PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY SERIES A: AN ACCOUNT OF THE PHYSICS SECTION

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1 Romanian Reports in Physics 70, 113 (2018) PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY SERIES A: AN ACCOUNT OF THE PHYSICS SECTION D. MIHALACHE 1,2, V. BARAN 3, A.I. NICOLIN 3,4,* 1 Romanian Academy, Calea Victoriei 125, RO , Bucharest, Romania 2 Department of Theoretical Physics, Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Reactorului 30, RO , Magurele, Romania 3 Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Atomistilor 405, RO , Magurele, Romania 4 Department of Computational Physics and Information Technologies, Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Reactorului 30, RO , Magurele, Romania * Corresponding author s alexandru.nicolin@nipne.ro Received August 1, 2018 Abstract. As part of the centennial celebrations that mark 100 years that have passed since 1918 when all Romanian historical provinces were united in a single nation state, we survey in this resource article the publication record of the Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A. Following a series of historical information on the Romanian physics community and the appearance of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A, we outline the research topics covered by the journal and briefly sketch the scientific profiles of some of the scientists who published in the journal. Key words: Romanian physics, physics history, Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A. 1. INTRODUCTION The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy is published starting 2000 by The Publishing House of The Romanian Academy in two distinct series, namely Series A Mathematics, Physics, Technical Sciences, Information Science and Series B Chemistry, Life Sciences and Geosciences, both of them reaching volume 19 in The journal is green open-access [1], peer-reviewed, and its Physics Section gathers contributions in theoretical, computational, and experimental physics. The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy should not be mistaken with The Annals of The Romanian Academy, which have been published in five distinct series, namely Series I from 1867 until 1877, Series II from 1879 until 1922, Series III from 1923 until 1948, Series IV from 1949 until 1989, and, lastly, Series V, published starting The articles published in The Annals of The Romanian Academy are authored only by the members of the Romanian Academy and vary greatly in length and scope, the physics communications going from brief research notes to lengthy reviews, and from book reviews to historical pieces.

2 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROMANIAN PHYSICS JOURNALS The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy follows a long-established tradition of scientific publishing that goes back to 1892 when the Bulletin of the Romanian Society of Physical Sciences was first published. At that time the physical sciences had a very broad topical coverage and included to a large extent chemistry, engineering applications, Earth science, and others, as one can see by looking at the publication record of these Proceedings (see Ref. [2]). The next significant scientific Romanian journal was Disquisitiones Mathematicae et Physicae (Mathematical and Physical Researches) (see Ref. [3]), which was published starting 1940 by King Charles II Research Institute of Romania, the first research institution formally outside universities and polytechnic schools. The journal survived the war period up to 1948, when the seventh and last tome of the journal appeared. The legacy of the Physics Section of Disquisitiones went on through the publication of Studii și Cercetări de Fizică starting 1950 and Revue de Physique starting Studii și Cercetări de Fizică was published in Romanian under this name until 1992 when it was changed to its current English name Romanian Reports in Physics, while the name of Revue de Physique was first changed in 1964 to Revue Roumaine de Physique and then, in 1992, to its current English name Romanian Journal of Physics. Both Romanian Reports in Physics (see Ref. [4]) and Romanian Journal of Physics (see Ref. [5]) are published by The Publishing House of The Romanian Academy and have a green open-access policy. The history of Romanian Reports in Physics was presented in detail by V.I. Vlad et al. in Ref. [6], an article that marks the publication of its seventieth volume. The article [6] surveyed the history of the Romanian physics community over its seven decade publication record by outlining some research topics that were representative for Romanian physics community and by sketching the scientific profiles of a series of Romanian physicists. In addition to these aforementioned Romanian physics journals of national coverage and international impact, we also note here that most Romanian universities had scientific annals that included a physics section. We mention here Annales Scientifiques de l Université de Jassy, initially published in 1901 upon the initiative of the Society for Science of Iași, whose main editor was Dragomir Hurmuzescu (born: 1865, deceased: 1954), an outstanding Romanian physicist [7]. Subsequently, following changes in the organization and diversification of the academic and scientific activities and assignment of Alexandru Ioan Cuza s name to the University of Iași, the name of the journal is changed to Scientific Annals of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, new series. Starting 1962 physics articles were published in a section of their own, at the same time the local Faculty of Physics appeared.

3 3 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY SERIES A MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS, TECHNICAL SCIENCE, INFORMATION SCIENCE The Editor-in-Chief of The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Mathematics, Physics, Technical Science, Information Science was Ionel Valentin Vlad (born: September 22nd, 1943, deceased: December 24th, 2017) [8], the Editorial Board consisting of four distinct groups, which covered the four scientific areas represented in the journal. The Mathematics Section is coordinated by Marius Iosifescu, the Technical Science Section is coordinated by Dorel Banabic, the Information Science Section by Dan Tufiş, while the Physics Section was coordinated up to 2011 by Mihai Popescu and afterwards by Dumitru Mihalache. The current Editorial Board of the Physics Section consists of Ștefan Antohe, Emil Burzo, Cornel Hațegan, Stefan Hell, Tudor Marian, Mihai Mirea, and Ioan-Ioviț Popescu. Fig. 1 Cover of number 2, volume 19, 2018, of The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Mathematics, Physics, Technical Science, Information Science.

4 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 4 The technical and editorial support staff at The Romanian Academy and The Publishing House of The Romanian Academy included Dinu Bratosin, Andreea Chițu, Luiza Dobrin, Irina Filip, Magdalena Jindiceanu, Cornelia Lepădatu, Mariana Mocanu, Iolanda Povară, and Virginia Rădășan. In Fig. 1 we show the cover of number 2 of volume 19, 2018, of the journal, which includes the anniversary logo of The Publishing House of The Romanian Academy that marks seven decades of uninterrupted service to the community. Starting with 2007, Series A Mathematics, Physics, Technical Sciences, Information Science of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy is indexed by the Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database and starting 2009 the standard scientometrics indicators are available. The 2015 Impact Factor (IF) is equal with and the Article Influence Score (AIS) is equal with 0.233, while for 2016 the IF is equal with and the AIS is equal with Lastly, the 2017 IF is equal with and the AIS is equal with Our survey of the articles published by The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Mathematics, Physics, Technical Science, Information Science revealed that the most cited article was published within the Physics Section of the journal, namely Approximate solutions for diffusion equations on Cantor space-time, authored by Dumitru Băleanu (Institute of Space Science, Măgurele, România) and coworkers [9]. From the list of highly-cited articles of the journal we mention here the paper on A new analytical approach to nonlinear vibration of an electrical machine [10], co-authored by Nicolae Herișanu and Vasile Marinca (Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy since 2015), both from Politehnica University of Timișoara, Timișoara, România, and Toma Dordea (born: 1921, deceased: 2015), Titulary Member of The Romanian Academy, and Gheorghe Madescu, both from the Center of Advanced Research in Engineering Sciences, Romanian Academy, Timișoara Branch, România. We also note the physics article on Cluster-decay trajectory [11], authored by Mihail Mirea, Aureliu Săndulescu, Titulary Member of The Romanian Academy, and Doru-Sabin Delion, all of whom are affiliated with Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. 2. A SURVEY OF THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE PERIOD Our survey of the articles published in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A starts with that published by Rodica Mănăilă, D. Macovei, S. Poenariu, and Andrei Dévényi in 2002 on interface effects in metal-c 60 thin films nanosystems [12]. Rodica Mănăilă (born: 1935, deceased: 2002), the first author of the article, was a materials scientist at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, with contributions on amorphous and liquid semicon-

5 5 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 ductors, as well as nanomaterials, see Refs. [13, 14], who received broad recognition for her work. As a sign of appreciation of her impressive scientific contributions Rodica Mănăilă was elected Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy in Rodica Mănăilă follows the scientific tradition of Radu Grigorovici (born: 1911, deceased: 2008), Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy elected in 1963 and then Titulary Member of The Romanian Academy, elected in 1990, an outstanding Romanian physicist whose works on amorphous semiconductors are acknowledged worldwide [15]. Andrei Dévényi (born: 1932, deceased: 2015) was an outstanding solid state physicist with important scientific contributions on hopping conduction through localized states in Nb/Al 2 O 3 thin films [16], structural order in amorphous aluminas [17], and nanocrystalline gold in Au-doped thin C 60 films [18], to cite only of few of his relevant works. We continue our survey with the article of Aurel I. Popescu, published in 2003, on the principle of optimal design and its connection to bionics [19]. Aurel I. Popescu is a distinguished researcher and a honored professor of biophysics at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, where he is now affiliated as Emeritus Professor, well-known for his research on electrical properties of cellular surfaces, non-specific and specific cellular interactions, natural and artificial neural networks, protein structure and protein-ligand specific interactions (see Refs. [20 23] for some of his recent results). Next on our list of selected articles is that of Cornel Hațegan and H. Comișel on the subject of nuclear threshold effects and neutron strength function [24]. Cornel Hațegan, Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy since 1992, is an outstanding nuclear scientist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, whose numerous contributions cover, among other subjects, threshold phenomena in R-matrix theory [25]. Looking at the articles published in 2004 in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we immediately notice that of Nicolae Ionescu-Pallas and Valentin Ionel Vlad on the approximation of some infinite sums of functions used in the theory of quantum gases [26]. Nicolae Ionescu-Pallas (born: 1932, deceased: 2017) was one of the most important Romanian theoretical physicists. His work on the Măgurele Physics Campus at The Institute of Physics and Technology of Radiation Devices (whose current name is The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics) covers a very broad area of research subjects, but he received particular international recognition for his article on the radiation of the double quantized cubic cavities [27] and is well-known in Romania for his monograph on general relativity and cosmology [28]. Ionel Valentin Vlad, Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy (elected in 1991), Titulary Member since 2009, and President of The Romanian Academy in the period April 2014 December 2017, was an internationally recognized laser physicist and engineer,

6 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 6 elected Fellow of The Optical Society of America (OSA) in He had worked at The Institute of Physics and Technology of Radiation Devices (later renamed The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics), located in Măgurele, România, and contributed to distinct fields such as nonlinear optics, nanophotonics, optical information processing, holography and optical instruments with lasers, and received substantial recognition for his monographs, in Romanian, on holography [29] and optical processing of information [30], as well as for his articles on measuring vibration amplitudes in the picometer range using moving light gratings in photoconductive GaAs:Cr [31] and on direct spatial reconstruction of optical phase from phase-modulated images [32]. Also from the 2004 issues of The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we note here the article of L. Ichim, C. Bleotu, and C.C. Diaconu on a light-scattering spectrophotometric device for cellular structure characterization [33]. Our selection of articles from the 2005 volume of The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A starts with that of N. Ionescu-Pallas, I. Simaciu, and Marius-Ioan Piso, which reports the search for a solution of Seeliger s gravitational paradox in the framework of general relativity [34]. Marius-Ioan Piso is a distinguished researcher specialized initially in the development of inertial sensors [35] who later shifted to space science at large. Our selection continues with the article of M. Borsaru on some selected topics in nuclear geophysics [36] and that of Horia Scutaru on a new form of the characteristic equation of a density matrix [37]. Horia Scutaru (born: 1943, deceased: 2014), Titulary Member of The Romanian Academy elected in 1995 and President of the Physics Section of The Romanian Academy in the period , was an outstanding theoretical physicist, who worked at the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. His research contributions cover the quantum theory of open systems and quantum information theory, with distinct influential contributions on six-dimensional canonical realizations of the so(4,2) algebra [38], Poisson bracket realizations of Lie algebras and subrepresentations of (ado k ) s [39], a lower bound for the mutual information of a quantum transmission channel [40], open quantum systems and the damping of collective modes in deep inelastic collisions [41]. Following our analysis of the articles published in 2006, we mention here that of T. Beica, R. Moldovan, Irina Zgură, and Ștefan Frunză on an improved method for determining the temperature dependence of interfacial tension at liquid crystalisotropic liquid interface [42]. Ștefan Frunză is an outstanding materials scientist working at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, with broad research expertise on the growth of alkali halide single crystals, liquid crystal displays and their technologies, dynamics of the molecules by broadband dielectric spectroscopy, and 2D and 3D confinement of liquid crystals, who made significant contributions to the confinement of liquid crystals in molecular sieves [43] and the

7 7 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 dynamics of surface layer in octylcyanobiphenyl-aerosil systems [44]. Irina Zgură is a noted materials scientist at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, with contributions on the temperature dependence of the density of some liquid crystals in the alkyl cyanobiphenyl series [45]. We continue our survey with the article of H. Scutaru that focuses on some remarks on Werner and Horodecki states and other related topics [46], and the article of C. Hațegan and R.-A. Ionescu on nuclear threshold cusp and atomic quantum defect [47]. For the years 2007 and 2008 our survey notes the article by I. Stanca on ultrasonically stimulated ordering effects in the Y-Ba-Cu-O system [48], the article of M. Agop, C. Stan, M. Toma, and I. Rusu on fractal space-time theory and some applications in advanced materials [49], and, lastly, that of A. Beldiceanu and A. Rizea on ellipsometric arrangement for thin films control [50]. From the articles published in 2009 we note here that of F. Sava and Mihai Popescu on structural modelling of nano-carbons and nano-chalcogenides [51], and that of A. Velea and Mihai Popescu on phase change materials. Mihai Popescu is a distinguished solid-state physicist working at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, with significant contributions on research subjects as diverse as the structure and properties of amorphous and glassy chalcogenides, modeling of low-dimensional materials and nanomaterials, X-ray Raman scattering, and medium-range order in amorphous materials. Among his most influential articles, we mention here the work on defect formation in amorphous structures as revealed by computer simulation [53] and his review on disordered chalcogenide optoelectronic materials [54]. 3. A SURVEY OF THE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE PERIOD Our survey of the articles published in 2010 starts with that of M. Osaci on dynamic modeling of ferrite nanoparticle systems in radiofrequency magnetic field [55]. Next on our list of selected articles is that of Dumitru Mihalache on threedimensional Ginzburg-Landau dissipative solitons supported by a two-dimensional transverse grating [56]. Dumitru Mihalache, Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy (elected in 2014), is a theoretical physicist specialized in nonlinear phenomena at large in optical and condensed-matter settings, working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. His most influential results include, in chronological order, the analysis of existence and stability of elliptical spatiotemporal optical solitons [57], the study of erupting, flat-top, and composite spiral solitons in the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equation [58], the construction of three-dimensional walking spatiotemporal solitons in quadratic media [59], the formation of stable spatiotemporal three-dimensional solitons (also known as light bullets) with internal vorticity in a bimodal system de-

8 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 8 scribed by coupled cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations [60], the existence of two-dimensional surface light bullets localized in the lattice corners or the edges of photonic lattices [61], and the merger, interaction or creation of extra solitons following the collision between stable solitons with intrinsic vorticity S = 1 and S = 2 in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity, for the axially symmetric configuration [62]. We also note here the influential reviews of Dumitru Mihalache, starting with the classical one on spatiotemporal optical solitons [63] and following with the topical reviews on localized structures in nonlinear optical media [64], on multidimensional solitons and their legacy in contemporary atomic, molecular and optical physics [65], and, lastly, on multidimensional localized structures in optical and matter-wave media [66]. Also published in 2010 was the article of F. Sava and D. Simandan on carbon-chalcogenide nanotube configuration [67]. From the 2011 publication record of The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we mention here the article of Daniela Dragoman on quantum-like classical mechanics in non-commutative phase space [68]. Daniela Dragoman is a distinguished researcher and gifted professor at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, who received broad international recognition for her works on terahertz fields and applications [69] and giant thermoelectric effect in graphene [70], as well as for the works on the Wigner distribution function in optics and optoelectronics [71]. Let us also note her work on dielectric properties of composites containing silicone rubber and multiwall carbon nanotubes decorated with gold [72]. Also published in 2011 is the article on Faraday waves in one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates co-authored by Alexandru Nicolin and Mihaela Carina Raportaru [73] from Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. This article reflects the research contributions of the authors on the dynamics of quantum mesoscopic systems (see Refs. [74 84]) and, in a larger context, the international colaborations on the side of Bose-Einstein condensates, which are best illustrated by the 2015 Special Issue of Romanian Reports in Physics, whose introductory review, entitled Bose Einstein condensation: Twenty years after [85], was well received by the international community. We continue our overview of the articles published in 2011 with that of A. Balaceanu, Dan Eugen Demco, and A. Pich on responsive copolymer microgel morphology [86]. Dan Eugen Demco, Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy since 2011, is an outstanding solid-state physicist working at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, România, with influential research results focused on the applications of nuclear magnetic resonance to a variety of physical systems, particularly polymers and biomaterials, see Refs. [87 89]. Next on our list is the article of Alexandru Popa on new connections between

9 9 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 quantum and classical equations with applications to the modeling of atomic, molecular, and electrodynamical systems [90]. Alexandru Popa is a distinguished theoretical physicist working at The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Măgurele, România, whose articles on energetic X-ray sources [91] and relativistic phase effect in modeling interactions between ultraintense laser beams and electrons plasma [92], as well as his book on the connections between classical and quantum frameworks [93], were well received by the physics community. We conclude our selection of articles published in 2011 with that of Magdalena Lidia Ciurea on trapping in silicon-based nanostructures [94]. Magdalena Lidia Ciurea is a distinguished condensed matter physicist and materials scientist working at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, who made significant contributions to the electrical behaviour of fresh and stored porous silicon films [95], transport properties of nanocrystalline porous silicon films [96], frequency dispersion simulation of floating gate memory with Ge nanocrystals in HfO 2 [97], and dense Ge nanocrystals embedded in T io 2 with exponentially increased photoconduction by field effect [98]. Our overview of the articles published in 2012 in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A starts with that of Bogdan Constantinescu, D. Cristea-Stan, A. Vasilescu, R. Simon, and D. Ceccato on archaeometallurgical characterization of ancient gold artifacts from Romanian museums using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), micro-xrf, micro-pixe (Proton Induced X-ray Emission), and micro-sr-xrf (Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Fluorescence) methods [99]. This article is representative for the applied research carried out in the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Măgurele, România, on the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the Romanian cultural heritage. From this article we reproduce in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 the images of the Dacian bracelets from Sarmizegetusa site in Tranylvania, Romania, and an imagine of a Dacian Koson, all of which were analyzed in IFIN-HH to confirm their authenticity. By using physical and analytical methods in the study of art and archaeological objects, scientists can provide qualitative and quantitative information that shed light on the life of our ancestors, as well as the skills and resources of the ancient craftsmen. We can thus determine the raw materials they used and can understand the manufacturing techniques of archaeological items, thereby tracing back the exact provenance of artifacts and ensuring their authenticity. This type of applied research has a prominent multidisciplinary character, the close cooperation between the actors carrying out these investigations (such as physicists, chemists, geologists, biologists, archaeologists, curators, art historians, and restorers) being essential for their success. The group working under the coordination of Bogdan Constantinescu pub-

10 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 10 Fig. 2 A collection of Dacian bracelets from the Sarmizegetusa site (Transylvania, Romania) authenticated within IFIN-HH through the measurement of trace elements like Sb, Te, Pb, which are known fingerprints of the Carpathian mines, and Sn, which is characteristic for the panned alluvial gold. Reproduced from Ref. [99]: B. Constantinescu et al., Proc. Romanian Acad. Series A 13, (2012). Fig. 3 Lateral view of a gold Dacian bracelet analyzed in IFIN-HH to confirm its authenticity. Reproduced from Ref. [99]: B. Constantinescu et al., Proc. Romanian Acad. Series A 13, (2012).

11 11 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 Fig. 4 Dacian Koson with monogram analyzed in IFIN-HH to confirm its authenticity. Reproduced from Ref. [99]: B. Constantinescu et al., Proc. Romanian Acad. Series A 13, (2012). lished extensively on the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the historical Romanian artifacts and received broad international recognition for their studies on gold identification for Dacian bracelets, Transylvanian gold nuggets, as well as their studies of Neolithic ceramic pigments and Byzantine pottery [ ]. The group of Bogdan Constantinescu has used the XRF method to determine the basic elemental composition of archaeological objects. After the XRF examination of artifacts, very small fragments from them and natural gold samples from Transylvania (România) have been studied using micro-pixe and micro-sr-xrf techniques. The XRF and micro-pixe methods have been used as investigation tools for ancient metalurgy, see Ref. [105], thus warfare Scythian-design arrowheads and pre-monetary signs found in Dobroudja (Histria area, România) and in Floriile (a Thracian settlement on the Danube, România) were investigated by using the aforementioned physical techniques. Geto-Thracian silver appliqués, part of Agighiol (Northern Dobroudja, România) hoard were also studied [105]. The pigments used in 1853 by the famous Romanian painter Gheorghe Tattarescu (born: 1820, deceased: 1894) for oil mural painting and icons-iconostasis of Church St. Constantine and Helena, located in Măgurele, Romania, were analyzed by using a portable XRF spectrometer [106]. Next on our list of selected papers published in 2012 is that of Adrian Tanasa on combinatorics of random tensor models [107] and that of Iulia Ghiu on non-optimal cloning of qubits at a distance [108]. Iulia Ghiu is a noted theoretical physicist and gifted professor at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, with significant contributions to the theory of many-to-many quantum communication of information [109], broadcasting of entanglement at a distance using linear optics and telecloning of entanglement [110], probing light polarization with the quantum Chernoff bound [111], gaussification through decoherence [112], and quantum Chernoff bound as a measure of the efficiency of quantum cloning for mixed states [113]. We continue the selection with the article of Ioan Baltog, M. Baibarac, L.

12 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 12 Mihuț, I. Smaranda, and S. Lefrant on nonlinear optical processes manifesting as Anderson localization of light in mesoscopic materials [114]. Ioan Baltog (born: 1939, deceased: 2016), elected Corresponding Member of The Romanian Academy in 2016, was an outstanding experimental physicist at the National Institute of Materials Physics, Măgurele, România, whose work covered material sciences, optics, and nanoscience. Among his most influential articles we mention here that on SERS spectra of poly(3-hexylthiophene) in oxidized and unoxidized states [115], that on polyaniline and carbon nanotubes based composites containing whole units and fragments of nanotubes [116], and that on covalent functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes by aniline electrochemical polymerization [117]. From the 2012 publication record of The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we mention now the article of A. Tanasa on tensor models, a quantum field theoretical particularization [118] and that of E. Radu and D. H. Tchrakian on Abelian Hopfion of the CP 2 model on R 5 [119]. Fig. 5 The structure of the TiO 2 layer obtained through scanning electron microscopy. The three panels show the presence of blocks with average diameter ranging from 2 µm to 10 µm. Reproduced from Ref. [120]: I. Vaiciulis et al., Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A 13, 4, (2012). Our selection continues with the article of I. Vaiciulis, M. Girtan, A. Stănculescu, L. Leontie, F. Habelhames, and Ștefan Antohe, on titanium oxide spray deposited thin films for solar cells applications [120]. From this article we reproduce in Fig. 5 the structure of the TiO 2 layer obtained through scanning electron microscopy. The three panels in Fig. 5 show the presence of blocks with average diameter ranging from 2 µm to 10 µm. Mihaela Girtan is a distinguished solid-state physicist whose research interests cover thin films, physical and chemical deposition methods, solar cell technology and optoelectronic devices, transport phenomena in low dimensional structures, heat transfer phenomena and fluid dynamics numerical simulations. From her extensive publication record we mention here her articles on structural and optical properties of indium oxide thin films prepared by an ultrasonic spray CVD process [121], fullerene bulk heterojunctions solar cells [122], and the comparison

13 13 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 of ITO/metal/ITO and ZnO/metal/ZnO characteristics as transparent electrodes for third generation solar cells [123], as well as her monograph on the next-generation solar energy devices [124]. Ștefan Antohe is an outstanding experimental solid-state physicist and gifted professor at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, widely acknowledged for his work on organic-on-inorganic semiconductors [125], electrical and photovoltaic properties of tetrapyrydilporphyrin sandwich cells [126], effect of the electron irradiation on the electrical properties of thin polycrystalline CdS layers [127, 128], dye-sensitized solar cells performances based on transparent conductive ITO and FTO [129], and double layer structure of ZnO thin films deposited by RF-magnetron sputtering on glass substrate [130]. On the side of his mentorship of young scientists let us point out here some recent results of the group led by Ștefan Antohe on biocomposites based on carbon nanotubes and chlorophyll-loaded biomimetic membranes [131] and influence of nitrogen environment on the performance of conducting polymers/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites modified anodes for microbial fuel cells [132], as well as the critical review of photovoltaic cells based on organic monomeric and polymeric thin film heterojunctions [133]. Our overview of the articles published in 2013 in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A starts with that of Mihai A. Macovei [134] on two-photon quantum dynamics in nonlinear micromasers. Mihai A. Macovei is a distinguished physicist working at Institute of Applied Physics, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, with important scientific contributions in quantum optics and quantum information theory [ ]. Next on our list of selected papers published in 2013 is the work of Mona Mihailescu and her collaborators [138] on three-dimensional imaging and statistics of red blood cells in multiple deformation states. Mona Mihailescu is a distinguished physicist and gifted professor at University Politehnica of Bucharest, București, România, with important contributions in optics and photonics at large, including biophotonics [139, 140]. From the articles published in 2014 in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we select that of Nicolaie Pavel, G. Salamu, F. Voicu, F. Jipa, and Marian Zamfirescu [141] on cladding waveguides realized in Nd:YAG laser media by direct writing with a femtosecond-laser beam. Nicolaie Pavel is a distinguished experimental physicist working at The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Măgurele, România, well-known for his relevant contributions in laser physics and applications [142, 143]. Marian Zamfirescu is a noted experimental physicist working at the The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Măgurele, România, specialized in nanostructure growth and characterization using ultrafast laser pulses [ ]. Next on our list of selected papers published in 2014 is the work of D. Timofte et al. [147] on hysteretic type behaviors of the complex fluids via non-differentiability.

14 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 14 From the articles published in 2015 we select the paper by A. Popa [148] on the periodicity property with applications to the modeling of interactions between very intense laser beams and electrons or atoms. Fig. 6 An illustration of the process of spontaneous formation of a four-pointed star with zero vorticity index using a two-dimensional complex cubic-quintic Ginzburg-Landau equation with localized linear gain, see Refs. [150, 151]. The panels (a)-(d) correspond to subsequent moments of evolution from an initial ring-type structure to a symmetric four-pointed star. Figure reproduced from Ref. [149]: D. Mihalache, Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A 16, 1, (2015). Next on our selection is the topical review article of D. Mihalache [149] on localized optical structures in a plethora of relevant physical settings. From this article we reproduce in Fig. 6 an illustration of the process of spontaneous formation of a four-pointed star with zero vorticity index in the framework of the twodimensional complex cubic-quintic Ginzburg-Landau equation with localized linear gain, described in detail in Refs. [150, 151]. This model is generic for pattern for- Fig. 7 An illustration of the dynamics of a revolving octopus soliton (see panels (a)-(d)) and a revolving decapod soliton (see panels (e)-(h)) in the framework of a two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equation, see Refs. [150, 151]. Figure reproduced from Ref. [149]: D. Mihalache, Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A 16, 1, (2015). mation via spontaneous breaking of the axial symmetry [ ]. From the same article we reproduce in Fig. 7 the evolution of a revolving eight-pointed star us

15 15 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 ing the same Ginzburg-Landau equation (see panels (a)-(d)) and the evolution of a revolving ten-pointed star (see panels (e)-(h)). We continue our selection of articles published in 2015 with the work of Margarit Rizea and Nicolae Carjan on analysis of the scission neutrons by a time-dependent approach [152]. Margarit Rizea is a distinguished computational physicist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, who published, jointly with Liviu G. Ixaru, from the same institute, a series of influential articles on accurate numerical methods for the solution of the Schrödinger equation in the deep continuum spectrum of energies and for the eigenvalue problem of the Schrödinger equation in complex-valued optical potentials [ ]. These articles reflect the long-standing tradition of the Romanian School of scientific computing that started with CIFA-1, the first electronic calculator on the Măgurele Physics Campus created in 1957 in the group of Victor Toma (born: 1922, deceased: 2008) [ ], and continued uninterrupted to this day. In Refs. [ ] we have gathered some monographs and collective volumes that illustrate the topical coverage and some of the oustanding research achievements of the Romanian School of scientific computing. Nicolae Carjan is a distinguished theoretical nuclear physicist, working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, whose scientific contributions received broad international recognition. We only mention here his extremely relevant works on finite-size effects in trajectory calculations for α particles emitted during nuclear fission [171], effects of dissipation on ternary fission in very heavy nuclear systems [172], one-body dissipation and the prescission neutrons and fragment kinetic energies [173], and charge polarization and the elongation of the fissioning nucleus at scission [174]. Next on our selection of articles published in 2015 is the work of S.T. Popescu, Adrian Petriș, and V.I. Vlad on a numerical analysis of light propagation in selfinduced waveguides [175]. This paper reflects the broad expertise of the group of Nonlinear and Information Optics led by Ionel-Valentin Vlad, in the area of optics and photonics at The National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Măgurele, România. Adrian Petriș, a distinguished optical physicist, who is currently the lead scientist of that research group, has published a series of relevant papers in the area of nonlinear photonics [ ]. Next on our list of selected papers is that of V. Slesar, Mihai Vișinescu, and G.E. Vîlcu [180] on symplectic potential, complex coordinates, and hidden symmetries on toric Sasaki-Einstein spaces. Mihai Vișinescu is an outstanding theoretical physicist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, whose early research interests cover particle physics and quantum field theory, while his more recent works are focused on the theory of gravitation, cosmology, and mathematical physics [ ].

16 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 16 We continue our survey of the publication record of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A, with the paper by M.-A. Dariescu, C. Dariescu, and D.-A. Mihu [185] on magnetic fields of quantum origin in magnetars crust. This research group from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, România, has recently published relevant theoretical works on first-order transitions induced by periodic magnetic induction in magnetars crust [186], spatially hyperbolic universes with fundamental matter sources [187], and spatially-flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model [188]. Next on our selection is a paper by D. Pricopi, M. Dascalu, O. Badescu, D.A. Nedelcu, M. Popescu, A. Sonka, and M.D. Suran [189] on orbit reconstruction for the meteoroid of the meteorite-producting fireball that exploded over Romania on January 7, We also refer here to the relevant studies of Marian Doru Suran on cosmological simulations at the Bucharest Observatory [190], located in București, România, and on a pulsational model LNAWENR (linear nonadiabatic nonradial waves), included in an asteroseismological software package, which was implemented in the Bucharest Observatory [191]. Next on our selection are the papers by R. Tudor et al. [192] on propagation robustness of two Laguerre-Gauss beam superposition, by Luminița Cătălina Ciobotaru and Ion Gruia [193] on the influence of magnetic field on monochrome visible light in electropositive-electronegative gas mixture discharge plasma, and by A.-M. Lepădatu [194] on memory properties of Ge nanocrystals-based capacitors with different composition of intermediate layer. We continue our selection with the paper by Dușan Popov [195] on spin coherent states defined in the Barut-Girardello manner. Dușan Popov is a distinguished theoretical physicist working at Politehnica University of Timisoara, România, with relevant contributions in the study of various types of coherent states and quantum optics at large [ ]. From the articles published in 2017 in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A we select that of Virgil Florin Duma [199] on polygonal mirror laser scanning heads. Virgil Florin Duma is a distinguished researcher and a gifted professor at Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, România, whose research interests cover optomechanics and optomechatronics at large [200, 201]. The following article published in The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A is focused on the measurement of charge carrier mobilities in perovskite nanowire films by photo-celiv method [202], where CELIV stands for Charge Extraction by Linearly Increasing Voltage, with applications to solar cells. From this article we reproduce in Fig. 8 the scanning-electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs for the methylamonium-lead triodine thin films deposited on glass (panels b) and c)) and the SEM micrograph of top Spiro-MeOTAD layer deposited on nanowires perovskite film (panel d)). We continue our survey of the papers published in 2017 with the work of Mihail Mirea, Doru-Sabin Delion, and Aureliu Săndulescu [204], on pairing gaps at scission

17 17 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 Fig. 8 Perovskite nanowire film on glass substrate: a) sample photo; b) and c), SEM micrograph of films deposited on glass substrates; d) top view after Spiro-MeOTAD film deposition. Reproduced from Ref. [202]: A. Aukstuolis et al., Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A 18, 1, (2017). for nuclear fission. Mihail Mirea is a distinguished theoretical and computational nuclear physicist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, whose extremely relevant scientific contributions cover spontaneous heavy-ion emissions (cluster decay), alpha and double-beta decays, nuclear fission, and microscopic cold fission [ ]. Doru-Sabin Delion is a reputed theoretical nuclear physicist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, with broad international recognition whose review paper published in Physics Reports [208], jointly with R.J. Liotta and R. Wyss, on theories of proton emission has become a classic reference. Aureliu Săndulescu, Titulary Member of The Romanian Academy elected in 1992, is an outstanding nuclear scientist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România, who published extensively in diverse areas such as α-decay and cluster decay (heavy-ion radioactivity) theories. The outstanding contribution of Aureliu Săndulescu to the study of new decaying modes of heavy nuclei, which are intermediate between nuclear fission and α-decay, jointly with D.N. Poenaru and W. Greiner [209, 210], is well known worldwide and is summarized in Encyclopaedia Britannica, in an entry by J.O. Rasmussen and E.P. Steinberg. Next on our selection is the paper by Renata Jora [211] on vacuum energy in some particular quantum fields theories. Renata Jora is a distinguished theoretical physicist working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear

18 Article no. 113 D. Mihalache, V. Baran, A.I. Nicolin 18 Engineering, Măgurele, România, with important contributions in quantum field theory and quantum chromodynamics at large [ ]. We continue our selection with the paper by R. Dudric et al. [217] on effects of Gd doping on the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of La 1.4 Ca 1.6 Mn 2 O 7 and the paper by Adrian Radu, Sorina Iftimie, Lucian Ion, Ștefan Antohe, and Daniela Dragoman [218] on Nibased nanowire arrays as chemical and magnetic fields sensors. Sorina Iftimie is a solid-state physicist at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, with results in low-dimensional structures, thin films of organic and inorganic materials, and electronic and optoelectronic devices. We only refer here to her work on steering and collimating ballistic electrons with amphoteric refraction [219] and on propagation of chiral fermions in graphene [220]. Lucian Ion is a distinguished solid-state physicist and gifted professor at the Faculty of Physics of University of Bucharest, București, România, widely acknowledged for his contributions in diverse areas such as electronic structure of semiconductors and mesoscopic systems, defects in semiconductors, and charge transport and optical properties of semiconductor materials, see, for example Refs. [ ]. Next on our selection is the paper by R. Găină and Cristian Enăchescu [224] on nucleation in spin transition molecular magnets. Cristian Enăchescu is a distinguished solid-state physicist and gifted professor at the Faculty of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, România, specialized in the physics of spin crossover compounds and the study of hysteresis phenomena in magnetic materials [ ]. We continue our survey of the publication record of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A with the paper by C. Hațegan and R.A. Ionescu [228] on the study of neutron subthreshold states using a Gamow-Siegert state approach. We end our survey of the papers published in the 2017 issues of the journals by the work of the group of Bogdan Constantinescu on the investigation of Transylvanian native gold samples from Roșia Montană and Cavnic deposits using micro-pixe technique [229]. We begin our survey of the 2018 publication record of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A with the paper by M. Mirea and A. Săndulescu [230] on angular momenta and momentum of inertia within the Woods-Saxon two-center shell model. Next on our selection is the paper by V.-F. Duma and A. Schitea [231] on laser scanners with rotational Risley prisms and the paper by Pengfei Li and Dumitru Mihalache [232] on symmetry breaking of solitons in PT-symmetric potentials with competing cubic-quintic nonlinearity. Dumitru Mihalache and his collaborators extensively published during the past few years in the fast growing field of parity-timesymmetric effects in optics and photonics settings, see, for example, Refs. [ ]. We end our survey of the publication record of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A with the second number of 2018 from which we have selected

19 19 The Physics Section of Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A Article no. 113 the article of Aurelian Isar on quantum entanglement, quantum discord, and quantum steering in a system composed of two coupled bosonic modes immersed in a thermal reservoir, in the framework of open systems [236]. Aurelian Isar is an internationally recognized expert in quantum systems, working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. Among his most significant contributions we mention here his influential review paper [237] on open quantum systems and a series of recent works on quantum information theory [ ]. Next on our selection is the article authored by Vasile Popescu on spectral and amplitude sensitivities of the HE 11 mode in a hollow-core Bragg fiber with or without gold layer [243]. Vasile A. Popescu is a distinguished scientist working at University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, București, România, with relevant contributions in plasmonics at large and in the study of plasmonic biosensors [ ]. We end our survey of the journal with the article of Eugen M. Anițaș and Azat M. Slyamov dedicated to the structural properties of deterministic mass and surface fractals studied using small-angle scattering methods [250]. Eugen M. Anițaș is a well-known specialist in small-angle neutron scattering, deterministic fractal systems, and complex systems at large [ ], working at Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Măgurele, România. 4. CONCLUDING REMARKS As we have shown in the previous sections, The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A is a relatively recent Romanian scientific multidisciplinary journal, which aims to cover the reseach topics that are representative for the Romanian scientific community. The Physics Section of the journal covers theoretical, computational, and experimental physics articles published mainly by Romanian authors. While the majority of papers report mature and original scientific results, our survey of the published articles shows that the remaining ones can be grouped in three large categories, namely: i. short notes with preliminary results that are usually followed by full-length regular articles in other international journals, ii. follow-up articles on published results with additional details on the methods employed, and iii. brief topical reviews of introductory nature. Based on the Impact Factors of the past years, The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A is quite visible internationally, its scientometrics indicators being in line with those of the other two Romanian physics journals, namely Romanian Reports in Physics and Romanian Journal of Physics. Having a small portfolio of published articles, with around 15 articles per number, The Proceedings of The Romanian Academy Series A was designed to be the multidisciplinary flagship scientific journal of The Romanian Academy. The driving