Vol 62, No 6 (2017)

A brief overview of the history of atmospheric Cherenkov gamma-ray telescopes is given. Topical problems of modern astrophysics and fundamental physics to be solved with these instruments are listed. The ALEGRO project of a low-threshold gamma-ray observatory is characterized in detail. The aim of this project is to examine cosmic gamma-ray sources (especially the rapidly variable gamma-ray sources, gamma-ray transients) with high statistics of detected photons in the energy range of 5–50 GeV.

Two approaches to the analysis of nonstationary random signals are proposed and studied. The first approach is based on the adaptive Morlet wavelet that allows variations in time and frequency resolution of signals using an auxiliary control parameter. The second approach is related to the application of double correlation function that represents correlation of continuous wavelet transforms of two signals calculated in time and frequency domains. The advantages of the proposed correlation function in comparison with alternative correlation functions, in particular, analysis of both time and frequency correlations of nonstationary signals are outlined. Applications of the proposed approaches in the analysis of various transient processes in physics are discussed.

The reciprocity relations for a matrix of nonlinear resistances of a multipole placed in an inhomogeneous magnetic field are obtained based on the material equation of a nonlinear inhomogeneous nonstationary conducting medium in the Landau collision integral approximation. The question about the measured potentials of the multipole terminals in the quasi-stationary mode is discussed. A method for testing the obtained reciprocity relations has been proposed and the experimental data have been presented. It has been shown that the reciprocity relations are valid for a nonlinear multipole within the electric measurement error.

Dependences of the effective penetration depth of probe pulse field in current-carrying plasma with time-dependent temperatures of particles are determined. It is shown that the field penetration in fully and weakly ionized plasmas takes place in the subdiffusion and superdiffusion regimes, respectively.

Research work has been carried out to determine the power-efficient regime of operation of an electric-pulse setup for breaking and crushing natural stones. The optimal energy and geometrical parameters of the method (dependence of the degree of breakdown of materials on the voltage and the electrode spacing in the switching unit) have been established. The proposed method makes it possible to effectively perform drilling in vertical wells for installing heat exchangers of thermal pumps.

Influence of temperature and magnetic field H on magnetism of spherical Gd nanoparticles of different sizes (89, 63, 47, 28, and 18 nm) was studied in the temperature range 250 K < T < 325 K. The particles were obtained by metal vapor condensation in the flow of helium. The particles with d = 18 nm did not show a magnetic transition; their structure is a combination of two cubic phases (FCC1 and FCC2). Large particles remained in the HCP phase and had an admixture of the FCC1 phase, the amount of which decreased as the particle sizes increased; magnetic transition took place at T_c = 293 K. The admixture of O₂ did not alter the structure but decreased the magnetization σ and magnetic permeability μ. An orientation transition in polycrystalline gadolinium initiated by the magnetic field H was proved in an experiment. The orientation transition in Gd particles smaller than 63 nm, the magnetic structure of which is close to the single-domain structure, occurred near T_c without the influence of H.

A method for studying dc ion transport in porous mixed-conductivity electrodes in the course of the electrochemical reaction taking place in them has been suggested. The dependences of the proton conductivity of porous electrodes used in direct electrochemical energy converters (electrolyzers, fuel cells) on their composition and structure have been presented. These data are of practical importance and can be used to analyze ohmic losses in the electrodes and membrane electrode assembly and also to devise novel electrode materials.

The synthesis of SiC–Si–C materials by siliconizing porous carbon matrices has been considered, and a method of determining their phase composition has been devised. Preforms of two types have been siliconized, i.e., biomorphic carbon matrices prepared by wood pyrolysis and artificial porous graphites prepared by mixing and compacting carbon powders with an organic binder. The calculated phase compositions are in good agreement with microstructure metallographic examination data.

The MBE method has been applied to grow InSb layers on InSb substrates. These layers have served as a basis for fabricating mid-wave IR photodetector arrays. The characteristics of photodetector arrays on epitaxial InSb layers have been compared with those of series-produced single-crystal InSb arrays.

The effect of citric acid and isopropyl alcohol on the wet grinding of the mixture of initial ferriteforming components and synthesized ferrite charge has been analyzed. It has been established that the introduction of admixtures during wet grinding makes it possible to substantially reduce the ferrite synthesis temperature and the sintering temperature of green billets and to improve the magnetic properties of permanent magnets made of barium ferrites by the formation of a dense, fine-grained structure. The increase in the activity of powders is explained by the formation of active jelly-like interlayers on the surfaces of particles during wet grinding.

Two types of independent anisotropic structures have been formed simultaneously in amorphous hydrogenated films by applying a femtosecond laser pulse to them, i.e., a structure with a period of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers and a structure with a period of several hundred nanometers. The formation mechanisms of these strictures are different, which allows us to orient them relative to each other in a desirable way. Both structures independently influence the optical properties of the modified films, which causes the diffraction of transmitted light and making the films polarization-sensitive. The conductivity of the modified films correlates with the mutual orientation of the anisotropic structures, whereas no interrelation between the photoconductivity and optical performance of the modified films has been observed.

Analytical calculations using the first order of smallness with respect to dimensionless amplitude of oscillations show that the intensity of electromagnetic radiation of a charged droplet is determined by time-dependent quadrupole moment.

We report on the results of the computer simulation of the operation of magnetodynamic break switches used as the second stage of current pulse formation in magnetic explosion generators. The simulation was carried out under the conditions when the magnetic field energy density on the surface of the switching conductor as a function of the current through it was close to but still did not exceed the critical value typical of the beginning of electric explosion. In the computational model, we used the parameters of experimentally tested sample of a coil magnetic explosion generator that can store energy of up to 2.7 MJ in the inductive storage circuit and equipped with a primary explosion stage of the current pulse formation. It has been shown that the choice of the switching conductor material, as well as its elastoplastic properties, considerably affects the breaker speed. Comparative results of computer simulation for copper and aluminum have been considered.

The calculations needed to optimize the ordered multi-tip-shaped silicon field emitters with the two-layer protective metal-fullerene coatings intended for use in high voltage electronic devices operating in technical vacuum have been performed. The calculations are fulfilled using the COMSOL program. The influence of the morphology of the surface on the emission characteristics of the emitters is determined, including the needles height and radius of their vertices, and also the distance between needles. It has been shown that the emitters with an area of 0.2 cm², operating under the conditions of partial mutual screening, can provide currents of several hundred milliamps for fairly high voltages.

The distributions of pairs of particles over relative velocities at the shock wave front in He with a small Xe additive have been studied. It has turned out that the values of the distributions over relative velocities for an Xe–Xe atomic pair far (up to 10⁹ times) exceed their equilibrium values behind a shock wave within a narrow part of its front at high velocities of the wave and small Mach numbers (M = 2). This feature is lacking in the distributions of He–Xe atomic pairs over relative velocities.

Using numerical simulation, the operating mode of a relativistic Cherenkov microwave generator of the twistronic type has been demonstrated. The generator includes an electrodynamic system based on a backward-wave oscillator and modulating reflector with nonmonotonous, highly nonuniform energy exchange along the length of the system. The efficiency of power conversion from the electron beam to electromagnetic radiation is 56%, and the electronic efficiency is 66%. For an accelerating voltage of 340 kV and an electron beam current of 3.3 kA, the simulated generation power is 630 MW at a frequency of 9.7 GHz and a guiding magnetic field of 2.2 T.

The results of new studies on the production of accelerated deuteron fluxes in a small ion diode with pulsed magnetic insulation of electrons have been presented. A plasma anode of the diode has been formed under the action of a 1.06 μm laser radiation with a pulse duration of 10 ns, a pulse energy of up to 1 J, and a power density on the target of 5 × 10¹⁵ W m^–2. An accelerating voltage of up to 300 kV has been created using an Arkad’ev–Marx pulsed voltage generator with a stored energy of 50 J and a repetition rate of 1 Hz. A magnetic field of higher than 0.6 T for insulating electrons has been formed by a current pulse of the first cascade of the generator in a spiral line before a conical cascade. Stable deuteron acceleration to 300 keV with a current of up to 1.5 kA and a pulse duration of 0.3 μs has been achieved.

Using polyelectrolytes, ecologically safe film elements from hexaferrites have been designed for the first time with water slurry casting instead of existing processes with the use of organic solvent binders. The use of polyelectrolyte substances as binders has made it possible to reduce the energy consumption of drying by 20–30% during the process of film casting.