Nano-Antennas Based on Silicon-Gold Nanostructures.

We experimentally realize nano-antennas based on hybrid silicon-gold nanoparticles (NPs). The silicon particles covered by clusters of small metal NPs are fabricated from a liquid phase under the effect of the laser irradiation. The complex nanoclusters containing both Si and Au components provide the enhancement of the near-field intensity and the resonant light scattering associated with excitation of multipole resonances in NPs. A strong sensitivity of the resonant light absorption to the hybrid particle size and material parameters is experimentally documented and theoretically discussed. The results demonstrate a high potentiality of the hybrid NPs for the realization of functional optical devices and metasurfaces.

Quantum metrology beyond Heisenberg limit with entangled matter wave solitons.

Considering matter wave bright solitons from weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in a double-well potential, we study the formation of macroscopic non-classical states, including Schrödinger-cat superposition state and maximally path entangled N00N-state. We examine these macroscopic states by Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the context of parity measurements, which has been done to obtain Heisenberg limit accuracy for linear phase shift measurement. We reveal that the ratio of two-body scattering length to intra-well hopping parameter can be measured with the scaling beyond this limit by using nonlinear phase shift with interacting quantum solitons.

The Synthesis of Hybrid Gold-Silicon Nano Particles in a Liquid.

We show that the laser ablation method can be efficiently employed for the synthesis of silicon nanoparticles (NP), which are characterized by a strong resonant optical response in the visible spectral range. A single layer composed of silicon NPs has been deposited from the colloidal solution generated by laser ablation. The formation of hybrid silicon-gold NPs as a result of the laser action on a mixed colloidal solution is observed. These hybrid NPs are characterized by broadening of the near-field photoluminescence spectra compared to pure silicon NPs. These results may be used for the realization of functional metasurfaces consisting of randomly distributed resonant NPs.

Hyperbolic Metamaterials with Bragg Polaritons.

We propose a novel mechanism for designing quantum hyperbolic metamaterials with the use of semiconductor Bragg mirrors containing periodically arranged quantum wells. The hyperbolic dispersion of exciton-polariton modes is realized near the top of the first allowed photonic miniband in such a structure which leads to the formation of exciton-polariton X waves. Exciton-light coupling provides a resonant nonlinearity which leads to nontrivial topologic solutions. We predict the formation of low amplitude spatially localized oscillatory structures: oscillons described by kink shaped solutions of the effective Ginzburg-Landau-Higgs equation. The oscillons have direct analogies in gravitational theory. We discuss implementation of exciton-polariton Higgs fields for the Schrödinger cat state generation.

Urinary and biliary excretion of aluminoxamine and ferrioxamine in dogs with various renal function.

We assessed the pharmacokinetics of aluminoxamine and ferrioxamine in dogs with sustained intermittent bile duct ligation and either normal renal function or stable chronic renal failure. A first group of male beagle dogs were given aluminoxamine and ferrioxamine, while a second group received desferrioxamine after loading them with iron and aluminum. Only minute amounts of ferrioxamine and aluminoxamine were found in the bile after administration of these compounds. The distribution volume of aluminoxamine and ferrioxamine appeared to be confined to the extracellular space and their renal excretion correlated with renal function. Administration of desferrioxamine to iron and aluminum-loaded dogs resulted in an increased biliary ferrioxamine but negligible aluminoxamine excretion. Renal clearance of the in vivo formed ferrioxamine and aluminoxamine in this group strongly correlated with renal function. Our observations indicate that biliary excretion of intravenously administered ferrioxamine and aluminoxamine is negligible even in renal failure. The data presented in this study provide indirect evidence that desferrioxamine administration to iron- and aluminum-loaded dogs results in the intra-hepatic formation of ferrioxamine which is partly excreted in the bile. Biliary excretion of aluminoxamine after desferrioxamine administration remained negligible.

A standardized surgical technique to obtain a stable and reproducible chronic renal failure model in dogs.

The remnant kidney, a model of chronic renal failure in animals, can be obtained by two techniques: either surgical removal of tissue of one kidney, combined with contralateral nephrectomy or inducing necrosis of kidney tissue by ligation of branches of the renal artery of one kidney combined with contralateral nephrectomy. In the literature, most reports concern the ligation technique. The technique is safe and simple but the results in dogs are unpredictable. In this paper, both techniques were compared. We could demonstrate that the unpredictable result of the ligation technique is due to the formation of collateral vessels bypassing the ligated branches and to the inconstant ramification pattern of the renal artery. In this study, a standardized technique consisting of the resection of 16-18 g of tissue of one beagle kidney and removal of the other one is described. This method results in a stable chronic renal failure until the dogs are sacrificed at 9-12 months.

Strong optical diffraction in a nematic liquid crystal with high nonlinearity.

Quantitative results of measurements on multiorder diffraction of light from a laser-induced phase grating in a nematic liquid crystal with high optical nonlinearity are presented. Theoretical calculations using a nonperturbative approach show good agreement with experiment.

Laser-induced diffraction rings from a nematic-liquid-crystal film.

Multiple diffraction rings appear as a cw laser beam passes through a homeotropic nematic film. The phenomenon is shown to be the result of spatial self-phase modulation that is due to the laser-induced Freedericksz transition.