Absorption Probability Research Articles

Possibility of inversionless amplification and generation of radiation by a two-level system in the ‘red’ wing of its spectral line under resonant diode pumping

We report a theoretical study on the possibility of amplification and generation of radiation by an inversionless two-level system in the ‘red’ wing of its spectral line under resonant diode pumping. The two-level system is used to simulate atoms of an active gas, while it is in the atmosphere of a high-pressure buffer gas. The effect results from the fact that the probability of stimulated emission in the ‘red’ wing of the spectral line exceeds the probability of absorption if the homogeneous broadening due to the interaction of particles with the buffer gas significantly exceeds the natural one (at high pressures of the buffer gas). It is found that the higher the buffer gas pressure and the higher the pump radiation intensity, the greater the inversionless amplification. It is shown that the gain in a two-level system in the ‘red’ wing of its spectral line can reach 0.011 cm−1 when the radiation intensity and the width of the radiation spectrum of pump diodes are 5 kW cm−2 and 4 cm−1, respectively. The use of transverse diode pumping of an active medium placed in an optical cavity will make it possible to obtain lasing with frequency tuning and thereby solve the problem of converting incoherent broadband radiation into a coherent laser light in a gas of two-level active particles.

Methodology and algorithm to correct the thermal neutron porosity for the effect of rare elements and rock minerals with high neutron absorption probability

The thermal neutron porosity is routinely acquired in almost every well. When combined with the density, gamma ray and resistivity logs, the basic petrophysical parameters of a reservoir are evaluated. The design of the thermal neutron tool is simple, but its interpretation is complex and affected by the formation constituents. The most challenging situation occurs when the formation contains elements with high absorption probability of the thermal neutrons. The existence of such elements changes the neutron transport parameters and results in a false increase in the measured porosity. The problem is reported by many users throughout the years. In 1993, higher thermal neutron porosity is reported due to the existence of an iron-rich mineral, Siderite, in the Nazzazat and Baharia formations in Egypt. Siderite and all iron-rich minerals have high thermal neutrons absorption probability. Recently, in 2018, high thermal neutron porosity in Unayzah field in Saudi Arabia is also reported due to the existence of few parts per million of gadolinium. Gadolinium is a rare element that has high probability of thermal neutron absorption. Currently, none of the existing commercial petrophysics software(s) have modules to correct the thermal neutron porosity for such effects. This represents a challenge to the petrophysicists to properly calculate the actual reservoir porosity. In this paper, the effects of the rare elements and other minerals with high thermal neutron absorption probability on the thermal neutron porosity are discussed, and a correction methodology is developed and tested. The methodology is based on integrating the tool design and the physics of the neutron transport to perform the correction. The details of the correction steps and the correction algorithm are included, tested and applied in two fields.

Temperature Dependence of Fundamental Photophysical Properties of [Eu(MeOH-d4)9]3+ Solvates and [Eu·DOTA(MeOH-d4)]- Complexes.

The trivalent lanthanide ions show optical transitions between energy levels within the 4f shell. All these transitions are formally forbidden according to the quantum mechanical selection rules used in molecular photophysics. Nevertheless, highly luminescent complexes can be achieved, and terbium(III) and europium(III) ions are particularly efficient emitters. This report started when an apparent lack of data in the literature led us to revisit the fundamental photophysics of europium(III). The photophysical properties of two complexes-[Eu·DOTA(MeOH-d4)]- and [Eu(MeOH-d4)9]3+-were investigated in deuterated methanol at five different temperatures. Absorption spectra showed decreased absorbance as the temperature was increased. Luminescence spectra and time-resolved emission decay profiles showed a decrease in intensity and lifetime as the temperature was increased. Having corrected the emission spectra for the actual number of absorbed photons and differences in the non-radiative pathways, the relative emission probability was revealed. These were found to increase with increasing temperature. The transition probability for luminescence was shown to increase with temperature, while the transition probability for light absorption decreased. The changes in transition probabilities were correlated with a change in the symmetry of the absorber or emitter, with an average increase in symmetry lowering absorbance and access to more asymmetric structures increasing the emission rate constant. Determining luminescence quantum yields and the Einstein coefficient for spontaneous emission allowed us to conclude that lowering symmetry increases both. Furthermore, it was found that collisional self-quenching is an issue for lanthanide luminescence, when high concentrations are used. Finally, detailed analysis revealed results that show the so-called "Werts' method" for calculating radiative lifetimes and intrinsic quantum yields is based on assumptions that do not hold for the two systems investigated here. We conclude that we are lacking a good theoretical description of the intraconfigurational f-f transitions, and that there are still aspects of fundamental lanthanide photophysics to be explored.

Absorption spectroscopy of quantum black holes with gravitational waves

The observation of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by matter was instrumental in revealing the quantum properties of atoms and molecules in the early XX century, and constituted a turning-point in the development of the quantum theory. Quantum mechanics changes dramatically the way radiation and matter interact, making the probability of emission and absorption of light strongly frequency dependent, as clearly manifested in atomic spectra. In this essay, we advocate that gravitational radiation can play, for the quantum aspects of black holes, a similar role as electromagnetic radiation did for atoms, and that the advent of gravitational-wave astronomy can bring this fascinating possibility to the realm of observations.

Topological impact of a simple self-replication geometric structure with great application potential in vacuum pumping and photovoltaic industry

Topological effects exist from a macroscopic system such as the universe to a microscopic system described by quantum mechanics. We show here that an interesting geometric structure can be created by the self-replication procedure of a square with an enclosed circle, in which the sum of the circles' area will remain the same but the sum of the circumference will increase. It is demonstrated by means of Monte Carlo simulations that these topological features have a great impact on the vacuum pumping probability and the photon absorption probability of the active surface. The results show significant improvement of the system performance and have application potential in vacuum pumping of large research facilities such as a nuclear fusion reactor, synchrotron, and in the photovoltaic industry.

Water-Active Titanium/Molybdenum/Mixed-Oxides: Removal Efficiency of Organic Water Pollutants by Adsorption and Photocatalysis and Toxicity Assessment

A new titanium/molybdenum/mixed-oxides (TMO) contact-type heterojunction photocatalyst was prepared by a simple, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly mixing-calcination solid-state method. A microstructural investigation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showsirregularly shaped agglomerated morphology of TMO that consists of firmly connected globular TiO2 and rod-like MoO3 particles. The detailed structure and optical bandgap investigation by X-ray diffraction, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the TMO’s composition of ~37 wt.% rutile TiO2, ~25 wt.% of anatase TiO2, and ~38 wt.% of molybdite MoO3 phase and an absorption threshold of around 380 nm, which implies more probability of desirable higher visible light absorption. The removal efficiency of pesticides quinmerac (QUI) and tembotrione (TEM), and pharmaceuticals metoprolol (MET), amitriptyline (AMI), ciprofloxacin (CIP),and ceftriaxone (CEF) from water in the presence of starting pure TiO2, MoO3, and prepared TMO were investigated under different pH values and UV irradiation/simulated sunlight (SS). Each starting metal-oxide precursors and prepared TMO showed a different affinity for adsorption of tested pesticides and pharmaceuticals, and, in general, better photocatalytic degradation efficiency under UV irradiation than under simulated sunlight. The highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency under UV irradiation was 81.6% for TEM using TMO; using TiO2 was 65.0% for AMI, and using MoO3 was 79.3% for CEF after 135 min. However, TMO showed a very high synergic adsorption/photocatalytic under-SS efficiency in the removal of CIP of almost 80% and under UV irradiation of 90% CIP removal after 75 min. The toxicity of catalysts, starting compounds, and their intermediates formed during the removal process was assessed using a rat hepatoma cell line (H-4-II-E). The highest hepatotoxic effects were obtained by using UV irradiated QUI and MET suspension with TMO for up to 60 min.

Statistical Properties of Color Matching Functions.

In trichromats, color vision entails the projection of an infinite-dimensional space (the one containing all possible electromagnetic power spectra) onto the three-dimensional space that modulates the activity of the three types of cones. This drastic reduction in dimensionality gives rise to metamerism, that is, the perceptual chromatic equivalence between two different light spectra. The classes of equivalence of metamerism are revealed by color-matching experiments in which observers adjust the intensity of three monochromatic light beams of three preset wavelengths (the primaries) to produce a mixture that is perceptually equal to a given monochromatic target stimulus. Here we use the linear relation between the color matching functions and the absorption probabilities of each type of cone to find particularly useful triplets of primaries. As a second goal, we also derive an analytical description of the trial-to-trial variability and the correlations of color matching functions stemming from Poissonian noise in photon capture. We analyze how the statistical properties of the responses to color-matching experiments vary with the retinal composition and the wavelengths of peak absorption probability, and compare them with experimental data on subject-to-subject variability obtained previously.

Properties of peptides released from salmon and carp via simulated human-like gastrointestinal digestion described applying quantitative parameters.

Apart from the classical (experimental) methods, biologically active peptides can be studied via bioinformatics approach, also known as in silico analysis. This study aimed to verify the following research hypothesis: ACE inhibitors and antioxidant peptides can be released from salmon and carp proteins during simulated in silico human-like gastrointestinal digestion. The potential to release biopeptides was evaluated using the BIOPEP-UWM quantitative criteria including the profile of biological activity, frequency of the occurrence (A)/release (AE) of fragments with an ACE inhibitory or antioxidant activity by selected enzymes, and relative frequency of release of bioactive fragments with a given activity by selected enzymes (W). Salmon collagen and myofibrillar proteins of carp turned out to be the best potential source of the searched peptides–ACE inhibitors and antioxidant peptides. Nonetheless, after digestion, the highest numbers of ACE inhibitors and antioxidant peptides were potentially released from the myofibrillar proteins of salmon and carp. Peptide Ranker Score, Pepsite2, and ADMETlab platform were applied to evaluate peptides’ bioactivity potential, their safety and drug-like properties. Among the 63 sequences obtained after the simulated digestion of salmon and carp proteins, 30 were considered potential biopeptides. The amino acid sequences of ACE-inhibiting and antioxidant peptides were predominated by P, G, F, W, R, and L. The predicted high probability of absorption of most analyzed peptides and their low toxicity should be considered as their advantage.

Double‐Twisted Spectroscopy with Delocalized Atoms

AbstractInteraction of atoms with twisted light is the subject of intense experimental and theoretical investigation. In almost all studies, the atom is viewed as a localized probe of the twisted light field. However, as argued in this paper, conceptually novel effects will arise if light‐atom interaction is studied in the double‐twisted regime with delocalized atoms, that is, either via twisted light absorption by atom vortex beam, or via two‐twisted‐photon spectroscopy of atoms in a non‐vortex but delocalized state. Even for monochromatic twisted photons and for an infinitely narrow line, absorption will occur over a finite range of detuning. Inside this range, a rapidly varying absorption probability is predicted, revealing interference fringes induced by two distinct paths leading to the same final state. The number, location, height, and contrast of these fringes can give additional information on the excitation process which would not be accessible in usual spectroscopic settings. Visibility of the predicted effects will be enhanced at the future Gamma factory thanks to the large momenta of ions.

Mean first passage time and absorption probabilities of a Lévy flier on a finite interval: discrete space and continuous limit via Fock space approach

We have extended the Fock space (FS) approach to address the relevant problem of evaluating the mean first passage time (MFPT) and absorption probabilities of a Lévy random particle in a discrete finite interval with absorbing boundaries. In this approach the master equation is cast in the form of a real-valued Schrödinger-like equation with a Hamiltonian-like operator related to the transition probabilities, defined by the Lévy jump lengths. We present a comprehensive study of such quantities as a function of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the quasi-Hamiltonian, Lévy stability index α, and the particle’s starting position. The predicted asymptotic behavior of the absorption probabilities is finely captured under the FS approach. Moreover, by considering as well the continuous space limit, our findings nicely match the exact analytical result for a Lévy flier in continuous bounded space. For comparison, we also provide Monte Carlo results with good agreement with the FS calculations. The MFPT and absorption probabilities are relevant in a number of practical contexts, such as animal foraging and light transmission in randomly scattering media, and our findings may be useful to advance the understanding of these systems.

Entangled two-photon absorption spectroscopy with varying pump wavelengths

In entangled two-photon absorption (eTPA) spectroscopy, information about the energy-level structure of an arbitrary sample is retrieved by Fourier transforming sets of measured two-photon absorption probabilities of entangled photon pairs where the degree of entanglement and the delay time between the photons are varied. This works well for simple systems but quickly becomes rather difficult when many intermediate states are involved. We propose and discuss an extension of eTPA spectroscopy that solves this problem by means of repeated measurements at different pump wavelengths, thus reducing the experimental complexity of eTPA spectroscopy by removing the need to control the correlations of the entangled photons. Specifically, we demonstrate that our extension works well for a variety of realistic experimental setups.

Escape and absorption probabilities for obliquely reflected Brownian motion in a quadrant

We consider an obliquely reflected Brownian motion Z with positive drift in a quadrant stopped at time T, where T≔inf{t>0:Z(t)=(0,0)} is the first hitting time at the origin. Such a process can be defined even in the non-standard case in which the reflection matrix is not completely-S. We show in this case that the process has two possible behaviors: either it tends to infinity or it hits the corner (origin) in finite time. Given an arbitrary starting point (u,v) in the quadrant, we consider the escape (resp. absorption) probabilities P(u,v)[T=∞] (resp. P(u,v)[T<∞]). We establish the partial differential equations and the oblique Neumann boundary conditions which characterize the escape probability and provide a functional equation satisfied by the Laplace transform of the escape probability. Asymptotics for the absorption probability in the simpler case in which the starting point in the quadrant is (u,0) are then given. We proceed to show a geometric criterion on the parameters which characterizes the case in which the absorption probability has a product form and is exponential. We call this new criterion the dual skew symmetry condition due to its natural connection with the skew symmetry condition for the stationary distribution. We then obtain an explicit integral expression for the Laplace transform of the escape probability and conclude by presenting exact asymptotics for the escape probability at the origin.

Enhanced two-photon absorption of frequency-entangled N00N states in type-I SPDC

We study the two-photon absorption properties of frequency-entangled N00N states produced in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer using type-I degenerate photon pairs, generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion. By comparing our results with N00N states with no frequency entanglement, we demonstrate enhanced two-photon absorption due to frequency entanglement. We also derive an analytic expression for the enhancement factor which is found to be greater than one for all finite values of the ratio of the bandwidth of the pump to the bandwidth of the detected photons. We have also found suppression and enhancement in the two-photon absorption probabilities for specific time delays applied to the N00N states.

Understanding the properties of methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein at the air-water interface: Adsorption, heterogeneous reaction and environmental impact analysis

Air-water interfaces are ubiquitous in nature, as manifested in the form of the surfaces of oceans, lakes, and atmospheric aqueous aerosols. The aerosol droplets interface, in particular, plays a critical role in numerous atmospheric chemistry processes. Methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR), two abundant volatile organic compounds, are the significant precursors of Criegee intermediates and secondary organic aerosol. In this work, the physicochemical properties of MVK and MACR at the air-water interface are studied from a theoretical perspective. The free energy wells of MVK and MACR occur at the air-water interface, and the absorption probabilities of them are 71% and 67%, respectively. Repulsion dominates the interactions between MVK/MACR and water molecules in the bulk region, while attraction is dominant at the interface. The two molecules tend to tilt at the interface, with the CC bond exposed at the outer interface. The most likely reaction scenario of O3-initiated MVK/MACR reaction in the troposphere is also determined for the first time. Based on the molecular dynamics simulation results, the activity sequence of MVK + O3 is given at four different environments by the density functional theory method: air-water interface, mineral clusters interface, bulk solution, and homogeneous gas. The interfacial water molecule can catalyze the reaction of MVK with O3, and the rate constant at the air-water interface is ~6 times larger than that on the mineral surface model. Compared with mineral particles, aqueous particles play a more significant role in modifying the reaction properties of atmospheric organic species.

Design of a solid scintillation counter for tritium water measurement based on Ca2F(Eu) sheet using Monte Carlo simulation

To measure the tritium concentration in water with an environmentally friendly way, a new detection method based on CaF2(Eu) sheet is being developed. The design of the detector is important in this method, and each basic unit of the detector consists of a pair of CaF2(Eu) sheets and a sample chamber for holding tritium water. The detector is coated with aluminum foil to avoid light and reflect scintillation photons which are received by a pair of photomultiplier tubes on both ends. The physical process of tritium water concentration detection was simulated by Monte Carlo simulation using the Geant4 tool kit. The energy deposition results in scintillator of electrons produced by tritium decay and the absorption probability of scintillation photons in sample chamber and scintillator were obtained in the simulation. The simulation results indicated that the thickness of the sample chamber had a major influence on detection efficiency, while the photon collection efficiency mainly depended on the thickness of the CaF2(Eu) sheet. The design of solid scintillation counter with multiple sample chambers can effectively improve the counting rate of the detection system. According to the simulation results, three types of detectors are designed, which have the characteristics of high detection efficiency, high counting rate and continuous real-time measurement capability respectively. Of the three types of detectors, type 2 detector has the lowest detection limit: 7.46 Bq/mL at a counting time of 10 min, and 2.95 Bq/mL at a counting time of 60 min.

Synthesis and Photoswitching Properties of Bioinspired Dissymmetric γ-Pyrone, an Analogue of Cyclocurcumin.

Cyclocurcumin (CC), a turmeric curcuminoid with potential therapeutic properties, is also a natural photoswitch that may undergo E/Z photoisomerization under UV light. To be further exploited in relevant biological applications, photoactivation under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is required. Such requirement can be met through opportune chemical modifications, by favoring two-photon absorption (TPA) probability. Herein, a general and efficient synthesis of a biomimetic 2,6-disubstituted-γ-pyrone analogue of CC is described, motivated by the fact that molecular modeling previews an order of magnitude increase of its NIR TPA compared to CC. Three retrosynthetic pathways have been identified (i) via an aryl-oxazole intermediate or via aryl-diynone through (ii) a bottom-up or (iii) a top-down approach. While avoiding the passage through unstable synthons or low-yield intermediate reactions, only the latest approach could conveniently afford the 2,6-disubstituted-γ-pyrone analogue of CC, in ten steps and with an overall yield of 18%. The photophysical properties of our biomimetic analogue have also been characterized showing an improved photoisomerization yield over the parent natural compound. The potentially improved nonlinear optical properties, as well as enhanced stability, may be correlated to the enforcement of the planarity of the pyrone moiety leading to a quadrupolar D-π-A-π-D system.

Identification of 3-Methoxycarpachromene and Masticadienonic Acid as New Target Inhibitors against Trypanothione Reductase from Leishmania Infantum Using Molecular Docking and ADMET Prediction.

Polyphenolic and Terpenoids are potent natural antiparasitic compounds. This study aimed to identify new drug against Leishmania parasites, leishmaniasis’s causal agent. A new in silico analysis was accomplished using molecular docking, with the Autodock vina program, to find the binding affinity of two important phytochemical compounds, Masticadienonic acid and the 3-Methoxycarpachromene, towards the trypanothione reductase as target drugs, responsible for the defense mechanism against oxidative stress and virulence of these parasites. There were exciting and new positive results: the molecular docking results show as elective binding profile for ligands inside the active site of this crucial enzyme. The ADMET study suggests that the 3-Methoxycarpachromene has the highest probability of human intestinal absorption. Through this work, 3-Methoxycarpachromene and Masticadienonic acid are shown to be potentially significant in drug discovery, especially in treating leishmaniasis. Hence, drug development should be completed with promising results.

An HHL-based algorithm for computing hitting probabilities of quantum walks

We present a novel application of the HHL (Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd) algorithm --- a quantum algorithm solving systems of linear equations --- in solving an open problem about quantum walks, namely computing hitting (or absorption) probabilities of a general (not only Hadamard) one-dimensional quantum walks with two absorbing boundaries. This is achieved by a simple observation that the problem of computing hitting probabilities of quantum walks can be reduced to inverting a matrix. Then a quantum algorithm with the HHL algorithm as a subroutine is developed for solving the problem, which is faster than the known classical algorithms by numerical experiments.

Effect of sink strength on coherency loss of precipitates in dilute Cu-base alloys during in situ ion irradiation

In situ irradiations with 1 MeV Kr ions at 50~613 K up to a fluence of 6.25 × 1014 ions/cm2 (~1.25 displacements per atom, dpa) have been performed on pre-aged dilute Cu-0.9%Co, Cu-0.9%Fe and Cu-0.8%Cr alloys containing uniform matrix dispersions of coherent precipitates in order to study the effects of initial precipitate sink strength, damage dose and irradiation temperature on radiation-induced coherency loss of precipitates. Coherent precipitates with different point defect sink strengths (2πNd, where N and d are the precipitate density and diameter) were used in this work to examine potential differences in atomic relaxation during absorption of point defects. In all cases, irradiation to low doses (<~1 dpa) was very effective at inducing loss of precipitate coherency. At low sink strengths (~1013 m−2), loss of precipitate coherency could be induced for doses ~0.01 dpa. This suggests there might be an efficient preferential medium-range strain-induced bias for absorption of interstitial defects due to tensile strains emanating from the undersized precipitates, which induces relatively rapid loss of coherency at low precipitate sink strengths. High precipitate sink strength (~1014 m−2) conditions were relatively resistant to the radiation-induced loss of coherency (requiring higher doses approaching ~1 dpa) and this might be due to nearly equal numbers of interstitial and vacancy defects arriving at the precipitate interface for such high sink strength conditions. The precipitate coherency loss was observed to have a weak dependence on irradiation temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm a strong effect of precipitate sink strength on the probability of interstitial absorption at precipitates.

The role of surface related quenching in the single band ratiometric approach based on excited state absorption processes in Nd3+ doped phosphors

One of the newest approaches to ratiometric luminescence thermometry, namely, the single band ratiometric (SBR) approach, that involves excited state absorption, has been intensively investigated in recent years due to its unique features. The development of the highly sensitive luminescent temperature probe based on this approach is possible only when the physical processes and material parameter of the phosphors that affects the probability of the excited state absorption will be determined. Therefore, in this work, for the first time, the influence of phosphor size and the role of surface quenching processes on the sensitivity of this type of luminescent thermometers are investigated and discussed. It has been shown that surface related depopulation processes of the intermediate 4I11/2 energy levels strongly affect the intensity of the 4F3/2→4IJ emission excited by excited state absorption. It leads to a reduction of the sensitivity of this type of luminescent thermometers and a narrowing of its usable temperature range. As a consequence, it has been shown that the maximum relative sensitivity of YAG:Nd-based thermometer changes as follows 2.38 %/oC, 8.46 %/oC and 9.51 %/oC for a phosphor in the form of nanocrystals, microcrystals and ceramics, respectively.