially greater precision than has been possible hitherto. Application of this system to investigate the (17)O versus (18)O relationship for numerous terrestrial whole-rock and mineral samples, of diverse geological origins and age, indicates that the complete data set may be described by a single, mass-dependent fractionation line of slope 0.5244+/- 0.00038 (standard error). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial anisotropy of linear electro-optic effect in crystal materials: II. Indicative surfaces as efficient tool for electro-optic coupling optimization in LiNbO3

The electro-optic (EO) properties of pure and MgO-doped LiNbO₃ crystals are characterized by indicative surfaces (IS) describing the spatial anisotropy of the longitudinal and transverse linear EO effects. By analyzing the IS and their stereographic projections, we have determined the geometries with maximum EO coupling. The maximum magnitudes of the linear EO effect are revealed in the longitudinal and transverse geometries along the directions that substantially deviate from the principal crystallographic axes of both crystals. Spatial analysis of the IS thus yields a set of the optimized sample geometries recommended for designers who develop EO modulators or deflectors. Just by switching from the standard cell geometry to the optimized cell geometry, as determined in the present work, one may improve almost three times the modulation efficiency of EO devices based on lithium niobate crystals. This results in a corresponding reduction of their driving voltages being evidently of great practical importance for many applications.     

Test of bell’s inequality using the one-atom micromaser

We examine a local realist bound in the case of a one-atom micromaser. It is shown that such a bound is violated using a simplified treatment of the micromaser. We consider the effect of dissipation in a proposed experiment with the real micromaser. It is seen that the magnitude of violation of a Bell-type inequality depends significantly on the cavity parameters.     

Two-fold interferometric measurements of piezo-optic constants: application to β-BaB2O4 crystals

We present the interferometric technique which allows to measure piezooptical and photoelastic characteristics of crystal materials of any symmetry. The offered two-fold interferometric method enables to determine all independent non-zero piezooptic and photoelastic constants by measuring pressure induced changes of optical path. As advantage to known acoustooptical techniques this method allows to measure both the absolute magnitude and sign of photoelastic constants. In general case the determination of 36 components of piezooptic tensor needs to carry out 57 measurements on 16 samples. The corresponding relationships are derived. As an example we apply here the interferometric technique to measure the piezooptic and photoelastic constants in trigonal β-BaB₂O₄ crystals.     

Magnetic properties of the Hg<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mn<Subscript>x</Subscript>S crystals

The magnetic susceptibility χ of Hg _1−x Mn _x S is investigated at temperatures T = 77–300 K for H = 4 kOe by the Faraday method before and after thermal treatment of the sample in compound vapors. The special features of χ are found to be caused by the presence in the crystals of Mn-S-Mn-S clusters of different sizes in which indirect antiferromagnetic exchange interaction of the Mn atoms occurs through the chalcogen atoms. Thermal treatment of samples in compound vapors causes changes of sizes of clusters existing in the crystal and even dissipation of the second-phase inclusions. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 59–63, March, 2008.