412 research outputs found
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Nonlinear optical studies of surfaces
The possibly of using nonlinear optical processes for surface studies has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Optical second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG), in particular, have been well accepted as viable surface probes. They have many advantages over the conventional techniques. By nature, they are highly surface-specific and has a submonolayer sensitivity. As coherent optical processes, they are capable of in-situ probing of surfaces in hostile environment as well as applicable to all interfaces accessible by light. With ultrafast pump laser pulses, they can be employed to study surface dynamic processes with a subpicosecond time resolution. These advantages have opened the door to many exciting research opportunities in surface science and technology. This paper gives a brief overview of this fast-growing new area of research. Optical SHG from a surface was first studied theoretically and experimentally in the sixties. Even the submonolayer surface sensitivity of the process was noticed fairly early. The success was, however, limited because of difficulties in controlling the experimental conditions. It was not until the early 1980`s that the potential of the process for surface analysis was duly recognized. The first surface study by SHG was actually motivated by the then active search for an understanding of the intriguing surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). It had been suspected that the enhancement in SERS mainly came from the local-field enhancement due to local plasmon resonances and pointing rod effect on rough metal surfaces. In our view, Raman scattering is a two-photon process and is therefore a nonlinear optical effect
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Investigation of the Si(111) Surface in UHV: Oxidation and the Effect of Surface Phosphorus
We have studied the initial stages of oxidation, the segregation of phosphorus, and the effect of phosphorus on oxidation of the Si(111) 7 x 7 surface using optical second-harmonic generation. We have also observed a (..sqrt..3 x ..sqrt..3)R30/sup 0/ LEED pattern for P on Si(111)
Does femtosecond time-resolved second-harmonic generation probe electron temperatures at surfaces?
Femtosecond pump-probe second-harmonic generation (SHG) and transient linear
reflectivity measurements were carried out on polycrystalline Cu, Ag and Au in
air to analyze whether the electron temperature affects Fresnel factors or
nonlinear susceptibilities, or both. Sensitivity to electron temperatures was
attained by using photon energies near the interband transition threshold. We
find that the nonlinear susceptibility carries the electron temperature
dependence in case of Ag and Au, while for Cu the dependence is in the Fresnel
factors. This contrasting behavior emphasizes that SHG is not a priori
sensitive to electron dynamics at surfaces or interfaces, notwithstanding its
cause.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Black Hole Lasers Revisited
Contribution to "Quantum Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes and Cosmology" edited by William G. Unruh and Ralf Schutzhold. (Lecture Notes in Physics Vol. 718)The production of Hawking radiation by a single horizon is not dependent on the high-frequency dispersion relation of the radiated field. When there are two horizons, however, Corley and Jacobson have shown that superluminal dispersion leads to an amplification of the particle production in the case of bosons. The analytic theory of this "black hole laser" process is quite complicated, so we provide some numerical results in the hope of aiding understanding of this interesting phenomenon. Specifically, we consider sonic horizons in a moving fluid. The theory of elementary excitations in a Bose-Einstein condensate provides an example of "superluminal" (Bogoliubov) dispersion, so we add Bogoliubov dispersion to Unruh's equation for sound in the fluid. A white-hole/black-hole horizon pair will then display black hole lasing. Numerical analysis of the evolution of a wave packet gives a clear picture of the amplification process. By utilizing the similarity of a radiating horizon to a parametric amplifier in quantum optics we also analyze the black hole laser as a quantum-optical network
The open-charm radiative and pionic decays of molecular charmonium Y(4274)
In this work, we investigate the decay widths and the line shapes of the
open-charm radiative and pionic decays of Y(4274) with the
molecular charmonium assignment. Our calculation
indicates that the decay widths of and
can reach up to 0.05 keV and 0.75 keV,
respectively. In addition, the result of the line shape of the photon spectrum
of shows that there exists a very sharp
peak near the large end point of photon energy. The line shape of the pion
spectrum of is similar to that of the pion
spectrum of , where we also find a very
sharp peak near the large end point of pion energy. According to our
calculation, we suggest further experiments to carry out the search for the
open-charm radiative and pionic decays of Y(4274).Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Published versio
The molecular systems composed of the charmed mesons in the doublet
We study the possible heavy molecular states composed of a pair of charm
mesons in the H and S doublets. Since the P-wave charm-strange mesons
and are extremely narrow, the future experimental
observation of the possible heavy molecular states composed of
and may be feasible if they really exist.
Especially the possible states may be searched for via the
initial state radiation technique.Comment: 42 pages, 4 tables, 31 figures. Improved numerical results and
Corrected typos
Quantum-noise-induced macroscopic revivals in second-harmonic generation
We investigate the behavior of the fundamental and second-harmonic fields in phase-matched traveling plane-wave second-harmonic generation, using the full-operator equations of motion. We find that, after a certain interaction length, both the macroscopic and quantum-statistical properties of the harmonic and fundamental fields are qualitatively different from those found in previous analyses. The mean fields do not vary in a monotonic way, but oscillate with the propagation length, leading to an unexpected periodic revival of the fundamental field, triggered by the quantum fluctuations always present in the mode. Accordingly, the amplitude noise of the fundamental, previously predicted to be perfectly squeezed for long interaction lengths, actually reaches a very small minimum for a definite length, then increases again
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