Frequency dependence of nonlinear absorption in fused silica measured with picosecond pulses at various focal lengths.

Nonlinear absorption is the key process to generate laser-induced in-volume modifications in transparent dielectrics such as waveguides or three-dimensional data matrix codes. We present a comprehensive parameter study about nonlinear absorption in fused silica using a picosecond laser at various focal lengths. Beginning at a focal length of 100 mm, we measure a strong frequency dependence of the saturation absorption. Reducing the focal length results in a decrease of the saturation absorption. After passing a threshold focal length, the saturation absorption increases drastically and the frequency dependence starts to decrease. At the final focal length of 6 mm we measure almost no frequency dependence. In order to explain our measurements, we used the theory of optical breakdown and filamentation. Nonlinear absorption measurement can become a promising tool for better process control during the generation of in-volume modifications in transparent dielectrics.

Self-Consistent Constricted Variational Theory RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT and Its Restrictions To Obtain a Numerically Stable ΔSCF-DFT-like Method: Theory and Calculations for Triplet States.

In this paper, the relaxed self-consistent field infinite order constricted variational density functional theory (RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT) for triplet calculations is presented. Here, we focus on two main features of our implementation. First, as an extension of our previous work by Krykunov and Ziegler ( J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2013 , 9 , 2761 ), the optimization of the transition matrix representing the orbital transition is implemented and applied for vertical triplet excitations. Second, restricting the transition matrix, we introduce RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT-based numerically stable ΔSCF-DFT-like methods, the most general of them being SVD-RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT. The reliability of the different methods, RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT and its restricted versions, is examined using the benchmark test set of Silva-Junior et al. ( J. Chem. Phys. 2008 , 129 , 104103 ). The obtained excitation energies validate our approach and implementation for RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT and also show that SVD-RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT mimics very well ΔSCF-DFT, as the root-mean-square deviations between these methods are less than 0.1 eV for all functionals examined.

Constricted variational density functional theory for spatially clearly separated charge-transfer excitations.

Constricted Variational Density Functional Theory (CV-DFT) is known to be one of the successful methods in predicting charge-transfer excitation energies. In this paper, we apply the CV-DFT method to the well-known model systems ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (C2H4 × C2F4) and the zincbacteriochlorin-bacteriochlorin complex (ZnBC-BC). The analysis of the CV-DFT energies enables us to understand the -1/R charge-transfer behaviour in CV-DFT for large separation distances R. With this we discuss the importance of orbital relaxations using the relaxed version of CV(∞)-DFT, the R-CV(∞)-DFT method. Possible effects of the optimization of the transition matrix for the relaxed self-consistent field version of CV(∞)-DFT, RSCF-CV(∞)-DFT in the case of large fragment separations are shown and we introduce two possible gradient restrictions to avoid the unwanted admixing of other transitions.

Excited State Studies of Polyacenes Using the All-Order Constricted Variational Density Functional Theory with Orbital Relaxation.

For the polyacenes series from naphthalene to hexacene, we present the vertical singlet excitation energies 1 (1)La and 1 (1)Lb, as well as the first triplet excitation energies obtained by the all-order constricted variational density functional theory with orbital relaxation (R-CV(∞)-DFT). R-CV(∞)-DFT is a further development of variational density functional theory (CV(∞)-DFT), which has already been successfully applied for the calculation of the vertical singlet excitation energies (1)La and (1)Lb for polyacenes,15 and we show that one obtains consistent excitation energies using the local density approximation as a functional for singlet as well as for triplet excitations when going beyond the linear response theory. Furthermore, we apply self-consistent field density functional theory (ΔSCF-DFT) and compare the obtained excitation energies for the first triplet excitations T1, where, due to the character of the transition, ΔSCF-DFT and R-CV(∞)-DFT become numerically equivalent, and for the singlet excitations 1 (1)La and 1 (1)Lb, where the two methods differ.

Melting of "non-magic" argon clusters and extrapolation to the bulk limit.

The melting of argon clusters ArN is investigated by applying a parallel-tempering Monte Carlo algorithm for all cluster sizes in the range from 55 to 309 atoms. Extrapolation to the bulk gives a melting temperature of 85.9 K in good agreement with the previous value of 88.9 K using only Mackay icosahedral clusters for the extrapolation [E. Pahl, F. Calvo, L. Koci, and P. Schwerdtfeger, "Accurate melting temperatures for neon and argon from ab initio Monte Carlo simulations," Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 47, 8207 (2008)]. Our results for argon demonstrate that for the extrapolation to the bulk one does not have to restrict to magic number cluster sizes in order to obtain good estimates for the bulk melting temperature. However, the extrapolation to the bulk remains a problem, especially for the systematic selection of suitable cluster sizes.

Communication: Ab initio Joule-Thomson inversion data for argon.

The Joule-Thomson coefficient µ(H)(P, T) is computed from the virial equation of state up to seventh-order for argon obtained from accurate ab initio data. Higher-order corrections become increasingly more important to fit the low-temperature and low-pressure regime and to avoid the early onset of divergence in the Joule-Thomson inversion curve. Good agreement with experiment is obtained for temperatures T > 250 K. The results also illustrate the limitations of the virial equation in regions close to the critical temperature.

The giant magnetic anisotropy energy of Fe+ ions in SrCl2.

We show that values of the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE), which are about two orders of magnitude larger than the usual ones for transition metal cations in insulators (approximately 0.01-1 cm(-1)), can be found for the less common ion Fe+. In SrCl2:Fe+, the MAE is 93 cm(-1) when calculated using second-order perturbation multi-configurational calculations (CASPT2) while a similar value is found using multi-reference density functional theory (MR-DFT). This result is even larger than other recently reported giant MAEs for atoms on surfaces or magnetic clusters. The microscopic origin of this giant MAE is discussed in detail.