A. G. Leonov

The near infrared (0.8-2.6 mu m) absorption spectrum of a dense sodium vapor and possible mechanisms of the spectrum formation

The absorption coefficient of a dense sodium vapor (N0 ∼ 1017–1018 cm− 3) in the near infrared spectral range (0.8–2.6 µm) was measured in a homogeneously heated isolated cell. In the range of parameters studied, the sample exhibits significant absorption. Neither the observed spectral features nor the measured absorption coefficients can be explained using the existing notions of the possible absorption mechanisms (absorption due to a forbidden intercombination transition, collision-induced processes, the trimer vapor component, and many-particle effects) and the available data.

Conical emission and spectral behavior of strong near resonant laser wave at low-frequency detuning

Abstract The observation of spatial and frequency instability of an intense laser wave in sodium vapor at low-frequency laser detuning with respect to the D1 sodium transition is reported. It is shown that the observed picture of the scattering (cone radiation, generation of shifted sidebands, formation of filaments) in general is analogous to that at high-frequency detuning. A theory of resonance four-wave mixing in a three-level atomic medium is presented which is in qualitative agreement with the experimental results.

Heat-induced changes in optical properties of human whole blood in vitro

The effect of anomalous optical behavior of biological tissue at high-intensity laser irradiation can be caused by heat- induced changes in optical properties of consisting components, mainly muscle tissue and blood. We registered the spectral transmission of fresh human whole blood and serum samples in the wavelength range of 300 - 700 nm at the heating of samples in the temperature range of 35 - 65 degrees Celsius. The results showed an increase of 10 - 15% in the transmission of blood serum at the temperature rising up to 50 - 60 degrees Celsius. In the case of diluted whole blood a sharply enhanced transmission was observed at the temperature of 56 - 60 degrees Celsius, while further heating resulted in a decreased transmission down to the initial level. The significant changes (of a three orders of magnitude) in the transmission of whole blood at the wavelength of Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) were observed. The obtained results can be considered as one of the possible explanations of the anomalous light distribution in certain tissues.

Resonance radiation transfer in dense dispersive media

Abstract The theory of resonance radiation transfer in highly absorptive media is developed. The system of equations for generalized spectral “intensity” of radiation and population densities of excited states is obtained. The generalized “intensity” depends on frequency and wave number which are independent variables, and obeys simultaneously two equations. One of them has the form of a kinetic equation and the other one the form of a wave equation with a source in right hand side. The observable spectral intensity of radiation can be obtained from the generalized one by the proper integration over wave numbers; inside thick media it may be significantly higher than Planck intensity. The boundary conditions for the “intensity” are deduced and for inhomogeneous media it is shown that the residual intensity at the output of hot matter may be several orders of magnitude higher than according to the conventional theory. For optically thick media the spatial distribution of the excited atoms can be received with high accuracy from the well known Biberman-Holstein equations. A numerical code for solution of the proposed equations is developed and the results of simulations are compared with the experimental ones carried out with sodium vapour. The agreement with experiment is quite satisfactory. The possibility to observe the predicted effects in plasmas of multicharged ions is discussed.

Infrared absorption in dense sodium vapor

The absorption spectra of a dense resonance medium were experimentally studied for the example of thermally heated dense sodium vapor. Several mechanisms that might cause substantial absorption and enhanced intensity of emission in the IR spectral region, λ τ; 0.9 μm, were considered. For the first time, a detailed study of the structure of the absorption spectra of sodium vapor in the specified wavelength range was performed to determine the influence of the kind and pressure of the buffer gas. It was found that buffer gas characteristics had a substantial effect on the absorption coefficient of vapor. The presence of the molecular component (dimers and trimers) in sodium vapor could not explain the experimental dependences of absorption in the infrared region. Possible influence of microparticles formed in condensation of convective sodium vapor flows in heated cells on the optical properties of vapor was considered. Microparticles could contribute to the observed absorption, but were incapable of explaining the substantial intensity of vapor radiation reported earlier. Possible many-particle effects on the absorption in the far spectral line wing were discussed. For the first time, the method of molecular dynamics was used to show for the example of the distribution function of ionic microfields in a dense plasma that such effects were in principle capable of substantially raising the profile of the line and increasing absorption in the region of large detunings from the resonance compared with the simple quasi-static model in the nearest-neighbor approximation.

Resonance luminescence of a nonuniformly heated dense vapor

The thermal luminescence spectra of a dense, nonuniformly heated resonance medium (sodium vapor) are investigated experimentally under conditions when the resonance corrections to the relative permittivity are not small compared to unity and the photon mean free path is comparable to the wavelength of the radiation. The shape of the recorded spectra agrees well with a previously developed general theory of resonance radiation transfer which predicts a strong asymmetry of the spectra. The prospects for performing more-sensitive measurements in order to make a quantitative check of the theoretically predicted anomalous intensity (an order of magnitude higher than in the standard theory of resonance radiation transfer) of the radiation from a dense nonuniform medium are discussed.

Boltzmann spectral distribution or “infrared catastrophe” in the resonance radiation of a gas

The purely thermal infrared emission spectra of a resonance medium (sodium vapor) are investigated experimentally. It is shown that the emission intensity in the 2–3 μm range at temperatures of 600–1200 K is several orders of magnitude higher than the intensity obtained from the standard theory of resonance radiation transfer. This phenomenon can be conventionally termed an “infrared catastrophe.” The form of the recorded spectra and the absolute intensity of the emission in both the infrared and visible regions of the spectrum are in agreement with the theory developed by Yu. L. Zemtsov and A. M. Starostin, Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 103, 345 (1993) [JETP 76, 186 (1993)], in which the Boltzmann spectral distribution of the population of the resonance level is proportional to exp(−ħω/T).

Formation mechanisms and structure of the luminescence spectra of a dense resonant medium

The purely thermal visible and infrared radiation emitted by a dense resonant medium (sodium vapor) heated nonuniformly to temperatures of 600–1200 K was investigated experimentally for the first time under conditions where the photon mean free path is comparable with the emission wavelength. The profile of the recorded spectra and the absolute luminescence intensities in the different spectral ranges show good agreement with the results of a numerical simulation using a previously developed theory of resonance radiation transport which assumes a Boltzmann spectral distribution of the resonant level population proportional to exp(−ℏω/T). The self-reversed resonant sodium line exhibited strong asymmetry and it was shown that under certain conditions, the luminescence spectrum of the medium may exhibit an additional broad peak on the far “red” limb of the resonance line. Calculations and measurements demonstrated that the intensity of the thermal emission of sodium vapor at this red peak is several orders of magnitude higher than that obtained from the standard theory of resonance radiation transport. This effect is arbitrarily termed an infrared “ catastrophe.” It is noted that in a solar corona plasma and in gas-discharge lamps, the far red limbs of the resonant lines may make a substantial contribution to the total luminescence intensity and in some cases, considerably exceed the intensity of the photorecombination and bremsstrahlung continuum.

Laser Simulations of the Destructive Impact of Nuclear Explosions on Hazardous Asteroids

We present the results of preliminary experiments at laser facilities in which the processes of the undeniable destruction of stony asteroids (chondrites) in space by nuclear explosions on the asteroid surface are simulated based on the principle of physical similarity. We present the results of comparative gasdynamic computations of a model nuclear explosion on the surface of a large asteroid and computations of the impact of a laser pulse on a miniature asteroid simulator confirming the similarity of the key processes in the fullscale and model cases. The technology of fabricating miniature mockups with mechanical properties close to those of stony asteroids is described. For mini-mockups 4–10 mm in size differing by the shape and impact conditions, we have made an experimental estimate of the energy threshold for the undeniable destruction of a mockup and investigated the parameters of its fragmentation at a laser energy up to 500 J. The results obtained confirm the possibility of an experimental determination of the criteria for the destruction of asteroids of various types by a nuclear explosion in laser experiments. We show that the undeniable destruction of a large asteroid is possible at attainable nuclear explosion energies on its surface.

Selective destruction of viral particles capsides by powerful laser radiation

Powerful laser radiation was applied to destroy capsides of viral particles in order to study the internal DNA organization. The significant results were obtained for bacteriophage Phi KZ. The possible mechanisms of capside destruction were considered.