394 research outputs found
Quantitative rescattering theory for laser-induced high-energy plateau photoelectron spectra
A comprehensive quantitative rescattering (QRS) theory for describing the
production of high-energy photoelectrons generated by intense laser pulses is
presented. According to the QRS, the momentum distributions of these electrons
can be expressed as the product of a returning electron wave packet with the
elastic differential cross sections (DCS) between free electrons with the
target ion. We show that the returning electron wave packets are determined
mostly by the lasers only, and can be obtained from the strong field
approximation. The validity of the QRS model is carefully examined by checking
against accurate results from the solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger
equation for atomic targets within the single active electron approximation. We
further show that experimental photoelectron spectra for a wide range of laser
intensity and wavelength can be explained by the QRS theory, and that the DCS
between electrons and target ions can be extracted from experimental
photoelectron spectra. By generalizing the QRS theory to molecular targets, we
discuss how few-cycle infrared lasers offer a promising tool for dynamic
chemical imaging with temporal resolution of a few femtoseconds.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figure
What is a crystal?
Almost 25 years have passed since Shechtman discovered quasicrystals, and 15
years since the Commission on Aperiodic Crystals of the International Union of
Crystallography put forth a provisional definition of the term crystal to mean
``any solid having an essentially discrete diffraction diagram.'' Have we
learned enough about crystallinity in the last 25 years, or do we need more
time to explore additional physical systems? There is much confusion and
contradiction in the literature in using the term crystal. Are we ready now to
propose a permanent definition for crystal to be used by all? I argue that time
has come to put a sense of order in all the confusion.Comment: Submitted to Zeitschrift fuer Kristallographi
Potential for ultrafast dynamic chemical imaging with few-cycle infrared lasers
We studied the photoelectron spectra generated by an intense few-cycle
infrared laser pulse. By focusing on the angular distributions of the back
rescattered high energy photoelectrons, we show that accurate differential
elastic scattering cross sections of the target ion by free electrons can be
extracted. Since the incident direction and the energy of the free electrons
can be easily changed by manipulating the laser's polarization, intensity, and
wavelength, these extracted elastic scattering cross sections, in combination
with more advanced inversion algorithms, may be used to reconstruct the
effective single-scattering potential of the molecule, thus opening up the
possibility of using few-cycle infrared lasers as powerful table-top tools for
imaging chemical and biological transformations, with the desired unprecedented
temporal and spatial resolutions.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
New Symmetries in Crystals and Handed Structures
For over a century, the structure of materials has been described by a
combination of rotations, rotation-inversions and translational symmetries. By
recognizing the reversal of static structural rotations between clockwise and
counterclockwise directions as a distinct symmetry operation, here we show that
there are many more structural symmetries than are currently recognized in
right- or left-handed handed helices, spirals, and in antidistorted structures
composed equally of rotations of both handedness. For example, though a helix
or spiral cannot possess conventional mirror or inversion symmetries, they can
possess them in combination with the rotation reversal symmetry. Similarly, we
show that many antidistorted perovskites possess twice the number of symmetry
elements as conventionally identified. These new symmetries predict new forms
for "roto" properties that relate to static rotations, such as rotoelectricity,
piezorotation, and rotomagnetism. They also enable symmetry-based search for
new phenomena, such as multiferroicity involving a coupling of spins, electric
polarization and static rotations. This work is relevant to structure-property
relationships in all material structures with static rotations such as
minerals, polymers, proteins, and engineered structures.Comment: 15 Pages, 4 figures, 3 Tables; Fig. 2b has error
Atomic-resolution imaging of carbonyl sulfide by laser-induced electron diffraction
Measurements on the strong-field ionization of carbonyl sulfide molecules by short, intense, 2 µm wavelength laser pulses are presented from experiments where angle-resolved photoelectron distributions were recorded with a high-energy velocity map imaging spectrometer, designed to reach a maximum kinetic energy of 500 eV. The laser-field-free elastic-scattering cross section of carbonyl sulfide was extracted from the measurements and is found in good agreement with previous experiments, performed using conventional electron diffraction. By comparing our measurements to the results of calculations, based on the quantitative rescattering theory, the bond lengths and molecular geometry were extracted from the experimental differential cross sections to a precision better than ±5 pm and in agreement with the known values
Older Adults and Information and Communication Technologies in the Global North
At all ages, people are incorporating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into their lives. It is not that they have stopped talking with each other in-person, it is that ICTs complement their interactions when they cannot be together face-to-face. Since the 1990s, email has provided a routine way to stay in touch and sustain meaningful contact over distance. But not all age groups have adopted ICTs with the same enthusiasm. Research in the Global North has consistently reported that age plays an important role in ICT adoption and use (Anderson and Perrin 2017). For example, older adults have been the least likely to use ICTs, and even when they do use ICTs, they are less active in their use (Blank and Groselji 2014; Haight, Quan-Haase, and Corbett 2014; Schreurs, Quan-Haase, and Martin 2017). Yet, this is changing. As more older adults use ICTs, analysts are wondering how such ICTs affect older adults’ social networks (Wang, Zhang and Wellman 2018; Wellman, Quan-Haase and Harper forthcoming): Are ICTs helping older adults build, maintain, or diminish personal networks? And how are they supporting or limiting the exchange of social support both for local and long-distance social networks? Moreover, are ICTs affecting different types of social ties differently—be they kin, friend, neighbor, workmate, or churchgoer; or strong or weak
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