Nonharmonic transverse vibration of the H-bonded molecules and the THz spectra in ice and water

A nonlinear equation of motion is found for the dimer comprising two charged H2O molecules. The THz dielectric response to nonharmonic vibration of a nonrigid dipole, forming the hydrogen bond (HB), is found in the direction transverse to this bond. An explicit expression is derived for the autocorrelator that governs the spectrum generated by transverse vibration (TV) of such a dipole. This expression is obtained by analytical solution of the truncated set of recurrence equations. The far infrared (FIR) spectra of ice at the temperature - 7 degrees C are calculated. The wideband, in the wavenumber (frequency) v range 0... 100.0 cm(-1), spectra are obtained for liquid water at room temperature and for supercooled water at -5.6 degrees C. All spectra are represented in terms of the complex permittivity epsilon(v) and the absorption coefficient alpha(v). The obtained analytical formula for epsilon comprises the term epsilon(perpendicular to) pertinent to the studied TV mechanism with three additional terms Delta epsilon(q), Delta epsilon(mu), and epsilon(or) arising, respectively, from: elastic harmonic vibration of charged molecules along the H-bond; elastic reorientation of HB permanent dipoles; and rather free libration of permanent dipoles in 'defects' of water/ice structure. The suggested TV-dielectric relaxation mechanism allows us: (a) to remove the THz 'deficit' of loss epsilon" inherent in previous theoretical studies; (b) to explain the THz loss and absorption spectra in supercooled (SC) water; and (c) to describe, in agreement with the experiment, the low- and high-frequency tails of the two bands of ice H2O located in the range 10...300 cm(-1). Specific THz dielectric properties of SC water are ascribed to association of water molecules, revealed in our study by transverse vibration of HB charged molecules. (C) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Relativistic laser pulse compression in plasmas with a linear axial density gradient

The self-compression of a relativistic Gaussian laser pulse propagating in a non-uniform plasma is investigated. A linear density inhomogeneity (density ramp) is assumed in the axial direction. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation is first solved within a one-dimensional geometry by using the paraxial formalism to demonstrate the occurrence of longitudinal pulse compression and the associated increase in intensity. Both longitudinal and transverse self-compression in plasma is examined for a finite extent Gaussian laser pulse. A pair of appropriate trial functions, for the beam width parameter (in space) and the pulse width parameter (in time) are defined and the corresponding equations of space and time evolution are derived. A numerical investigation shows that inhomogeneity in the plasma can further boost the compression mechanism and localize the pulse intensity, in comparison with a homogeneous plasma. A 100 fs pulse is compressed in an inhomogeneous plasma medium by more than ten times. Our findings indicate the possibility for the generation of particularly intense and short pulses, with relevance to the future development of tabletop high-power ultrashort laser pulse based particle acceleration devices and associated high harmonic generation. An extension of the model is proposed to investigate relativistic laser pulse compression in magnetized plasmas.

Effects of external axial magnetic field on fast electron propagation

A scheme employing an external axial magnetic field is proposed to diagnose the intrinsic divergence of laser-generated fast electron beams, and this is studied numerically with hybrid simulations. The maximum beam radius of fast electrons increases with the initial divergence and decreases with the amplitude of the axial magnetic field. It is indicated that the intrinsic divergence of fast electrons can be inferred from measurements of the beam radius at different depth under the axial field. The proposed scheme here may be useful for future fast ignition experiments and in other applications of laser-generated fast electron beams. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3630925]

Superimposed vibration confers no additional benefit compared with resistance training alone

Eighteen participants (22-43 years) were randomly allocated to one of two groups: resistance training combined with vibration (VIB; five males, four females) or resistance training alone (CON; five males, four females). Each participant trained three sessions per week (three sets of 10 seated calf raises against a load, which was increased progressively from 75% of one repetition maximum (1RM) to 90% 1RM for 4 weeks. For the VIB group, a vibratory stimulus (30 Hz, 2.5 mm amplitude) was applied to the soles of the feet by a vibration platform. The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to the total amount of work performed during training. Both groups showed a significant increase in maximum voluntary contraction and 1RM (P