The third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films, Fe3+, Mn3+, Co2+ 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-4hydroxytetraphenyl)porphyrin (TPP) films, and a series of ethynyl-linked azobenzene oligomers were investigated using degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) with 100 fs laser pulses. To measure the NLO of ITO thin films, A DFWM method for measuring thin films on thick substrates was refined for the characterization of films less than 100 nm thick and applied to ITO films ~25 nm thick. It was found that the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of ITO, χ(3)ITO, is purely electronic at 900 - 1300 nm (11000 - 7700 cm-1) and has a value of (2.16 ± 0.18) x 10-l8 m2 V-2. The χ(3)IT0 value reaches (3.36 ± 0.28) x 10-l8 m2 V(sup>-2 at 1500 nm (6700 cm-1) due to two-photon absorption by free carriers (electrons). Ultrafast electron relaxation was also observed. The ~100 fs lifetime of this process could reflect electron scattering in the conduction band. This DFWM method was also used to investigate the two-photon properties of ~500 nm thick electropolymerized films of Fe3+, Mn3+, and Co2+ TPP in the near-IR spectral region. Metalloporphyrins with strong charge transfer (CT) transitions inthe linear absorption spectra also show enhanced two-photon absorption. (Metalloporphyrin two-photon absorption cross section, δ, increases >10 times over that for the metal free porphyrin.) This effect was attributed to a two-photon induced charge transfer between the metal ion's d orbitals and the π-system of the porphyrin. Correlationof one- and two-photon absorption properties of transition metal porphyrins suggests a new and simple approach to improve organic materials for photonic applications. Finally, a series of oligomers consisting of ethynyl-linked azobenzene units was prepared using Pd-catalyzed cross coupling. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of the oligomers were investigated. The molecular second hyperpolarizability, γ, followed the power law γσ n2.12±0.05 (n is number of repeat units) for unusually large molecular lengths. The exceptional exciton delocalization length exceeds 360 conjugated bonds (>49 nm) and is attributed to the rigidity of the conjugated backbone.

We present a new pathwise approximation method for stochastic differential equations driven by Brownian motion which does not require simulation of the stochastic integrals. The method is developed to give Wasserstein bounds O(h3/2) and O(h2) which are better than the Euler and Milstein strong error rates O(√h) and O(h) respectively, where h is the step-size. It assumes nondegeneracy of the diffusion matrix. We have used the Taylor expansion but generate an approximation to the expansion as a whole rather than generating individual terms. We replace the iterated stochastic integrals in the method by random variables with the same moments conditional on the linear term. We use a version of perturbation method and a technique from optimal transport theory to find a coupling which gives a good approximation in Lp sense. This new method is a Runge-Kutta method or so-called derivative-free method. We have implemented this new method in MATLAB. The performance of the method has been studied for degenerate matrices. We have given the details of proof for order h3/2 and the outline of the proof for order h2.

In the context of moment maps and diffeomorphisms of Kähler manifolds, Donaldson introduced a fully nonlinear Monge-Ampère type equation. Among the conjectures he made about this equation is that the existence of solutions is equivalent to a positivity condition on the initial data. Weinkove later affirmed Donaldson's conjecture using a gradient flow for the equation in the space of Kähler potentials of the initial data. The topic of this thesis is the case when the initial data is merely semipositive and the domain is a closed Kähler surface. Regularity techniques for degenerate Monge-Ampère equations, specifically those coming from pluripotential theory, are used to prove the existence of a bounded, unique, weak solution. With the aid of a Nakai criterion, due to Lamari and Buchdahl, it is shown that this solution is smooth away from some curves of negative self-intersection.

Plusieurs évènements astrophysiques comme les novae, les supernovae de type Ia (SNeIa) et les sursauts X sont le résultat d'une combustion thermonucléaire explosive dans un plasma stellaire. Les supernovae comptent parmi les objets astrophysiques les plus fascinants tant sur le plan théorique que sur celui des observations. Au moment de l'explosion, la luminosité d'une supernova peut égaler celle de l'intégralité des autres étoiles de la galaxie. On admet aujourd’hui que les SNeIa résultent de l'explosion thermonucléaire d'une étoile naine blanche, un objet dense et compact composé de carbone et d'oxygène. Divers chemins évolutifs peuvent conduire à l’explosion de la naine blanche si celle-ci est membre d’un système stellaire binaire. Néanmoins, la nature du système binaire, les mécanismes d'amorçage et de propagation de la combustion thermonucléaire ainsi que le rapport carbone/oxygène au sein de l'étoile compacte ne sont pas encore clairement identifiés à ce jour. En ce qui concerne l’écoulement réactif, on invoque ainsi une détonation (Modèle sub-Chandrasekhar), une déflagration ou la transition d'une déflagration vers une détonation (Modèle Chandrasekhar). La détonation semble donc jouer un rôle prépondérant dans l'explication des SNeIa. Les difficultés de modélisation des détonations proviennent essentiellement (i) de la libération d'énergie en plusieurs étapes, de l’apparition d’échelles de temps et de longueurs caractéristiques très différentes (ii) des inhomogénéités de densité, de température et de composition du milieu dans lequel se propage le front réactif et qui donnent naissance aux structures cellulaires et autres instabilités de propagation du front (extinctions et réamorçages locaux). En plus de celles citées ci-dessus, deux autres difficultés majeures inhérentes à l'étude de ce mode de propagation dans les plasmas stellaires sont rencontrées : la complexité de l’équation d’état astrophysique et la cinétique nucléaire pouvant impliquer plusieurs milliers de nucléides couplés par plusieurs milliers de réactions. Ainsi, les premiers travaux impliquant une combustion thermonucléaire explosive ont été réalisés sur bases d'hypothèses simplificatrices comme l'équilibre nucléaire statistique instantané des produits de réactions ou l'utilisation d'un réseau réduit à une dizaine d'espèces nucléaires. Dans tous ces travaux, la détonation est assimilée à une discontinuité totalement réactive (détonation de Chapman-Jouguet ou CJ). La résolution de l'onde de détonation nécessite l'étude détaillée du processus nucléaire se déroulant dans la zone de réaction. Malheureusement, les supports de calculs actuels ne permettent pas encore ce type de simulations pour les détonations astrophysiques. Le modèle ZND qui constitue une description unidimensionnelle stationnaire de l’écoulement (plan ou courbé) constitue une excellente approximation de la réalité. Notre travail réexamine les résultats des calculs des structures des ondes de détonations stellaires dans les conditions de température, de densité et de composition envisagées dans les travaux de ce type (détonation CJ et ZND) réalisés jusqu’à présent mais avec une équation d’état appropriée aux plasmas stellaires et une cinétique nucléaire nettement plus riche ; le plus grand réseau jamais utilisé pour ce genre d’études (333 noyaux couplés par 3262 réactions), prenant en compte les données les plus récentes de la physique nucléaire (vitesses de réaction et fonctions de partition)./Several astrophysics events like novae, supernovae and X burts, result from an explosive thermonuclear burning in stellar plasma. Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa) count amoung the most fascinating stellar objects, they can be more brighter than an entire galaxy. Astrophysic works show that SNeIa may result from a thermonuclear explosion of a compact and dense star called carbon-oxygen white dwarf. The ignition stage and the propagation mode of the thermonuclear combustion wave are not identified yet. The Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition process (or "delayed detonation") sims to give the best overall agrements with the observations : detonations can play appart in SNeIa events. Simulating thermonuclear detonations count same difficults. The most important are the burning length scales that spent over more than ten oders of magnitud, the nuclear kinetics that involve thousands of nuclids linked by thousands of nuclear reactions and the stellar plasma equation of state (EOS). Hydrodynamical simulations of detonation use very simplified ingedients like reduced reactions network and asymptotic EOS of completely electron degenerate stellar plasma. Our work is the modelling of these detonations using more representative EOS of the stallar plasma that includs ions, electrons, radiation and electron-pistron pairs. We also use a more detailed kinetic network, comprising 331 nuclids linked by 3262 capture and photodisintegration reactions, than those usualy employed.

In this paper, we discuss the viscosity solutions of the weakly coupled systems of fully nonlinear second order degenerate parabolic equations and their Cauchy-Dirichlet problem. We prove the existence, uniqueness and continuity of viscosity solution by combining Perron's method with the technique of coupled solutions. The results here generalize those in [2] and [3].

Exterior tensor products of elliptic operators on smooth manifolds and manifolds with conical singularities are used to obtain examples of elliptic operators on manifolds with edges that do not admit well-posed edge boundary and coboundary conditions.

The tension-compression vibration of an elastic cusped plate is studied under all the reasonable boundary conditions at the cusped edge, while at the noncusped edge displacements and at the upper and lower faces of the plate stresses are given.

We establish a parameter-dependent pseudo-differential calculus on an infinite cylinder, regarded as a manifold with conical exits to infinity. The parameters are involved in edge-degenerate form, and we formulate the operators in terms of operator-valued amplitude functions.

Ziel der Arbeit war die systematische theoretische Behandlung von Gemischen aus bosonischen und fermionischen Atomen in einem Parameterbereich, der sich zur Beschreibung von aktuellen Experimenten mit ultra-kalten atomaren Gasen eignet.<br /> <br /> Zuerst wurde der Formalismus der Quantenfeldtheorie auf homogene, atomare Boson-Fermion Gemische erweitert, um grundlegende Größen wie Quasiteilchenspektren, die Grundzustandsenergie und daraus abgeleitete Größen über die Molekularfeldtheorie hinaus zu berechnen.<br /> <br /> Unter Zuhilfenahme der dieser Resultate System wurde ein Boson-Fermion Gemisch in einem Fallenpotential im Rahmen der Dichtefunktionaltheorie beschrieben. Daraus konnten die Dichteprofile ermittelt werden und es ließen sich drei Bereiche im Phasendiagramm identifizieren: <br /> (i) ein Bereich eines stabilen Gemisches,<br /> (ii) ein Bereich, in dem die Spezies entmischt sind und <br /> (iii) ein Bereich, in dem das System kollabiert.<br /> <br /> Im letzten dieser drei Fällen waren Austausch--Korrelationseffekte signifikant. Weiterhin wurde die Änderung der kritischen Temperatur der Bose-Einstein-Kondensation aufgrund der Boson-Fermion-Wechselwirkung berechnet. Verursacht wird dieser Effekt von Dichtumverteilungen aufgrund der Wechselwirkung.<br /> <br /> Dann wurden Boson-Fermion Gemische in optischen Gittern betrachtet. Ein Stabilitätskriterium gegen Phasenentmischung wurde gefunden und es ließen sich Bedingungen für einen supraflüssig zu Mott-isolations Phasenübergang angeben. Diese wurden sowohl mittels einer Molekularfeldrechnung als auch numerisch im Rahmen eines Gutzwilleransatzes gefunden. Es wurden weiterhin neuartige frustrierte Grundzustände im Fall von sehr großen Gitterstärken gefunden. / The theory of atomic Boson-Fermion mixtures in the dilute limit beyond mean-field is considered in this thesis.<br /> Extending the formalism of quantum field theory we derived expressions for the quasi-particle excitation spectra, the ground state energy, and related quantities for a homogenous system to first order in the dilute gas parameter.<br /> <br /> In the framework of density functional theory we could carry over the previous results to inhomogeneous systems. We then determined to density distributions for various parameter values and identified three different phase regions: <br /> (i) a stable mixed regime, <br /> (ii) a phase separated regime, and <br /> (iii) a collapsed regime. <br /> <br /> We found a significant contribution of exchange-correlation effects in the latter case. Next, we determined the shift of the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature caused by Boson-Fermion interactions in a harmonic trap due to redistribution of the density profiles.<br /> <br /> We then considered Boson-Fermion mixtures in optical lattices. We calculated the criterion for stability against phase separation, identified the Mott-insulating and superfluid regimes both, analytically within a mean-field calculation, and numerically by virtue of a Gutzwiller Ansatz. We also found new frustrated ground states in the limit of very strong lattices. <br><br>----<br>Anmerkung:<br> Der Autor ist Träger des durch die Physikalische Gesellschaft zu Berlin vergebenen Carl-Ramsauer-Preises 2004 für die jeweils beste Dissertation der vier Universitäten Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin und Universität Potsdam.

In this study we investigate the properties of trapped atoms subjected to rapid rotations. The study is divided into two distinct parts, one for fermions, another for bosons. In the case of the degenerate Fermi gas we explore the density structure of non-interacting cold atoms when they are rotated rapidly. On the other hand, for rapidly rotating two component Bose condensate, we search for new lattice structures in the presence of contact and dipolar interactions. First, the density structure of Fermi gases in a rotating trap is investigated. We focus on the anisotropic trap case, in which two distinct regimes, two and one dimensional regimes, depending on rotation frequency and anisotropy are observed. Two regimes can be illustrated by a simple description of maximum number of states between two Landau levels, which is strongly related to the dimensionality of the system. The regimes are separated from each other by a minimum point in this description. For small anisotropy values the density profiles show a step structure where each step is demonstrated by an elliptical plateau. Each plateau represents a Landau level with a constant density. The local density approximation describes the two dimensional regime with a perfect similarity in the structure of fermion density. The case for one dimensional regime is a little different from the two dimensional case. For large anisotropy values the Friedel oscillation is the dominant aspect of the density profiles. The density profiles show gaussian structure along the direction of strong trapping, and a semicircular form with prominent oscillations along the weak confining direction. Again, the system is nicely described by local density approximation in this regime. A smooth crossover between two regimes is observed, with a switching from a step structure profile to a soft edge transition with Friedel oscillations. At finite temperatures, the step structures are smeared out in two dimension. In one dimensional regime the Friedel oscillations are cleaned as soon as the temperature is turned on. The second part of the study is devoted to the investigation of different lattice structures in two component Bose condensates subjected to very fast rotation, this time in the presence of interactions. We explore the existence of new vortex lattice structures for dipolar two component condensates scanning a wide range of interaction strengths. We introduce a phase diagram as a function of intra and inter-component interactions showing different type of vortex lattice structures. New types of lattice structures, overlapped square and overlapped rectangular, emerge as a result of dipolar interactions and s-wave interaction for a two component condensate. The region where the attractive inter-component interactions dominate the repulsive interactions, the overlapped lattices are formed. The intra-component interactions, which defines the behavior of each component inside, result in different type of lattices by changing the strength of interactions. Two different limits of phase diagram reproduce the results of ordinary two component and dipolar one component Bose condensates. The results of calculation are in agreement with the results of previous studies for two regimes.