Physics

The dynamic polarizabilities of the 4s, 3d and 4p states of Ca + , are calculated using a relativistic structure model. The wavelengths at which the Stark shifts between different pairs of transitions are zero are computed. Experimental determination of the magic wavelengths can be used to estimate the ratio of the f 3 d J →4 p J ′ and f 4 s 1/2 →4 p J ′ oscillator strengths. This could prove valuable in developing better atomic structure models and in particular lead to improved values of the polarizabilities needed in the evaluation of the blackbody radiation shift of the Ca + ion.

We use time-dependent density functional theory to calculate the energy loss of an antiproton colliding with a small Al cluster previously excited. The velocity of the antiproton is such that non-linear effects in the electronic response of the Al cluster are relevant. We obtain that an antiproton penetrating an excited cluster transfers less energy to the cluster than an antiproton penetrating a ground state cluster. We quantify this difference and analyze it in terms of the cluster excitation spectrum.

We propose a method for quantifying charge-driven instabilities in clusters, based on equilibrium simulations under confinement at constant external pressure. This approach makes no assumptions about the mode of decay and allows different clusters to be compared on an equal footing. A comprehensive survey of stability in model clusters of 309 Lennard-Jones particles augmented with Coulomb interactions is presented. We proceed to examine dynamic signatures of instability, finding that rate constants for ejection of charged particles increase smoothly as a function of total charge with no sudden changes. For clusters where many particles carry charge, ejection of individual charges competes with a fission process that leads to more symmetric division of the cluster into large fragments. The rate constants for fission depend much more sensitively on total charge than those for ejection of individual particles.

The results from mass spectrometry of clusters sputtered from Cs+ irradiated single-walled carbon nano-tubes (SWCNTs) as a function of energy and dose identify the nature of the resulting damage in the form of multiple vacancy generation. For pristine SWCNTs at all Cs+ energies, C2 is the most dominant species, followed by C3, C4 and C1. The experiments were performed in three stages: in the first stage, Cs+ energy E(Cs+) was varied. During the second stage, the nanotubes were irradiated continuously at E(Cs+) = 5 keV for 1,800 s. Afterwards, the entire sequence of irradiation energies was repeated to differentiate between the fragmentation patterns of the pristine and of heavily irradiated SWCNTs. The sputtering and normalized yields identify the quantitative and relative extent of the ion-induced damage by creating double, triple and quadruple vacancies; the single vacancies are least favored. Sputtering from the heavily irradiated SWCNTs occurs not only from the damaged and fragmented nanotubes, but also from the inter-nanotube structures that are grown due to the accumulation of the sputtered clusters. Similar irradiation experiments were performed with the multi-walled carbon nanotubes; the results confirmed the dominant C2 followed by C3, C4 and C1.

We study the dynamics of atomic and molecular nano-clusters exposed to short and intense X-fel pulses

The real-time dynamics of photoexcited and photoionized rubidium (Rb) atoms attached to helium (He) nanodroplets is studied by femtosecond pump-probe mass spectrometry. While excited Rb atoms in the perturbed 6p-state (Rb*) desorb off the He droplets, Rb^+ photoions tend to sink into the droplet interior when created near the droplet surface. The transition from Rb^+ solvation to full Rb* desorption is found to occur at a delay time t~600 fs for Rb* in the 6pSigma-state and t~1200 fs for the 6pPi-state. Rb^+He ions are found to be created by directly exciting bound Rb*He exciplex states as well as by populating bound Rb^+He-states in an photoassociative ionization process.

The ionization dynamics of pure He nanodroplets irradiated by EUV radiation is studied using Velocity-Map Imaging PhotoElectron-PhotoIon COincidence (VMI-PEPICO) spectroscopy. We present photoelectron energy spectra and angular distributions measured in coincidence with the most abundant ions He+, He2+, and He3+. Surprisingly, below the autoionization threshold of He droplets we find indications for multiple excitation and subsequent ionization of the droplets by a Penning-like process. At high photon energies we evidence inelastic collisions of photoelectrons with the surrounding He atoms in the droplets.

The absolute differential oscillator strengths (DOS's) for the photoabsorption of the Ne, Ar, and Xe atoms encapsulated in the C 60 have been evaluated using the time-dependent-density-functional-theory, which solves the quantum Liouvillian equation with the Lanczos chain method. The calculations are performed in the energy regions both inside and outside the C 60 giant resonance. The photoabsorption spectra of the atoms encaged in the C 60 demonstrate strong oscillations inside the energy range of the C 60 giant resonance. This type of oscillation cannot be explained by the confinement resonance, but is due to the energy transfer from the C 60 valence electrons to the photoelectron through the intershell coupling.

CO2 cooling systems are the wave of the future for industrial refrigeration. CO2 refrigeration systems are gaining traction in recent years which involves heat transfer between CO2 and the base fluid. The high viscosity of CO2 is of interest to the oil and gas industry in enhanced oil recovery and well-fracturing applications. A need arises to improve the thermal conductivity and viscosity of CO2 to increase the efficiency of these significant applications. Aggregation of nanoparticles is one of the crucial mechanisms to improve the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids. Since the aggregation morphology of nanoparticles is unclear so far, we have evaluated the stable configurations of the aggregation of nanoparticles by determining the potential energy of the different configurations system. In this paper, Green-Kubo formalism is used to calculate the mentioned thermo-physical properties of the different aggregated nanofluids. The nanofluid in this study consists of alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles and CO2 as a base fluid. Results indicate that the enhancement in the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluid is inversely proportional to the potential energy of the system. The results also mark that various morphologies of the aggregated nanoparticles have different enhancements of thermo-physical properties of the nanofluid. This study is conducive for the researchers to perceive the importance and influence of aggregation morphology of nanoparticles and their stability on the thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluid.

The effective transparency of rare-gas clusters, post-interaction with an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pump pulse, is predicted by using an atomistic hybrid quantum-classical molecular dynamics model. We find there is an intensity range for which an XUV probe pulse has no lasting effect on the average charge state of a cluster after being saturated by an XUV pump pulse: the cluster is effectively transparent to the probe pulse. The intensity range for which this phenomena occurs increases with cluster size, and thus is amenable to experimental verification. We present predictions for clusters at the peak of the laser pulse profile, as well as the expected experimental time-of-flight signal integrated over the laser profile. Since our model uses only atomic photoionization rates, significant experimental deviations from our predictions would provide evidence for modified ionization potentials due to plasma effects.