The Melnikov-Holmes method is used to study the onset of chaos in a driven pendulum with nonlinear dissipation. Detailed numerical studies reveal many interesting features like a chaotic attractor at low frequencies, band formation near escape from the potential well and a sequence of subharmonic bifurcations inside the band that accumulates at the homoclinic bifurcation point.

This retrospective paper traces the conceptual evolution of two theories in which the author was involved—the two-meson theory (with H A Bethe) in 1947 and the universal (V-A) theory of weak interactions (with E C G Sudarshan) in 1957—into the present-day standard model of particle interactions. Part 1 is entitled ‘From the pion to QCD and pseudo-Goldstone bosons” and Part 2 “From the muon and neutrino to QFD and chiral anomalies’.

The study of transient behaviour of a pulse pumped solid state laser system has assumed importance on account of SLM generation by self-seeding with the pre-lase signal. This paper reports on the observations of seed pulses for two different Nd: YAG laser rods, one with anti-reflection coating (AR) on end faces and the other without. The latter displays single longitudinal mode behaviour in each of the relaxation pulse train while the former displays multimode behaviour. Our observations are well explained by the ‘active etalon concept’ introduced earlier.

K-absorption edge region of copper in oxygen and air-annealed highT_c(∼91 K) superconducting (SC) samples, YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ, has been investigated. The spectra exhibit a weak structure at ∼23 eV. To understand its origin, the spectra have been recorded for quenched Ce-substituted and semiconducting Y₂BaCuO₅ samples. It is argued that the weak structure (∼23 eV) is not a characteristic feature of an SC compound but appears to be a final state effect.

A pulsed field gradient spin echo NMR spectrometer has been assembled by interfacing a programmable pulse generator and a data acquisition system designed and fabricated in our laboratory with other imported units. Calibration results of the magnetic field gradients are presented.