Approximate VB-MO schemes for excitation gaps in Hubbard models

The excitation gaps in the singlet and triplet manifolds for finite Hubbard models in one, two and three dimensions have been obtained using different approximate configuration interaction (CI) schemes, as a function of the correlation strength, by using valence bond (VB) functions constructed over the molecular orbital (MO) basis. These are compared with numerically exact results and it is found that the scheme in which all particle hole excitations below a given threshold are included is the method of choice. The excitation energies are well reproduced, in trend as well as magnitude, particularly when the threshold equals the bandwidth of the corresponding noninteracting system.

Band to correlated crossover in alternating Hubbard and Pariser-Parr-Pople chains: Nature of the lowest singlet excitation of conjugated polymers

The evolution with increasing Coulomb correlations of a semiconductor to a magnetic insulator is related to an excited-state crossover in pi-electron models for conjugated polymers. We associate strong fluorescence with a lowest singlet excitation S1 that is dipole allowed, on the band side, while S1 becomes two-photon allowed on the correlated side. S1/S2 crossovers in Hubbard, Pariser-Parr-Pople, or other chains with electron-hole symmetry and alternating transfer integral t(1 +/- delta) are based on exact results at delta=0 and 1, on molecular exciton theory at large delta, and on oligomer calculations up to twelve sites.

Excitation and relaxation energies of trans-stilbene: Confined singlet, triplet, and charged bipolarons

The π-electronic excitations and excited-state geometries of trans-stilbene (tS) are found by combining exact solutions of the Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model and semiempirical Parametric Method 3 (PM3) calculations. Comprehensive comparisons with tS spectra are obtained and related to the fluorescence and topological alternation of poly(paraphenylenevinylene) (PPV). The one-photon absorption and triplet of tS correspond, respectively, to singlet and triplet bipolarons confined to two phenyls, while the tS2- ground state is a confined charged bipolaron. Independent estimates of the relaxation energy between vertical and adiabatic excitation show the bipolaron binding energy to depend on both charge and spin, as expected for interacting π electrons in correlated or molecular states. Complete configuration interaction within the PPP model of tS accounts for the singlet-triplet gap, for the fine-structure constants and triplet-triplet spectra, for two-photon transitions and intensities, and for one-photon spectra and the radiative lifetime, although the relative position of nearly degenerate covalent and ionic singlets is not resolved. The planar PM3 geometry and low rotational barrier of tS agree with resolved rotational and vibrational spectra in molecular beams. PM3 excitation and relaxation energies for tS bipolarons are consistent with experiment and with PPP results. Instead of the exciton model, we interpret tS excitations in terms of states that are localized on each ring or extended over an alternating chain, as found exactly in Hückel theory, and find nearly degenerate transitions between extended and localized states in the singlet, triplet, and dianion manifolds. The large topological alternation of the extended system increases the ionicity and interchanges the order of the lowest one- and two-photon absorption of PPV relative to polyenes.

Excitation energy transfer in covalently linked pheophorbied—porphyrin systems

Steady-state fluorescence, lifetime measurements and time-resolved absorption spectra of the covalently linked hetero dimers consisting of pheophorbide and porphyrin revealed rapid (1011–1012s−1) and efficient singlet—singlet excitation energy transfer from porphyrin unit to pheophorbide.

Excitation and correlation of N-14 overtone transitions and measurement of heteronuclear dipolar coupling using DAPT

For studying systems containing nitrogen, limited use of N-14 NMR spectroscopy has been made because of the large quadrupolar interaction experienced by the N-14 nucleus and the absence of a central transition. To overcome the above problem, use of overtone spectroscopy has been suggested. Though this approach has limited applicability for powder samples due to second order quadrupole broadening, it is useful for studying oriented samples and single crystals. Here, we demonstrate the use of the recently proposed dipolar assisted polarization transfer (DAPT) pulse scheme for exciting the overtone transitions. The pulse sequence may also be utilized as a two-dimensional experiment to obtain H-1-N-14 dipolar couplings and H-1 chemical shifts. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A transfer matrix approach for evaluation of the response of a multi-layer infinite plate to a two-dimensional pressure excitation

A 6 X 6 transfer matrix is presented to evaluate the response of a multi-layer infinite plate to a given two-dimensional pressure excitation on one of its faces or, alternatively, to evaluate the acoustic pressure distribution excited by the normal velocity components of the radiating surfaces. It is shown that the present transfer matrix is a general case embodying the transfer matrices of normal excitation and one-dimensional pressure excitation due to an oblique incident wave. It is also shown that the present transfer matrix obeys the necessary checks to categorize the physically symmetric multi-layer plate as dynamically symmetric. Expressions are derived to obtain the wave propagation parameters, such as the transmission, absorption and reflection coefficients, in terms of the elements of the transfer matrix presented. Numerical results for transmission loss and reflection coefficients of a two-layer configuration are presented to illustrate the effect of angles of incidence, layer characteristics and ambient media.

Cascades of Selective Pulses on Connected Single-Quantum Transitions Leading to the Selective Excitation of Multiple-Quantum Coherences

A symmetric cascade of selective pulses applied on connected transitions leads to the excitation of a selected multiple-quantum coherence by a well-defined angle. This cascade selectively operates on the subspace of the multiple-quantum coherence and acts as a generator of rotation selectively on the multiple-quantum subspace. Single-transition operator algebra has been used to explain these experiments. Experiments have been performed on two- and three-spin systems. It is shown that such experiments can be utilized to measure the relaxation times of selected multiple-quantum coherences or of a specifically prepared initial longitudinal state of the spin system.

Wavepacket dynamical studies on trans-azobenzene: absorption spectrum and resonance Raman excitation profiles of the n??* transition

Time-dependent wavepacket propagation techniques have been used to calculate the absorption spectrum and the resonance Raman excitation profiles of the n-pi* transition in azobenzene. A comparison of both the calculated absorption spectrum and excitation profiles with experiment has been made. From an analysis of the data, it is concluded that the Raman intensities are mainly due to resonance from the n-pi* transition and not from the pre-resonance of the pi-pi* transition, as reported earlier. We find that the isomerization pathway is through the inversion mechanism rather than by rotation. This is the first direct spectroscopic evidence for the isomerization pathway in trans-azobenzene.

Vector summed sine wave tailored waveforms for dipolar excitation of ions in Paul trap mass spectrometers

A simple method to generate time domain tailored waveforms for excitation of ion axial amplitude in Paul trap mass spectrometers is described. The method is based on vector summation of sine waves followed by time domain sampling to obtain the discrete time domain data. A smoothing technique based on the time domain Kaiser window is then applied to the data so as to minimize the frequency domain Gibb's oscillations. The dynamic range of the time domain signal is controlled by phase modulation and time extension of the time domain waveform. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modeling wrap faced reinforced soil retaining walls subjected to dynamic excitation

This paper describes some of the physical and numerical model tests of reinforced soil retaining walls subjected to dynamic excitation through uni-axial shaking tests. Models of retaining walls are constructed in a perspex box with geotextile reinforcement using the wrap around technique with dry sand backfill and instrumented with displacement sensors, accelerometers and soil pressure sensors. Numerical modelling of these shaking table tests is carried using FLAC. Numerical model is validated by comparing physical model results. Responses of wrap faced walls with different number of reinforcement layers are discussed from both the physical and numerical model tests. Results showed that the displacements are decreasing with the increase in number of reinforcement layers while acceleration amplifications are not affected significantly.

Spin State Selective Excitation of Single Quantum Transitions Using Multiple Quantum Spectroscopy- an Aid to Analyse Complex Proton NMR spectra of Oriented Molecules

NMR spectra of molecules oriented in liquid-crystalline matrix provide information on the structure and orientation of the molecules. Thermotropic liquid crystals used as an orienting media result in the spectra of spins that are generally strongly coupled. The number of allowed transitions increases rapidly with the increase in the number of interacting spins. Furthermore, the number of single quantum transitions required for analysis is highly redundant. In the present study, we have demonstrated that it is possible to separate the subspectra of a homonuclear dipolar coupled spin system on the basis of the spin states of the coupled heteronuclei by multiple quantum (MQ)−single quantum (SQ) correlation experiments. This significantly reduces the number of redundant transitions, thereby simplifying the analysis of the complex spectrum. The methodology has been demonstrated on the doubly 13C labeled acetonitrile aligned in the liquid-crystal matrix and has been applied to analyze the complex spectrum of an oriented six spin system.

Spatial filter based 3D resolution improvement and polarization properties of multiphoton multiple-excitation-spot-optical microscopy

Three-dimensional (3D) resolution improvement in multi-photon multiple-excitation-spot-optical microscopy is proposed. Specially designed spatial filter is employed for improving the overall 3D resolution of the imaging system. An improvement up to a factor of 14.5 and sub-femto liter volume excitation is achieved. The system shows substantial sidelobe reduction (<4%) due to the non-linear intensity dependence of multiphoton process. Polarization effect on x-oriented and freely rotating dipoles shows dramatic change in the field distribution at the focal-plane. The resulting point-spread function has the ability to produce several strongly localized polarization dependent field patterns which may find applications in optical engineering and bioimaging.

High resolution multiple excitation spot optical microscopy

We propose fundamental improvements in three-dimensional (3D) resolution of multiple excitation spot optical microscopy. The excitation point spread function (PSF) is generated by two interfering counter-propagating depth-of-focus beams along the optical axis. Detection PSF is obtained by coherently interfering the emitted fluorescent light (collected by both the objectives) at the detector. System PSF shows upto 14-fold reduction in focal volume as compared to confocal, and almost 2-fold improvement in lateral resolution. Proposed PSF has the ability to simultaneously excite multiple 3D-spots of sub-femtoliter volume. Potential applications are in fluorescence microscopy and nanobioimaging. Copyright 2011 Author(s). This article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. [doi:10.1063/1.3598413]