The Effect of Varying Dentin Chroma and Enamel Thickness on the Color of A2 Double-layered Resin Composite.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate chroma (C*) and overall color of double-layered (DL) resin composite (RC) restorations with various dentin shades and enamel thicknesses. METHODS: Enamel specimens were fabricated using custom-made molds to replicate VITA shade tabs with variant enamel thicknesses (0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 mm) (n=7) from two RC: Clearfil-Majesty (CM) shade (A2), and Vit-l-escence (VL), shade (pearl-neutral). Dentin specimens (shades A1, A2, and A3) were fabricated using custom molds corresponding to the enamel molds. Each enamel specimen was paired with three different dentin specimens. L*a*b* parameters were measured with VITA Easyshade-V. Color difference between DL specimens and the A2 VITA shade tab were calculated with the CIEDE2000 formula. Relationships among enamel thickness, ΔE00, C* of dentin layer, C* of DL, and change in chroma were assessed by Spearman rank correlations. ΔE00 was compared among groups using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey post-hoc adjustment for all possible pairwise group comparisons (experiment-wise α=0.05). RESULTS: There was no statistical difference among C* of DL specimens (p=0.65, 0.53) for CM and VL, respectively. Combinations of enamel thickness/ dentin shade had a significant difference in ΔE00 (p>0.05). No significant correlation was observed among enamel thickness and C* of dentin, and C* of the DL (p>0.05). Significant correlations were observed between ΔE00 of the VL DL and C* DL (r=-0.8, p<0.001); and ΔE00 of CM DL and enamel thickness (r=0.5, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Enamel thickness did not affect C* of the dentin layer. Unlike VL RC, variations in dentin shades with CM produced a closer match to the A2 shade tab. Enamel is recommended to be 0.7 mm or less.

Laboratory measurements of the physics of auroral electron acceleration by Alfvén waves.

While the aurora has attracted attention for millennia, important questions remain unanswered. Foremost is how auroral electrons are accelerated before colliding with the ionosphere and producing auroral light. Powerful Alfvén waves are often found traveling Earthward above auroras with sufficient energy to generate auroras, but there has been no direct measurement of the processes by which Alfvén waves transfer their energy to auroral electrons. Here, we show laboratory measurements of the resonant transfer of energy from Alfvén waves to electrons under conditions relevant to the auroral zone. Experiments are performed by launching Alfvén waves and simultaneously recording the electron velocity distribution. Numerical simulations and analytical theory support that the measured energy transfer process produces accelerated electrons capable of reaching auroral energies. The experiments, theory, and simulations demonstrate a clear causal relationship between Alfvén waves and accelerated electrons that directly cause auroras.

Determining Metastable Ion Lifetime and History through Wave-Particle Interaction.

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) performed on metastable ions is frequently used to probe the dynamics of ground-state ion motions in many laboratory plasmas. However, these measurements place restrictions on the metastable ion lifetime. Metastable states are produced from direct ionization of neutral atoms as well as ions in other electronic states, of which the former will only faithfully represent processes that act on the ion dynamics in a time shorter than the metastable lifetime. We present here the first experimental study of this type of systematic effect using wave-particle interaction in an argon multidipole plasma. The metastable lifetime and relative fraction of metastables produced from preexisting ions, necessary for correcting the LIF measurement errors, can be determined by fitting the experimental results with the theory we propose.

Measurements of parallel electron velocity distributions using whistler wave absorption.

We describe a diagnostic to measure the parallel electron velocity distribution in a magnetized plasma that is overdense (ω(pe) > ω(ce)). This technique utilizes resonant absorption of whistler waves by electrons with velocities parallel to a background magnetic field. The whistler waves were launched and received by a pair of dipole antennas immersed in a cylindrical discharge plasma at two positions along an axial background magnetic field. The whistler wave frequency was swept from somewhat below and up to the electron cyclotron frequency ω(ce). As the frequency was swept, the wave was resonantly absorbed by the part of the electron phase space density which was Doppler shifted into resonance according to the relation ω - k([parallel])v([parallel]) = ω(ce). The measured absorption is directly related to the reduced parallel electron distribution function integrated along the wave trajectory. The background theory and initial results from this diagnostic are presented here. Though this diagnostic is best suited to detect tail populations of the parallel electron distribution function, these first results show that this diagnostic is also rather successful in measuring the bulk plasma density and temperature both during the plasma discharge and into the afterglow.

Toward astrophysical turbulence in the laboratory.

Turbulence is a ubiquitous phenomenon in space and astrophysical plasmas, driving a cascade of energy from large to small scales and strongly influencing the plasma heating resulting from the dissipation of the turbulence. Modern theories of plasma turbulence are based on the fundamental concept that the turbulent cascade of energy is caused by the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, yet this interaction has never been observationally or experimentally verified. We present here the first experimental measurement in a laboratory plasma of the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence. This measurement establishes a firm basis for the application of theoretical ideas developed in idealized models to turbulence in realistic space and astrophysical plasma systems.

Design and use of an Elsässer probe for analysis of Alfvén wave fields according to wave direction.

We have designed an electric and magnetic field probe which simultaneously measure both quantities in the directions perpendicular to the background magnetic field for application to Alfvén wave experiments in the Large Plasma Device at UCLA. This new probe allows for the projection of measured wave fields onto generalized Elsässer variables. Experiments were conducted in a singly ionized He plasma at 1850 G in which propagation of Alfvén waves was observed using this new probe. We demonstrate that a clear separation of transmitted and reflected signals and determination of Poynting flux and Elsässer variables can be achieved.

Measurements of inertial limit Alfvén wave dispersion for finite perpendicular wave number.

Measurements of the dispersion relation for shear Alfvén waves as a function of perpendicular wave number are reported for the inertial regime for which V{A}>V{Te}. The parallel phase velocity and damping are determined as k{ perpendicular} varies and the measurements are compared to theoretical predictions. The comparison shows that the best agreement between theory and experiment is achieved for a fully complex plasma dispersion relation which includes the effects of electron collisions.

Bispectral analysis of nonlinear compressional waves in a two-dimensional dusty plasma crystal.

Bispectral analysis was used to study the nonlinear interaction of compressional waves in a two-dimensional strongly coupled dusty plasma. A monolayer of highly charged polymer microspheres was suspended in a plasma sheath. The microspheres interacted with a Yukawa potential and formed a triangular lattice. Two sinusoidal pump waves with different frequencies were excited in the lattice by pushing the particles with modulated Ar+ laser beams. Coherent nonlinear interaction of the pump waves was shown to be the mechanism of generating waves at the sum, difference, and other combination frequencies. However, coherent nonlinear interaction was ruled out for certain combination frequencies, in particular, for the difference frequency below an excitation-power threshold, as predicted by theory.

Complete spectrum of kinetic eigenmodes for plasma oscillations in a weakly collisional plasma.

Kinetic eigenmodes of plasma oscillations in a weakly collisional plasma, described by a collision operator of the Fokker-Planck type, are obtained in closed form for initial-value as well as for boundary-value problems. These eigenmodes, which are smooth and compose a complete discrete spectrum, play the same role for weakly collisional plasmas as the Case-Van Kampen modes do for collisionless plasmas.