Efficient second-harmonic generation in Tl3AsSe3 using focussed CO2 laser radiation

The nonlinear material Tl₃AsSe₃ was used to convert pulsed 10.6 m laser radiation into the second harmonic. The laser beam was tightly focussed, and an energy conversion efficiency of 57% was obtained, which is the highest reported to date in the mid-IR.     

New search for processes violating the Pauli exclusion principle in sodium and in iodine

In this paper a new search for non-Paulian nuclear processes, i.e. processes normally forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), is presented. It has been carried out at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN by means of the highly radiopure DAMA/LIBRA set-up (sensitive mass of about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl)). In particular, a new improved upper limit for the spontaneous non-Paulian emission rate of protons with energy E _p ≥ 10 MeV in ²³Na and ¹²⁷I has been obtained: 1.63 × 10⁻³³ s⁻¹ (90% C.L.). The corresponding limit on the relative strength (δ ²) for the searched non-Paulian transition is δ ²≲(3–4)×10⁻⁵⁵ (90% C.L.). Moreover, PEP-violating electron transitions in iodine atoms have also been investigated. Lifetimes shorter than 4.7×10³⁰ s are excluded at 90% C.L.; this allows us to derive the limit δ _e ²<1.28×10⁻⁴⁷ (90% C.L.). This latter limit can also be related to a possible finite size of the electron in composite models of quarks and leptons providing superficial violation of the PEP; the obtained upper limit on the electron size is r ₀<5.7×10⁻¹⁸ cm (energy scale of E≳3.5 TeV).     

Study of the positive muon Knight shift in : Evidence for a tetravalent -state and crystalline electric field splitting

We report on transverse field (TF) Muon Spin Rotation (μSR) measurements on a single crystal of the hexagonal heavy fermion superconductor UNi₂Al₃ between 5 K and 300 K. From the measured muon Knight shift (KS) in the easy ( a , b )-plane and along the c-axis we extracted the local magnetic susceptibility tensor [0pt] , which arises from the nearest U-neighbors. By comparison with the bulk susceptibility [0pt] it is found that [0pt] and [0pt] agree well above 150 K but deviate considerably in the basal plane below 150 K, due to the disturbance introduced by the . We succeed in reproducing both [0pt] and [0pt] on the basis of a crystalline electric field (CEF)-approach assuming U to be in the tetravalent state. The disturbance introduced by the affects the CEF-Hamiltonian in an expected manner, suggesting strongly that a CEF-picture implying a rather local 5 f-electron wave function is indeed valid. Reanalyzing older data on UPd₂Al₃ we arrive at the same conclusion. A necessary condition for extracting the local susceptibility was the knowledge of the -site, this information was derived from the analysis of the TF-relaxation rates. At low temperatures we found about 30% of the implanted at the d-site and none at this site above 200 K. The majority fraction was found to be in a tunneling state over six m (or k)-sites around the b-site. No long range diffusion was seen up to room temperature. Received 20 April 1999     

Some notes on the big trip

The big trip is a cosmological process thought to occur in the future by which the entire universe would be engulfed inside a gigantic wormhole and might travel through it along space and time. In this Letter we discuss different arguments that have been raised against the viability of that process, reaching the conclusions that the process can actually occur by accretion of phantom energy onto the wormholes and that it is stable and might occur in the global context of a multiverse model. We finally argue that the big trip does not contradict any holographic bounds on entropy and information.     

Influence of thermal treatment on second-harmonic generation in silver islands films

A reduction in second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency at silver islands films is observed when such submicroscopic structures are tempered at approx. 410K. This behavior can be attributed to two facts: an increase in symmetry in film morphology and changes in the particles' electron plasma resonances causing field enhancements inside the particles. The observed correspondence between submicroscopic surface morphology and obtained second-harmonic signal suggests a SHG microscope for the maplike distinguishing between differently structured surface areas.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Herbert Welling on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

The kinetics of structural relaxation of bulk and ribbon glassy Pd40Cu30N10P20 monitored by resistance and density measurements

Density and in situ high precision electrical resistance measurements on bulk and ribbon glassy Pd₄₀Cu₃₀Ni₁₀P₂₀ in the initial state, after cold rolling and quenching from the supercooled liquid state are performed. Three relaxation stages resulting in different signs of the electrical resistance relaxation are determined. It is shown that the resistance change upon structural relaxation is predominantly controlled by the resistivity relaxation while the volume change has a minor effect on the resistance. Cold rolling has a complex impact on the electrical relaxation similar to the effect of plastic deformation on the dislocation anelasticity in crystals. Quenching of fully relaxed samples from the supercooled liquid state recovers structural relaxation and the amount of the resistance relaxation can be several times bigger than that in the initial state. It is concluded that relaxation of the electrical resistance as dependent on different conditions (bulk/ribbon samples, thermocycling, rolling and the parameters of quenching from the supercooled liquid state) is rather complex but it is unlikely that the degree of the relaxation is governed by the amount of the free volume. This conclusion agrees with the established fact of equal density of initial glassy and crystallized bulk samples and earlier findings of nearly equal shear viscosity of bulk and ribbon samples different by four orders of magnitude in the production quenching rate.     

Boron content dependance of magnetoimpedance in Fe91−xZr5BxNb4 alloys

A systematic investigation of the influence of B content on the magnetoimpedance (MI) effect in melt-spun Fe_91−xZr₅B_xNb₄ (FZBN, 0 ? x ? 30) ribbons has been performed within a frequency range, f ∼ 310-1110 kHz and under a varying dc magnetic field (H_dc) up to 70 Oe. The MI effect is not observed in the sample with x ? 5 but within the range 8 ? x ? 30. A distinct MI effect has been observed with a maximum change of 180% at around 1.1 MHz in the sample with x = 20, coincident with a saturation magnetic field of 66 Oe and a field sensitivity of about 7%/Oe. Magnetic measurements reveal that the MI effect and B content dependence of the effect are closely related to coercivity of the FZBN alloy series, except for the sample with 20 at.%. The drastic MI ratio observed in the sample with x = 20 is ascribed to its special microstructure. The mechanism of the MI effect in FZBN alloys and of the significant MI value appearing at a B content of x = 20 is discussed in this paper.