Polarization-dependent supercontinuum generation from light filaments in air

We investigate polarization-dependent properties of the supercontinuum emission generated from filaments produced by intense femtosecond laser pulses propagating through air over a long distance. The conversion efficiency from the 800-nm fundamental to white light is observed to be higher for circular polarization than for linear polarization when the laser intensity exceeds the threshold of the breakdown of air. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.

Atomic force microscopic study of low temperature induced disassembly of RecA-dsDNA filaments

The assembly and disassembly of RecA-DNA nucleoprotein filaments on double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) or single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) are important steps for homologous recombination and DNA repair. The assembly and disassembly of the nucleoprotein filaments are sensitive to the reaction conditions. In this work, we investigated different morphologies of the formed nucleoprotein filaments at low temperature under different solution conditions by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We found that low temperature and long keeping time could induce the incomplete disassembly of the formed nucleoprotein filaments.

Influence of Polyelectrolyte on DNA-RecA Nucleoprotein Filaments: Poly-L-Lysine Used as a Model

RecA of Escherichia coli and its active nucleoprotein filaments with DNA are important for the genomic integrity and the genetic diversity. The formation of the DNA-RecA nucleoprotein filaments is a complex multiple-step process and can be affected by many factors. In this work, the effects of poly-L-lysine (PLL) on the DNA-RecA nucleoprotein filaments are investigated in vitro by agarose gel electrophoresis and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The observed morphologies vary with the concentration, the length, and the addition order of PLL. These distinctions provide information for the conformation change of DNA and the binding sites of RecA protein in the formation process of nucleoprotein filaments.

Production and application of filaments of Grateloupia turuturu (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta)

Filaments from Grateloupia turuturu were obtained through germination of spores, regeneration from fragments of discoid crusts and erect thalli. The rates of filament formation through the three ways were 5.3 +/- 1.2%, 100%, and 62.3 +/- 5.6%, respectively. Discoid crusts were the best materials for the production of filaments. The obtained filaments were cloned in stationary and aerated culture. The differentiations of filaments were observed. When attached to the substrata, filaments differentiated into discoid crusts from which erect thalli grew, whereas for filaments in suspension culture, some cells in the filaments differentiated into spherical structures that also formed new erect thalli. Moreover, fragments of filaments (< 100 mu m) were seeded onto nori-nets. The regenerated plantlets grew into adult thalli in field cultivation.

Numerical study of bluff body flow structures

Our recent progress in numerical studies of bluff body flow structures and a new method for the numerical analysis of near wake flow field for high Reynolds number flow are introduced. The paper consists of three parts. In part one, the evolution of wake vortex structure and variation of forces on a flat plate in harmonic oscillatory flows and in in-line steady-harmonic combined flows are presented by an improved discrete vortex method, as the Keulegan-Carpenter number (KC) varies from 2 to 40 and ratios of U-m to U-0 are of O(10(-1)), O(10) and O(10), respectively. In part 2, a domain decomposition hybrid method, combining the finite-difference and vortex methods for numerical simulation of unsteady viscous separated flow around a bluff body, is introduced. By the new method, some high resolution numerical visualization on near wake evolution behind a circular cylinder at Re = 10(2), 10(3) and 3 x 10(3) are shown. In part 3, the mechanism and the dynamic process for the three-dimensional evolution of the Karman vortex and vortex filaments in braid regions as well as the early features of turbulent structure in the wake behind a circular cylinder are presented numerically by the vortex dynamics method.

Explorations of electric-current system in solar active regions .1. Empirical inferences of the current flows

In this paper we explore techniques to identify sources of electric current systems and their channels of flow in solar active regions. Measured photospheric vector magnetic fields (VMF) together with high-resolution white-light and H filtergrams provide the data base to derive the current systems in the photosphere and chromosphere. Simple mathematical constructions of fields and currents are also adopted to understand these data. As an example, the techniques are then applied to infer current systems in AR 2372 in early April 1980. The main results are: (i) In unipolar sunspots the current density may reach values of 103 CGSE, and the Lorentz force on it can accelerate the Evershed flow, (ii) Spots exhibiting significant spiral pattrn in the penumbral filaments are the sources of vertical major currents at the photospheric surface, (iii) Magnetic neutral lines where the transverse field was strongly sheared were channels along which strong current system flows, (iv) The inferred current systems produced oppositely-flowing currents in the area of the delta configuration that was the site of flaring in AR 2372.

Time-resolved investigation of low-density plasma channels produced by a kilohertz femtosecond laser in air

By employing pump-probe back longitudinal diffractometry, the electron density and decay dynamics of a weak plasma channel created by a 1-KHz fs laser in air has been investigated. With ultrashort laser pulses of 50 fs and low energy of 0.6 mJ, we observe weak plasma channels with a length similar to 2 cm in air. An analytical reconstruction method of electron density has been analyzed, which is sensitive to the phase shift and channel size. The electron density in the weak plasma channel is extracted to be about 4x10(16) cm(-3). The diameters of the plasma channel and the filament are about 50 and 150 mu m, respectively, and the measurable electron density can be extended to less than 10(15) cm(-3). Moreover, a different time-frequency technique called linearly chirped longitudinal diffractometry is proposed to time-resolved investigate ultrafast ionization dynamics of laser-irradiated gas, laser interaction with cluster beam, etc.

Space-frequency coupling, conical waves, and small-scale filamentation in water

Numerical simulations of fs laser propagation in water have been made to explain the small-scale filaments in water we have observed by a nonlinear fluorescence technique. Some analytical descriptions combined with numerical simulations show that a space-frequency coupling mainly from the interplay among self-phase modulation, dispersion and phase mismatching will reshape the laser beam into a conical wave which plays a major role of energy redistribution and can prevent laser beam from self-guiding over a long distance. An effective group velocity dispersion is introduced to explain the pulse broadening and compression in the filamentation. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Nonlinear propagation of fs laser pulses in liquids and evolution of supercontinuum generation

Nonlinear propagation of fs laser pulses in liquids and the dynamic processes of filamentation such as self-focusing, intensity clamping, and evolution of white light production have been analyzed by using one- and two-photon fluorescence. The energy losses of laser pulses caused by multiphoton absorption and conical emission have been measured respectively by z-scan technique. Numerical simulations of fs laser propagation in water have been made to explain the evolution of white light production as well as the small-scale filaments in liquids we have observed by a nonlinear fluorescence technique. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.

Long lifetime plasma channel in air generated by multiple femtosecond laser pulses and an external electrical field

The lifetime of a plasma channel produced by self-guiding intense femtosecond laser pulses in air is largely prolonged by adding a high voltage electrical field in the plasma and by introducing a series of femtosecond laser pulses. An optimal lifetime value is realized through adjusting the delay among these laser pulses. The lifetime of a plasma channel is greatly enhanced to 350 ns by using four sequential intense 100fs( FWHM) laser pulses with an external electrical field of about 350kV/m, which proves the feasibility of prolonging the lifetime of plasma by adding an external electrical field and employing multiple laser pulses. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.