Multiphoton absorption by helium, magnesium and H-2 at high frequencies and intensities

We review principally some recent work carried out in Belfast and Heraklion which handles the few-electron dynamics of atomic and molecular systems exposed to high frequency. high intensity laser fields. The design and application of the quantitatively accurate computational methods is discussed. The Belfast work is illustrated by results for double ionization of helium and the hydrogen molecule where in each case the two electrons have been handled in full-dimensionality. The first results for multiphoton, double ionization of a complex atom, namely magnesium demonstrate an important application of the Heraklion approach.

Cellular physiology of retinal and choroidal arteriolar smooth muscle cells.

Control of ocular blood flow occurs predominantly at the level of the retinal and choroidal arterioles. The present article provides an overview of the Ca2 + handling mechanisms and plasmalemmal ion channels involved in the regulation of retinal and choroidal arteriolar smooth muscle tone. Increases in global intracellular free Ca2 + ([Ca2 +]i) involve multiple mechanisms, including agonist-dependent release of Ca2 + from intracellular stores through activation of the inositol trisphosphate (IP3) pathway. Ca2 + enters by voltage-dependent L-type Ca2 + channels and novel dihydropyridine-sensitive store-operated nonselective cation channels. Ca2 + extrusion is mediated by plasmalemmal Ca2 +-ATPases and through Na+/Ca2+ exchange. Local Ca2 + transients (Ca2 + sparks) play an important excitatory role, acting as the building blocks for more global Ca2 + signals that can initiate vasoconstriction. K+ and Cl- channels may also affect cell function by modulating membrane potential. The precise contribution of each of these mechanisms to the regulation of retinal and choroidal perfusion in vivo warrants future investigation.

Absolute Absorption Cross-Section Measurement of a Submonolayer film on a silica microresonator

Conventional absorption spectroscopy is not nearly sensitive enough for quantitative overtone measurements on submonolayer coatings. While cavity-enhanced absorption detection methods using microresonators have the potential to provide quantitative absorption cross sections of even weakly absorbing submonolayer films, this potential has not yet been fully realized. To determine the absorption cross section of a submonolayer film of ethylene diamine (EDA) on a silica microsphere resonator, we use phase-shift cavity ringdown spectroscopy simultaneously on near-IR radiation that is Rayleigh backscattered from the microsphere and transmitted through the coupling fiber taper. We then independently determine both the coupling coefficient and the optical loss within the resonator. Together with a coincident measurement of the wavelength frequency shift, an absolute overtone absorption cross section of adsorbed EDA, at submonolayer coverage, was obtained and was compared to the bulk value. The smallest quantifiable absorption cross section is σmin 2.7 × 10−12 cm2. This absorption cross section is comparable to the extinction coefficients of, e.g., single gold nanoparticles or aerosol particles. We therefore propose that the present method is also a viable route to absolute extinction measurements of single particles.

Absorption Measurements in Liquid Core Waveguides Using Cavity

Short liquid core waveguides (LCWs) were included into a fiber-loop cavity ring-down absorption spectrometer to reduce the detection limit over, both, single pass absorption in a LCW and cavityenhanced absorption using a conventional fiber-loop cavity. LCWs of 5 and 10 cm length were interfaced with a pressure-flow system and a multimode fiber-loop cavity using concave fiber lenses with matching numerical apertures and diameters. Two red dyes, Allura Red AC and Congo Red, were detected with a 532 nm pulsed laser at a 5 nM limit of detection in a detection volume of less than 1 μL, corresponding to a minimal detectable absorbance of less than 4 × 10−4 cm−1 and a minimal detectable change in absorption cross section, σmin = Vdet × ε × CLOD, of about 14 μm2 (Allura Red AC) and 37 μm2 (Congo Red).

Absorption Detection Using Optical Waveguide Cavities

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy is a spectroscopic method that uses a high quality optical cavity to amplify the optical loss due to the light absorption by a sample. In this presentation we highlight two applications of phase-shift cavity ring-down spectroscopy that are suited for absorption measurements in the condensed phase and make use of waveguide cavities. In the first application, a fiber loop is used as an optical cavity and the sample is introduced in a gap in the loop to allow absorption measurements of nanoliters of solution at the micromolar level. A second application involves silica microspheres as high finesse cavities. Information on the refractive index and absorption of a thin film of ethylene diamine on the surface of the microresonator is obtained simultaneously by the measurements of the wavelength shift of the cavity mode spectrum and the change in optical decay time, respectively.

Ring-Down Absorption Spectroscopy for Analytical Microdevices

Ring-down absorption spectroscopy is an emerging ‘‘label-free’’ detection method for analytical microdevices, such as micrototal analysis systems (l-TAS). Developed from the related gas-phase cavity ring-down absorption spectroscopy, fiber-optic-based ring-down techniques for liquid samples offer low detection limits, high sensitivity and fast response. ª 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Iron abundances from optical FeIII absorption lines in B-type stellar spectra

The role of optical FeIII absorption lines in B-type stars as iron abundance diagnostics is considered. To date, ultraviolet Fe lines have been widely used in B-type stars, although line blending can severely hinder their diagnostic power. Using optical spectra, covering a wavelength range ~3560-9200Å, a sample of Galactic B-type main-sequence and supergiant stars of spectral types B0.5 to B7 are investigated. A comparison of the observed FeIII spectra of supergiants, and those predicted from the model atmosphere codes TLUSTY [plane-parallel, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE)], with spectra generated using SYNSPEC (LTE), and CMFGEN (spherical, non-LTE), reveal that non-LTE effects appear small. In addition, a sample of main-sequence and supergiant objects, observed with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS), reveal LTE abundance estimates consistent with the Galactic environment and previous optical studies. Based on the present study, we list a number of FeIII transitions which we recommend for estimating the iron abundance from early B-type stellar spectra.