ALBERT

Notes: It is shown that the electric field of Langmuir oscillations in a cold plasma contains a component, independent of time, setting ions in motion. Using Lagrange variables, one-dimensional dynamics of plasma in respect to the interaction between electron oscillations and ion movement is investigated. As a consequence of this interaction, the crossing of electron trajectories occurs even at small amplitudes at time tc, i.e., one-dimensional turbulence appears in the system. The expression for tc is derived. In time tc ion displacements as well as ion energy are found to depend only on the electron–ion mass relationship. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: To gain insight into the mechanism of Na(3p)2P3/2→2P1/2 fine-structure transitions induced by collision with He, we monitor the expectation values of the orbital- and spin-angular momentum vectors, l and s, as a function of time along the trajectory, using a semiclassical formalism. In a typical collision, 〈s〉 remains nearly space-fixed while 〈l〉 precesses about the rotating internuclear axis. Thus, in the interaction region, the projection of 〈l〉 onto the internuclear axis, 〈λ〉, remains nearly constant, and the molecular alignment of the orbital is preserved. We show how equations of motion for the classical analogues of these expectation values agree qualitatively with the quantum equations of motion. A qualitative comparison is also made with the Cs–He system for which the spin–orbit coupling is much stronger. We calculate cross sections for Na(2P3/2)+He→Na(2P1/2)+He as a function of the alignment of the excitation laser polarization with respect to the asymptotic relative velocity vector. For stationary pumping of the excited F=3 hyperfine level, this calculation predicts that the perpendicular alignment gives a cross section which is larger by a factor of 1.8 than that obtained by parallel alignment.

Notes: In this paper we present results of coupled channel quantum scattering calculations of the alignment selected j=3/2→ j=1/2 fine structure changing integral cross section for Na(2P)+He. This cross section has in the past been written in terms of a coherent sum of partial wave amplitudes, but we have found that it can be expressed in terms of an incoherent sum of partial cross sections, each labeled by the total angular momentum J and by parity. It is also possible to define an alignment selected wave function for each J such that the azimuthal average of the square of this wave function projected onto each final state is proportional to the magnitude of the partial cross section into that state. This J labeled wave function is thus clearly related to the physical measurables, and we have used it to determine propensities for preservation of asymptotically prepared alignment during collisions. Using a potential surface based on Pascale's ab initio calculations, we find that the alignment ratio σ⊥/σ(parallel) is an increasing function of energy, with a value less than unity at low energy (〈0.01 eV), but increasing quickly to a value of about 2.0 at 0.04 eV and then more slowly at higher energy, up to a value of 2.7 at 0.2 eV (the highest energy considered). Above 0.02 eV, both the alignment ratio and the alignment selected integral cross sections are in good agreement with values calculated in an accompanying semiclassical study (Kovalenko, Leone, and Delos).An examination of the J labeled alignment selected scattering wave functions and of the expectation values of 〈Ω〉, 〈Λ〉, and 〈Σ〉 indicates that at low J when the initial state is prepared with (parallel) polarization, the dominant state at short range is Σ while with ⊥ polarization the dominant state is Π (i.e., asymptotic alignment is preserved). By way of contrast, this propensity for alignment preservation is not seen if fluxes or probability densities associated with alignment selected wave functions labeled by the initial orbital quantum number l (rather than J) are considered. This l labeled result is in accord with recent work by Pouilly and Alexander, but the lack of alignment preservation in this case has no relationship with the alignment cross sections, or with the alignment selected plane wave scattering wave function, since the l labeled wave functions must be coherently combined to generate this information. The orbital scrambling found for the l labeled solutions thus is not related to measurable properties, and instead the correct picture is provided by the J labeled solutions, which do show preservation of alignment. We find that even in the J labeled picture, alignment preservation does not by itself guarantee any specific trend in the alignment ratio for the fine structure transition.

Notes: Nonlinear evolution of one-dimensional planar perturbations in an optically thin, radiatively cooling medium in the long-wavelength limit is studied numerically. The accepted cooling function generates, in thermal equilibrium, a bistable equation of state P(ρ). The unperturbed state is taken close to the upper (low-density) unstable state with infinite compressibility (dP/dρ=0). The evolution is shown to proceed in three different stages. At the first stage, pressure and density set in the equilibrium equation of state, and velocity profile steepens gradually, as in the case of pressure-free flows. At the second stage, those regions of the flow where anomalous pressure (i.e., with negative compressibility) holds create a velocity profile sharper than in the pressure-free case, which in turn results in formation of a very narrow (short-wavelength) region where gas separates the equilibrium equation of state and pressure equilibrium sets in rapidly. At this stage, the variation in pressure between the narrow dense region and the extended environment does not exceed more than 0.01 of the unperturbed value. At the third stage, gas in the short-wavelength region reaches the second (high-density) stable state, and pressure balance establishes through the flow, with pressure equal to the one in the unperturbed state. In external (long-wavelength) regions, gas forms slow isobaric inflow toward the short-wavelength layer. The duration of these stages decreases when the ratio of the acoustic time to the radiative cooling time increases. The limits in which nonlinear evolution of thermally unstable long-wavelength perturbations develops in isobaric regime are obtained. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: The design of the electron-beam ion source (EBIS) "Krion-S'' on the high voltage (HV) platform of the preinjector of the LINAC LU-20 and some results of accelerating argon and krypton ions up to 5 Mev/u are presented. The gas mixing (working gas and Ne) by original technology has been used for the "ion cooling'' procedure. The cryogenic ionizator Krion-S is used as an ion source for multicharged ions with mass charge ratio band 0.35–0.5 at the accelerating facility "NUCLOTRON'' of the Laboratory of High Energies (LNE) JINR in Dubna. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: We have developed a self-consistent description of an interface between a metal and a molecular liquid by combination of the density functional theory in the Kohn–Sham formulation (KS DFT) for the electronic structure, and the three-dimensional generalization of the reference interaction site model (3D RISM) for the classical site distribution profiles of liquid. The electron and classical subsystems are coupled in the mean field approximation. The procedure takes account of many-body effects of dense fluid on the metal–liquid interactions by averaging the pseudopotentials of liquid molecules over the classical distributions of the liquid. The proposed approach is substantially less time-consuming as compared to a Car–Parrinello-type simulation since it replaces molecular dynamics with the integral equation theory of molecular liquids. The calculation has been performed for pure water at normal conditions in contact with the (100) face cubic centered (fcc) surface of a metal roughly modeled after copper. The results are in good agreement with the Car–Parrinello simulation for the same metal model. The shift of the Fermi level due to the presence of water conforms with experiment. The electron distribution near an adsorbed water molecule is affected by dense water, and so the metal–water attraction follows the shapes of the metal effective electrostatic potential. For the metal model employed, it is strongest at the hollow site adsorption positions, and water molecules are adsorbed mainly at the hollow and bridge site positions rather than over metal atoms. Layering of water molecules near the metal surface is found. In the first hydration layer, adsorbed water molecules are oriented in parallel to the surface or tilted with hydrogens mainly outwards the metal. This orientation at the potential of zero charge agrees with experiment. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: A novel broadband femtosecond version of the stimulated emission pumping (SEP) technique is demonstrated. A nonstationary ground state of a molecular sample in the condensed phase is prepared by two optical pulses. The first picosecond PUMP pulse resonantly excites the sample. The second femtosecond DUMP pulse, which is tuned to the molecular fluorescence band, is applied after relaxation in the excited state and creates a "particle" in the ground state and a "hole" in the excited state. The relaxation of this system is probed by a femtosecond supercontinuum. An advantage of the proposed scheme is that the hole contribution is constant for certain conditions, and hence, the transient absorption spectrum of the particle may be isolated. As an application of the technique, the ground-state evolution of coumarin 102 in acetonitrile is studied. Intramolecular vibrational redistribution (IVR), with a characteristic time τIVR∼10 fs, is observed in the frequency domain. Subsequently, the absorption band shifts to the blue and shows isosbestic points in the course of relaxation. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Transient absorption measurements of aminonitrofluorene in acetonitrile reveal for the first time an oscillatory behavior in the dynamic Stokes shift of stimulated emission. The measured relaxation curve for the maximum of the stimulated emission band is in excellent agreement with the solvation correlation function C(t) obtained from the simple continuum theory of dipolar solvation. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Transient absorption and gain spectra of the styryl dye LDS-750 in solution have been studied by the pump/supercontinuum probe (PSCP) technique with excitation at 530 nm. The pump/probe intensity correlation width was 70 fs, providing a time resolution of 40 fs. Spectra were detected in the range 400–800 nm with 1.5 nm resolution. Before 70 fs, prominent spectral structure is observed due to resonant Raman scattering from a 1500 cm−1 active mode of the chromophore. At later time, the gain spectrum undergoes an ultrafast redshift and change of shape, with time constants of ∼200 and ∼600 fs for acetonitrile and chloroform solutions, respectively. At high pumping energy (1.2 μJ), the final emitting state is reached by internal conversion from higher electronic states without a further essential Stokes shift. The emitting state is assigned to an excited isomeric form of the molecule. At low pumping energy (0.3 μJ), the first excited electronic state isomerizes in an ultrafast process followed by a slower process, the dynamics of which is controlled by the solvent. The geometrical and electronic nature of these processes and their coupling to the solvent needs further clarification. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: An intuitive picture of Λ-doubling in diatomic molecules is presented using a semiclassical theory. A common view of Λ-doubling as arising from electrons "lagging" behind the rotating internuclear axis is shown to be misleading; rather, the eigenfunctions are symmetric about the molecular axes and can be expressed as a superposition of pure nonrotating orbitals and travelling waves. These results are shown to be consistent with a full quantum treatment. We also examine, for the first time, time-dependent states, by monitoring expectation values of electronic- and nuclear-angular momenta. For low rotation frequency, the expectation value of the electronic-angular momentum locks onto the rotating internuclear axis, while for high rotation frequency it locks onto the space-fixed total-angular momentum axis. At intermediate frequencies is a complicated behavior. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.